Black tea

The most well-known, but newest type of tea in the world is black tea. Black tea should correctly be called "red tea", as that is the name in Asian languages, for example Hongcha in Chinese. The origin of the term black tea is probably oolong tea, which means "black dragon tea". Before the invention of black tea, the British and other Europeans imported oolong from Wuyishan in addition to green teas, which they called Bohea Black Tea. The first black teas appeared on the tea markets there around 1730, and were made from a simplified, less complex oolong process. The term black tea was probably adopted for this new tea processing method. In China, there are spring and autumn harvests, in India even three or more harvests per year. The freshly picked leaves are first laid out to wither, usually indoors. The biochemical processes during withering enable regular oxidation later on. In the second step, the leaves are rolled and kneaded to break open the cell structure of the leaves so that the leaf enzymes can oxidise the ingredients, i.e. combine them with atmospheric oxygen. This process is commonly, but incorrectly, called fermentation. It takes place in closed chambers where a controlled hot and humid climate is created, which accelerates and maintains oxidation. Finally, the teas are rolled and dried for shaping. Depending on the quality, black teas are processed more mechanically or more by hand. Cheap black teas are always made from blended leaves, while fine qualities are whole-leaf teas. The former accelerates oxidation, the latter makes them more refined but more difficult to handle. Basically, a distinction must be made between Indian and Chinese black teas.