All organic black tea leaves are green when harvested. High in the Himalayas, tea pickers are hard at work, plucking only young and the most flavorful leaves from the plant, called Camellia sinensis.Although tea plants flourish in tropical climate, the best organic black teas are those grown in high altitudes where the clouds and cool mountain air comfort the tea plant and moisturize its leaves.

After the tea leaves are picked, they are inspected and sorted and withered. All of this is done by hand. As water from the leaves evaporates, the natural process of fermentation begins to take place. Fermentation, also known as oxidation, is the reason why organic black tea is black.

Unlike the fermentation done with wines, tea fermentation does not produce alcohol. Instead, enzymes naturally contained in the leaves are released, oxidizing the leaf in the process and turning it brown just like a tea leaf in the fall when it changes color from green to brown.

By increasing heat and high humidity in a process called firing (the leaves are exposed to high temperature over fire or commercial ovens), the fermentation of organic black tea accelerates. As a result of these conditions, it is only a matter of hours before green tea is turned to what is known as organic black tea.

Like all four Asian tea types sold in the market, black forest tea comes from the Camellia sinensis plant. But unlike other tea varieties, black tea undergoes full oxidation after it is withered, dried, and rolled. The fermentation of the leaves gives black tea a distinctively strong taste, body, and flavor.

Black tea is a favorite ingredient in making gourmet type teas or flavored teas. One of the most popular favored teas is black forest tea. Below are our top picks for black forest tea:

HonestTea.com – Black Forest Berry

Black Forest Berry is an herbal fruit infusion containing natural black tea. Sweet and succulent, whoever thought something as delicious as this could also be healthy?

This black forest tea contains some of the best sources of antioxidants in the world – organic cane sugar, organic hibiscus, organic blackberry leaves, organic blueberries, organic raspberries, and natural berry flavoring.

EnglishTeaStore.com – Black Forest Naturally Flavored Black Tea Loose Leaf

The English Tea Store’s black forest tea hints at a piquant and astringent chocolate flavor with cherry undertones and creamy notes. Their black tea is a naturally flavored black tea, using natural high grown Ceylon tea from estates at more than 5500 feet above sea level. To give a clean true taste with no chemical aftertaste to their black forest tea, a natural flavor is added.

The first cup of tea was made from loose leaf black tea. As legend goes, Emperor Shen Nung of China was boiling water one day when the leaves of a nearby plant came loose and fell into his pot. And that was how the first cup of tea was made.

Of course, that’s only a legend, but as history would have it, tea (the loose leaf variety was obviously the first type of tea made) goes way back nearly 5,000 years ago in China, though whether or not it was indeed discovered by the Emperor himself remains to be proven. Still, you can see how much tea has to offer – the history of human culture, no less!

All tea comes from the Camellia sinensis plant, an evergreen plant growing in warm weather. What determines the resulting types of teas is the processing of the fresh leaves from the tea plant. During oxidation, the tea leaves undergo natural chemical reactions that result in distinctive taste and color characteristics of the different tea types.

Green tea is not oxidized at all, so you can count on it for delicate taste and refreshing flavor. The leaves are merely steamed, rolled, and then dried.

Heard the entire buzz about drinking loose black tea? Nearly all research and studies done so far to investigate the health benefits of tea are based on brewed loose black tea. From weight loss to cancer, loose black tea is gaining popularity as more and more people realize how you can promote your health by drinking three or four cups a day.

The following are some of the results of a decade’s worth of studying the health benefits of loose black tea:

• Reducing arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis
• Containing antioxidants that remove free radicals from the body
• Reducing the risk of blood clot and the hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis)
• Reducing the risk of heart diseases and stroke
• Reducing the harmful effects from cigarette smoking
• Reducing high blood pressure and bad cholesterol in blood
• Keeping fluid balance and relieving fatigue
• Reducing arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis
• Awakening thought with its high caffeine content
• Boosting your immune system
• Aiding in cancer prevention and reducing tumor growth
• Supporting liver protection and relieving stress
• Providing oral care and natural fluoride which helps prevent cavities and tooth decay

“Japanese Black Ceramic Tea Sets “the Japanese call it chanoyu, which literally means “hot tea water.” But transcending even the limitations of its name, the Japanese tea ceremony is truly a spiritual expression of the “way of the tea.”

The whole ceremony is summarized in the following excerpt of a lesson taught by tea master Sen no Rikyu to his students in 16th Century Japan:

• “Make a delicious bowl of tea;
• Scatter the charcoal pieces
• In such a way as to heat the water;
• Arrange the flowers
• As if they are in the fields;
• In the summer, evoke the coolness,
• In the winter, heat;
• Always anticipate the weather;
• Be prepared for rain;
• Have every possible consideration for your guests.”

The simple art of chanoyu is really a synthesis of many Japanese arts with the focus of preparing and serving a bowl of tea with a pure heart.

