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RedSonGamble t1_j7rm46z wrote

It is funny how at least here whatever it is in a tea bag is called tea. Mint tea. Herbal tea. Sleepy tea. Regardless of if it has tea leaves in it.

But then idk what you would call it. Bag of mint leaves in boiled water

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gonejahman t1_j7rn6ke wrote

Wait until you find out about pickles and cucumbers

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jamescookenotthatone t1_j7rse3c wrote

If anyone is wondering, orange pekoe is not a special technique, it is a grade of black tea.

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Fearless-Golf-8496 t1_j7rudsp wrote

I... thought this was common knowledge? But then, I am British. Lapsang Souchong is made by rolling and drying tea leaves, placing them in bamboo baskets and smoking them over wood fires. Source: Taylors of Harrogate.

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hardly_trying t1_j7s2r1m wrote

Worked at a tea shop chain once and had to memorize a bunch of facts about the different types of tea and their benefits. Tea is wild, man. Loose leaf ftw

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[deleted] t1_j7s5vc7 wrote

Replying to gonejahman (#1,757,165)

Oh! This’ll be the fourth time I get to explain this on Reddit!

Cucumbers can be pickled, but the pickles you’re used to are actually separate varieties, not just small cucumbers. A raw pickle (like the california bush pickle for example) doesn’t actually taste the same as a cucumber, in my opinion.

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[deleted] t1_j7s7hlo wrote

Replying to Fearless-Golf-8496 (#1,758,011)

There’s a whole bunch of different varieties, gherkin is one. I’m actually pretty sure dill pickles are gherkins pickled with dill specifically, but I’m already the nerd correcting people about cucumbers vs pickles and I don’t need to get weirder right now.

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ffnnhhw t1_j7s8crf wrote

not just how they are processed

the same species of plant, but not the same variety

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dragoonts t1_j7saeav wrote

I can't wait to see the look on OPs face when he finds out veal is young beef and lamb is young mutton

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Afraid_Assistance765 t1_j7sbfe5 wrote

Camellia sinensis is a species of evergreen shrub or small tree in the flowering plant family Theaceae. Its leaves and leaf buds are used to produce the popular beverage, tea. A few years ago I actually found a local nursery that had some and bought 2 plants.

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Ethereal42 t1_j7sk3hl wrote

What until you hear about Olives, that's right, it's been an industry secret for decades. Black and green - same bloody thing. Google it if you don't believe me.

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draw2discard2 t1_j7swbzq wrote

Replying to ffnnhhw (#1,758,082)

There are differences based on varieties, and the soil where it is grown etc. but those differences are very small compared to whether it is simply dried (green tea) or fermented for various periods of time under different conditions (most other types of tea), smoked, etc.

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grieverx99 t1_j7t7ivk wrote

Not all teas rooibos come for a different plant

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strugglingtobemyself t1_j7tk542 wrote

Has anyone here ever heard of nabob tea? Can’t find it ever since my childhood

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Funny_stuff554 t1_j7u8ivd wrote

Wtf. So green tea and black tea basically are the same plant...

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science-i t1_j7uc2e7 wrote

Replying to draw2discard2 (#1,759,352)

Tea is only very rarely fermented (puerh and hei cha). It's allowed to oxidize to a greater or lesser extent, which is sometimes incorrectly called fermentation especially in older resources. Green tea is also not simply dried; in order to prevent the tea from oxidizing to make green tea, tea needs to be 'fixed', generally involving some kind of heat treatment; baking, pan-frying, etc.

I would also not say those differences are very small. Tea has the same kind of variation based on terroir that wine has, if not more. You might not be able to pick out specific notes (frankly I'm pretty bad at it myself) but there's a ton of variation within eg just black (red) tea or just green tea or just oolongs, such that if you were given two cups from different regions but prepared roughly the same it would be very clear that they were different. This is less pronounced with commodity grade tea (what you're likely to find in a tea bag) because it's intentionally blended to have a specific and consistent flavor profile.

All that said, the difference between black (red), oolong, yellow, white, green, and dark tea is absolutely one of processing not of variety or region. While certain varieties in certain regions are often used to make a specific kind of tea, they don't have to be, and having eg an oolong of a tea usually used to make green tea can be interesting.

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chunkybuttflake t1_j7uk523 wrote

So thats where oolongs name comes from in dragonball, neat.

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Picolete t1_j7urqdb wrote

Isnt Earl Grey also the same?

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hardly_trying t1_j7w7t5b wrote

Replying to Crosstitch_Witch (#1,765,185)

You can assure it's freshness by actually observing it and storing it properly. Also, you can dry out leaves that have been steeped once and reuse them. And bagged tea is typically ground and grainy. Loose leaf tea allows for pieces of fruit, flowers and whole spices. (I'm talking actually pieces of star anise and all spice, etc.) Finally, traditional teas from the cultures where tea leaves are grown are almost always loose leaf (or loose powder, for matcha) and they were designed to be best experienced in that form.

Also, if you enjoy tea, eventually invest in an electric kettle. None of this heating a mug in the microwave nonsense. Or, heavens forbid, do not BOIL a bag of black tea on the stove. It makes the tea gods sad.

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Crosstitch_Witch t1_j7wbfyg wrote

Replying to hardly_trying (#1,765,292)

Apparently, i am a heathen who has probably been causing the tea gods severe depression because i do both of the things you said not to do. Lol I've never had loose leaf before, it always seemed like a hassle to get into, but I'm also a very lazy person.

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hardly_trying t1_j7wca8k wrote

Replying to Crosstitch_Witch (#1,765,519)

Its understandable. I was raised in the Southeast US and I have seen/done my share of tea sins before I was aware. lol. Really, just a kettle and a little metal steeper are all you need. Use a tsp or so of tea and don't let it steep more than 2-3 minutes. Sweeten as desired.

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Crosstitch_Witch t1_j7wdlay wrote

Replying to hardly_trying (#1,765,559)

Yes, i am South US and southeners really like to do things the easy way, it becomes a bad habit that's hard to break. I may get into it, I'd have to get all the things though. I just found out there's a tea bar not too far from me that uses loose leaf tea too, so maybe i can try some there as well.

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hardly_trying t1_j7we3hf wrote

Replying to Crosstitch_Witch (#1,765,626)

Pricing may scare you at first! Just remember you only need a couple of ounces to begin with and you can get 2-3 steepings out of a single tsp of high quality leaves. So, you'll get 15-30 cups out of that two ounces.

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Nard_Bard t1_j7wju12 wrote

Green and Red Bell peppers are the same plant, just harvested at different stages.

Theres a reason you rarely see "Roasted green peppers". It's because the green ones are not as ripe as the red ones.

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draw2discard2 t1_j7wx3ne wrote

Replying to klusterdas (#1,764,603)

"Tea" is used for basically any infusion with leaves and hot water even though these are not all tea. Chamomile tea, herbal tea, fruit tea are not tea but referred to as tea. A tricky one is "red tea" which people often think is just another color like green or black or white, while it is actually just a wild plant from South Africa (roibos) that isn't tea at all but is used as tea.

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