What is black tea?

紅茶ってなに？

This is the group of completely oxydized tea characterized by the dark color. In the western world, this tea is called "black tea". But in the eastern world including Japan, it is called "red tea" because of its reddish tint of its infusion.

When you pick a plant leaf and leave it for a while, the color of the leaf changes from vivid green to something yellowish. This is the oxydization, and it happens because of the enzymes in the plant leaf itself.

To make black tea, you let the enzyme do the work, but at the very controlled conditions. Black tea production is basically the continuous enzyme activation and oxydization processes.

Did you notice the flowery aroma of the black tea? This specific black tea aroma comes from withering, the first step of black tea production by letting leaves wither to be ready for the oxydization.