There is black tea, yellow tea, green tea, white tea, red tea, blue tea and rooibos. What exactly is the difference between the individual types of tea and from which plant are they made?

 

White tea, yellow tea, green tea and black tea are brewed from the same plant, i.e. from the leaves or flowers of Camellia Sinensis. The difference lies in how the leaves are processed from which the tea is brewed. This means that after the parts of the plant have been harvested, they can be processed into any of these types of tea. Generally, the tea varieties got their names (at least in the western world) from the colour of the dried tea leaves.

White tea is the least treated during processing, so it is largely natural. For white tea, the leaves and flowers are not oxidised, thus retaining their natural antioxidants. However, the result is a weaker brew; white tea contains the least aroma, colour or caffeine. The plant parts are left to wilt in natural sunlight so that the dried leaves and flowers show fine whitish hairs, which is where the tea gets its name. White tea tastes slightly sweet or fruity.

Green tea is slightly oxidised, either by steaming or roasting. The process gives the tea more flavour and develops caffeine. Its aroma is very herbal and earthy with a slightly sweet nuance. The slight oxidation gives the green tea a strong, green-yellow colour. Only the leaves of the tea plant are used for processing into green tea.

Black tea is more oxidised than green tea and therefore has the strongest aroma and colour and contains the most caffeine.

Blue tea is not made from Camellia Sinensis, but from flavourful blue Butterfly Pea Flowers. Blue tea has a rich flavour and has a regenerating effect. It has a slightly bluish colour. It contains no caffeine and is medicinally valuable.

Yellow tea is made by withering the leaves in a pile until they turn yellow. Yellow tea usually has a rather weak aroma and is the least known. 

Red tea refers to a drink made from a different plant, not the tea plant. Red tea, also called rooibos or redbush, comes from South Africa and is produced from the leaves of the bush Aspalathus linearis. The bush itself is not red, but rather yellowish, but the brew made from the needle-like leaves has a reddish colour. Rooibos contains no caffeine and can contain up to ten times as many antioxidants as conventional tea.