I am a Brit by birth, so I know that tea can be confusing to Americans, so here are a few pointers. 1. Green tea is the same plant as black tea, just picked earlier and not allowed to naturally oxidize and turn black- kind of like gentle fermenting. 2. Black tea is your good old Lipton or Red Rose. It's always in breakfast teas like Bigelows or Twinings. Sometimes it is flavored such as Earl Grey with Bergamot. 3. They both have lots of antioxidants and can be served hot or cold. 4. Black tea should be made with rapidly boiling water to agitate the leaves then steeped for 3-5 minutes, green tea can be made with almost boiling water and steeped at least 5 minutes to bring out the flavor. 5. Many items in the stores listed as Chamomile Tea or Peppermint Tea, etc have no tea in them!!!! This is a shocker to the Brits, because they do not label "herbal infusions" as "tea." 6. Tea does not have more caffeine than coffee, but it has nearly as much and this should be noted for those who should avoid caffeine. 7. Finally, tea is a nasty stain-er of teeth! Brush after your morning cup, and if you are an all day iced tea drinker, be prepared to whiten regularly!
