There are, literally, thousands of teas in the world. But as a subject of classification tea can be broken down into four main types: black, green, oolong and white.

Interestingly, all tea comes from the Camellia sinensis, an evergreen shrub that may grow up to 60 feet in the wild. When cultivated for harvest tea bushes are kept to a height of about three feet. There are over 3,000 varieties of tea, each with its own specific characteristics.

The naming and growing of teas has many similarities to wine. Just as Bordeaux wine is named after the Bordeaux region in France, Assam is named after the Assam region in India, and Keemun is named after the Keemun region of China. Like wine, where the tea is grown, climate, soil conditions, and how the tea is processed, determines the flavor characteristics.

Currently 2.5 million metric tons of tea leaves are produced each year throughout the world. Here is some more tea type information you may find helpful:

• Black tea is withered, fully oxidized and dried. Black tea yields a hearty, amber-colored brew. Some of the popular black teas include English Breakfast, and Darjeeling.
• Green tea skips the oxidizing step. It is simply withered and then dried. It has a more delicate taste and is pale green/golden in color. The first green tea was exported in 1611, when the Dutch East India Company established a factory on Japan's Hirado Island.
• Oolong tea, popular in China, is withered, partially oxidized, and dried. Oolong is a cross between black and green tea in color and taste.
• White tea is the least processed. A rare tea originally from China, White tea is not oxidized or rolled, but simply withered and dried by steaming.
• The main chemical substances in tea are essential oils, caffeine, and polyphenols (mistakenly known by many people as tannins).
• The essential oils give us the aroma of the tea, the caffeine stimulates the central nervous system, and the polyphenols account for the much-publicized antioxidant and anti-disease properties.
• Tea is not to be confused with herbal infusions. Herbal infusions are packaged like tea, infused like tea, and enjoyed like tea, however the herbs do not come from the Camellia sinensis bush and therefore are not teas. Herbal infusions are made of grasses like lemongrass, barks like cinnamon, fruits like orange peel, flowers like chamomile and hibiscus, and many other botanicals.