Tea is a remarkably complex beverage. The more you learn about tea, the more you begin to understand its depth — from plant variety and place of origin to processing method and flavour expression.
This note is designed to help you navigate the different types of tea you’ll encounter in at The Steepery Tea Co. It offers a clear foundation for understanding how tea is made and how each style differs, without overwhelming detail.
What Is Tea?
All true tea is made from a single plant species: Camellia sinensis, an evergreen shrub. There are two primary botanical varieties:
Whether you are drinking white, green, oolong, black, or dark tea, each is produced from this same plant. The differences between tea types arise from how the leaves are processed after harvest.
Throughout the site, you may see this referred to as pure leaf tea or leaf tea.
Tea, Tisanes, and Blends
Herbal infusions such as peppermint, chamomile, rooibos, and cinnamon are not tea. These are known as tisanes and are made from leaves, flowers, roots, seeds, bark, or fruit from plants other than Camellia sinensis. Most tisanes are naturally caffeine-free.
You may also encounter blended teas, which combine tea with botanicals, flavourings, or other ingredients. Understanding what’s in a blend is important, as additives and flavourings can vary widely.
Fermented beverages such as kombucha, kefir and jun, while tea-based, are produced using other methods such as microbial fermentation (SCOBY) and are not classified as tea or tisane.
One Plant, Many Types of Tea
All tea leaves begin their journey in a similar way. Once plucked, the leaves begin to wither and oxidise. It is the tea maker’s intervention at this stage — controlling oxidation, heat, rolling, and drying — that determines the final tea type.
My pure leaf tea range focuses on five traditional tea types.
White Tea
White tea is the least processed of all tea types. After harvesting, the leaves undergo a long, gentle withering process before being dried. White teas are often delicate, soft in texture, and subtly aromatic.
You may have also think immediately of tea with milk, thanks to our British tea drinking culture in Australia.
Green Tea
Green tea leaves are withered briefly, then heated to halt oxidation. The heating method varies by region and tradition. Generally speaking
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In Japan, leaves are typically steamed, resulting in greener, vegetal profiles.
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In China, leaves are often pan-fired, producing yellow-green dry leaves and a broader flavour range.
But with the world of tea, there are always exceptions!
Matcha is an infamous green powdered tea that starts life as a leaf tea but is carefully milled before being enjoyed traditionally suspended in small quantities of water. It is very hard to believe that when I started in the business over a decade ago I could hardly give matcha away.
Oolong (Wulong) Tea
Oolong teas are partially oxidised and carefully shaped through rolling or twisting. The degree of rolling, shaping and oxidation is determined by the tea maker and can vary widely.
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Lightly oxidised oolongs share characteristics with green tea
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Heavily oxidised oolongs display robust, deeper flavours closer to black tea.
A delightful tea type to dive into and my personal favourite for it's aromatic qualities and layers of flavour.
Black (Red) Tea
Black tea is fully oxidised. After withering, the leaves are rolled or processed (including cut-tear-curl or CTC methods) to expose the leaf cells to oxygen, developing darker colour and fuller flavour.
In China, this style is referred to as red tea, describing the colour of the brewed liquor rather than the dry leaf.
Dark Tea (Fermented Tea)
Dark teas undergo microbial fermentation after processing. This category includes pu’er tea, a Chinese specialty known for its ageing potential and evolving flavour.
Over the years my catalogue includes select fermented teas beyond pu’er, reflecting broader fermentation traditions encountered through study and sourcing.
