It is believed that the best black teas in the world are Ceylon and Indian Assam and Darjeeling. However, tea is akin to grapes: even harvested on the same plantation at different times of the year, it may differ. Tasters also say that the best tea is tea grown in the bright summer sun, but a pure product is rare in this case, because sellers mostly mix teas from different plantations in order to get a good, but adequately priced, tea blend. Naturally, it is sometimes difficult for a non-tea expert to figure out which tea is worth buying in a store and which is not. How to choose the right drink for many, we will describe below.

Reading labels

By law, you can write on the package the phrase “Ceylon tea” only if the tea is completely from the plantations of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). If we are talking about a mixture, then it is allowed to reduce the amount of Ceylon tea to 50%, and if the percentage is indicated on the package, then this can be considered a sign of quality. Also, do not doubt the higher quality of tea by buying a product with a plantation number or name. Unscrupulous sellers do not consider it necessary to write on the label that there are other teas in the mixture besides Ceylon tea.

Evaluate the finished drink

Many people think that the cloudy foam that appears when brewing tea is a sign of poor quality, but this is not so: antioxidants, polyphenols and essential oils create such foam, which are just not found in cheap tea. The iridescent film on the surface of the drink is tannin, whose presence also indicates the good quality of the tea.

Avoid artificial flavors

Strongly flavored tea speaks of the poor quality of the raw materials: it is completely unprofitable for the manufacturer to use high-quality tea for its subsequent flavoring.

A few words about tea bags

In fact, production waste and “tea” dust are not added to the bags: tea bags are small tea crumbs, the so-called “seed”. It cannot be argued that large tea leaves are better than small ones, just the taste of tea from fine raw materials is more intense, since most of the break is in contact with water.

How to know about the quality of black tea?
How much black tea should be brewed?

Different black teas have different steeping times. If you are preparing Indian Darjeeling tea, then you will need 1, maximum 2 minutes. Assams, as a rule, brew for 2 minutes, because this tea is stronger, unlike gentle Darjeeling, in one minute it will not have time to reveal all its aroma and taste. Цейлонские чаи, сочетающие в себе крепость и сладость одновременно, рекомендуется держать 2-3 minutes.

Since black tea is a fermented tea, it is better to fill it with very hot water – 95 degrees.

With the right brewing time, tea leaves begin to release caffeine in addition to useful substances, and the drink will bring vivacity to those who drink it.

If you brewed tea longer than recommended, bitterness will appear in the tea, because tannin will get into the water, which, by the way, has a relaxing effect.

Where can I find quality black tea?

Real varietal black teas from India and Ceylon (Sri Lanka) can be found in the Tea Valley online store. All teas bear the names of the plantations on which they were grown – and this indicates a very high quality.

Choose high-quality black tea, because it is not only very tasty, but also beneficial for health and well-being!