Sen no Rikyu’s style of chanoyu was called the wabicha, reflecting a simple and quiet taste. It applies the principles of Wa Kei Sei Jaku, representing four great virtues of Harmony, Respect, Purity, and Tranquility. The Wabicha style of Chanoyu is the simple style of tea that is practiced and taught in Japan and throughout the world today.

Black tea is one of the “true” tea varieties. “True,” because, based on the information on black tea, the leaves used for this beverage come from the Camellia sinensis plant, as opposed to a cornucopia of herbs (more accurately known as tisane, e.g. chamomile tea).

Information on black tea will tell you that the leaves used are more heavily oxidized than the white, green, and oolong varieties. For this reason, black tea is generally stronger in flavor and emits a more distinctive aroma. In addition, black tea also contains more caffeine than any of its lightly oxidized cousins.

There are several varieties of black tea. Information on black tea will tell you that these varieties are named after the region where they were produced. Like wine, black teas produced in one region have a characteristically different flavor compared to black teas grown in other regions.

The varieties of unblended black tea include:

Lapsang Souchong

Lapsang Souchong was grown originally in Mount Wuyi, Fujian Province in China. Though the tea plant is a warm-weather perennial, growers of Lapsang Souchong believe that the humidity of the mountaintops and the low clouds soothe the tea leaves, producing the best quality black tea.

Until recently, health benefits of black tea research have been focused more on green tea. Scientists say that green tea is loaded with the compound epigallocatechin gallate or EGCG, which is a powerful antioxidant that fights harmful free radicals in the body.

Since the fermentation process used to make black tea converts EGCG into other compounds, researchers assumed that the health benefits of black tea were lesser compared to those of green tea. However, recent studies indicate otherwise.

The health benefits of black tea could be attributed to compounds contained in the drink. They’re called theaflavins and thearubigens and scientists say they can do more than contribute to the tea’s dark color and distinctive flavor.

They also provide the health benefits of black tea which were originally attributed solely to green tea. But before you start drinking black tea by the buckets, it’s important to remember research on the health benefits of black tea is still in the early stages.

“Although numerous observational studies have examined the relationships between tea consumption and the risks of cardiovascular disease and cancer, there is no conclusive evidence that high intakes of tea are protective in humans,” writes Jane Higden, a research associate with the Linus Pauling Institute, in a recent article.

For many decades now, extensive research has been done over tea – whether flavored black tea, oolong, green, or white tea. And those same research studies have confirmed that there are many health benefits associated with drinking green tea and its fermented cousin, flavored black tea.

Now, more than ever, people have come to realize that flavored black tea is more than just delicious tea, but something that has the potential to be a dietary regular as well.

Classic and endearing, the great thing about black tea is that it undergoes full oxidation (commonly called “fermentation”), and because of that, they are richer in color, flavor, and are higher in caffeine than any other tea.

They are also aromatic and spicy, truly appealing to your taste buds with its distinctive scent and flavor. Because of this, they are considered as the most popular teas out of all Asian tea types.

Black tea comes from the same plant, called Camellia sinensis, as green tea. The only difference between the two is how the leaves of the plant were processed. While black tea is first withered, rolled, fermented, then dried, green tea is merely mildly steamed, which accounts for its delicate taste and its rich antioxidant content.

It is said that the first tea originated in China some 4,000 years ago. The legend goes like this Chinese black tea:

Emperor Shen Nung in 2737 B.C. was boiling some water for drinking one day when some leaves of a nearby plant fell into his pot.

After drinking the beverage, the emperor became so enchanted by its delicious smell and taste that he began urging his people to drink it.

The plant of course is the common tea plant, Camellia sinensis. And drinking tea was soon elevated from just another normal everyday occurrence to an art form and a form of alternative medicine.

From that single drink, Chinese tea evolved into some 15,000 known varieties. Depending on how it is processed, tea falls loosely into six categories, white, yellow, green, oolong, red (known as black tea in the West), and Chinese black tea.

As implied from its name, brewed Chinese black tea ranges in color from a dark reddish brown to black. One of its unique characteristics is that it mellows with age and grows richer and deeper in flavor. You probably heard how wine becomes better with age. With Chinese black tea, you will experience the same thing.

The Chinese call it hong cha (red tea), but don’t let the name confuse you. China black tea couldn’t be any farther in both taste and color from what Westerners call “red tea” – roibboos tea.

Like all typical teas, China black tea comes from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant grown originally in the Yunnan Province of China and available only for export to the foreign markets.

Today, China black tea is still a favorite among tea drinkers, especially the English where black tea is constantly the main ingredient in English tea breakfast.

The Chinese call it hong cha because of the color of the infused liquid and the red edges of the oxidized leaves. At one time, it is said that China black tea was considered of lesser quality and not desired by the Chinese themselves, and was therefore exported.

This is probably why, to this day, black tea is what everyone outside of China thinks of when talking about tea, whereas, tea in China is understood to mean green tea. Regardless, the black teas of today have come a long way from being considered as low quality tea.