Tea Time!

It's a real fancy looking at how tea is packaged. Knowing that tea comes as Tea bags, Pyramid tea bags, Loose tea, Compressed tea, Instant tea, and Canned tea. A beginner would say, "What is this? What's it like?" or "What do I choose from here?" Don't worry. All of them can give you as much pleasure as the other. You just have to choose any. Considering you don't know what they are exactly, I'm going to lay them down for you, one by one, in words.

But, first, let me tell you something about tea. Tea is a product of a processed Camellia sinensis leaves by way of oxidation. There are many kinds to choose from: there's the Black tea, Oolong tea, Green tea, White tea, Yellow tea, Post-fermented tea and those blended and flavored teas. Each of them has undergone different processing and so each of them smells, tastes and feels different.

Moreover, to introduce you to the vast world of tea, the aforementioned kinds have subtypes. For Black Tea (that which has undergone a more extensive oxidation processing than oolong, green, and white tea) there's: Assam, Bohea, Ceylon, Darjeeling, Dian Hong, Keemun, Lapsang souchong, Nepalese, Nilgiri, Orange pekoe, Red tea, Tibeti, Turkish, and Ying De Hong;

Oolong tea (a curled an twisted kind, withered under the scorching sun): Bai Ji Guan, Red Robe, Darjeeling Oolong, Dongding (Tung-ting), Dong Fang Mei Ren, Huangjin Gui (Golden Osmanthus), Qilan tea, Pouchong, Rou Gui, Shui Jin Gui, Shui Hsien (Shui Xian), Tie Luohan, and Tieguanyin (Iron Goddess);

Green Tea (that which has undergone the least fermentation): Aracha, Bancha, Green Spiral, Chun Mee, Da Fang, Genmaicha, Liuan Leaf, Gunpowder, Gyokuro, Hojicha, Hou Kui, Huang Shan Mao Feng, Hyson, Kabusecha, Kamairicha, Konacha, Kukicha, Dragon Well, Matcha, Mao Jian, Mecha, Meng Ding Gan Lu, Sencha, Shincha, and Tamaryokucha;

White tea (comes from the dainty buds and immature leaves of the Camellia sinensis, which are not allowed to wilt under the gaze of the sun to prevent extensive fermentation): Bai Hao Yinzhen, Bai Mu Dan, Darjeeling White, Shou Mei, and White monkey paw;

Yellow tea (allowed to stay and yellow due to the slow drying stage, processed not far from that of the Green Tea): Junshan Yinzhen and Huoshan Huangya;

Post-fermented tea (that which undergoes "aging" for several months to even a number of years as exposed to the open to progress it to be more oxidized): Puerh; and for those blended and flavored teas (those that are a combination of two or more kinds of tea to produce one): Earl Grey, English Breakfast, Irish Breakfast, Jasmine tea, Masala chai, and Russian Caravan.

To add more to your interest tea has benefits for your health.

You must already have in mind the exact kind of tea that you either want or need, most probably, by name or description. Whichever interests you will benefit you in some specific ways. But, still, how would you want to take it?

So you can choose between Tea bags, Pyramid tea bags, Loose tea, Compressed tea, Instant tea, and Canned tea. Through picking, withering, bruising, fermentation, fixation, sweltering, shaping, drying, and aging, in any way at all, the end product comes in the packages aforementioned.

Tea bags are tea containers that have a bag shape, are silk and has a drawstring. When used, it is dipped in hot water and the essence of the tea diffuses, flowing with the water thus adding taste and making flavored water. Tea bags are, more often than not, reused for a number of times until everything has been had. Because it is most convenient, it is somewhat most preferred, in a way. To point out a historical mark, the Tea Bag was noted to have been used in the year 1907, distributed by Thomas Sullivan, an American tea seller. It wasn't really much recognized for how it was used until sometime later on. It reached the mainstream during the times of World War II where it was made as means of food and much later on, year 1953, the Tetley tea manufacturers brought it into the United Kingdom.

Pyramid tea bags, with its unique shape, lets the contents expand more, thus allowing more taste to be had. In 1996, it was first introduced by the Lipton and PG Tips brand, called — more often than not — sachet.

Loose tea, gunpowder tea, is packed into canister containers, ready to be had via infusion bags, strainers, filtered teapots, and tea presses. These are usually available in aluminized containers that are kept or sold individually.

Compressed tea, also called "tea bricks", is a jam-packed type of tea. These are blocks of post-fermented tea, green tea or black tea. They pressed, compressed tightly, making a brick form. Used in by the ancient Chinese, and even up to present time, compressed tea as beverage can be consumed by grinding, whisking and toasting.

First introduced by Nestea, Instant tea is a far more convenient approach to tea consumption. Best of all, this instant tea does not require one to have boiling water. True that iced was first commercialized in the year 1953, but, to date back to its origin, it was first made during the 1930s and by 1946 Nestea introduced the first instant tea.

Canned tea is a rather ready-to-drink kind of tea, by means of "canning" — preservation via air-tight container. Despite the lack of freshness and cost in shipment, this here Canned Tea is far more convenient than the other types merely because there is no preparation time at all. You just open it and have yourself a refreshing drink. The types would be Oolong, Black and Green Tea and is most appealing.

Whether you're from Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, or Australia, tea is most welcome in your home. You can have it with friends, family and other — basically everybody — in any way you'd prefer it. It can be by Tea bags, Pyramid tea bags, Loose tea, Compressed tea, Instant tea, or Canned tea. You name it.