Perhaps youve never been a tea drinker before, but youve decided to give it a whirl. Or maybe you already drink standard varieties of tea, but youd like to try black tea for a change of pace. In any case, youre wondering how you should go about drinking this unusual full-bodied beverage. To begin with, you should be aware of the fact that tea aficionados around the globe tend to make tea in a similar way. Yet, it is true that certain methods of tea preparation may differ from country to country and from region to region.

Favorite Methods

For example, in India, black tea is often steeped with a combination of milk and hot water. In Great Britain and the rest of the United Kingdom, tea tends to be stepped quite strong, with milk or a sweetener such as sugar or honey added to enhance the taste. In the United States, its quite popular to microwave a cup of cold water in order to brew tea. However, it is a fact that many Americans are now opting for loose teas rather than tea bags.

What You Should Know About Black Tea

Black tea tends to vary in color from a shade of reddish brown to black. Interestingly enough, as black tea ages, it often becomes even more flavorful. In order to store black tea, you should place it in a location that is ventilated well, but you dont really have to worry about the temperature of the location. In general, black tea is formed into cakes that can be round, square, or tube-like. How black tea smells and tastes may depend largely on the location in which it was harvested. As a result, scent and flavor may vary significantly from region to region.

Black tea is known for its therapeutic benefits. For instance, fans of black tea in China tend to have little problem with cancer or other degenerative illnesses. In fact, they may have better overall health than non-tea drinkers.

Types of Black Tea

When thinking about buying black tea, it is important for you to know the varieties that are available. For instance, if youre interested in a high-quality tea, you might consider Keemun. This type of tea has a strong aroma and can be consumed with or without milk and sweetener. Another superior type is Darjeeling, an Indian tea that is known for its delicate taste. Meanwhile, Assam is a less spicy version of Keemun, but it is also known for its rich taste.

If youre interested in a Chinese black tea, you might consider Lapsang Souchong, which is characterized by an unusual smoky flavor. For a Chinese tea with a little bit of a kick, try Yunnan, which offers a hint of pepper.

If you prefer a lighter tea, the Indian Nilgiri may be best. However, be aware of the fact that Nilgiri requires expert steeping in order to achieve the right flavor.

Drinking Black Tea in Style

If you really want to drink black tea in style, you should consider indulging in it at a tea salon. Such salons are ever-present, not only in Chinese cities such as Beijing, but also in Taiwan. You should be aware of the fact that menus at tea salons tend to feature a range of items. In addition, the dcor can differ significantly from salon to salon.

For the people of the Orient, tea salons can be as trendy as Starbucks cafes are in the Western world. Salons tend to stay open late enough to accommodate late-night patrons. They are also a favorite of young people. Visit a tea salon in China and you may find dozens of different varieties of teas available. Some of the teas may have been aged two decades or more, causing them to have an especially appealing flavor. One Pu-erh tea is actually more than a century old and is considered a national treasure among the Chinese.

The tea salons of the Orient may also have a number of different sections, each reflecting a different kind of atmosphere. For instance, one section may be considered more or less a reading room, while another is best suited for playing games. As a result of this, tea salons are definitely classified as a destination location.

Fun Ways to Enjoy Black Tea

There are certainly other entertaining ways that you can enjoy black tea. For instance, you might consider holding a tea-tasting party where you invite a group of friends to sample various black tea delicacies. Or you can plan a meal from the country of origin of your favorite blend of black tea. In other words, the possibilities for enjoying black tea are limited only by your own imagination.

Once you make black tea a regular part of your diet, youll quickly discover that it may be able to soothe your nerves as nothing else can.

Jon Stout is Chairman of the Golden Moon Tea Company. For more information about tea, black tea and wholesale tea go to goldenmoontea.com

Green Tea And Healthy Tea Choices
Perhaps you have made it a goal to make your health a top priority this year. Did you know that regular tea drinkers lower their risk of cancer, coronary heart disease, stroke, and osteoperosis, as well as bacterial and viral infections?The health b...

Is Tea A Preventative Medicine?
No doubt you have heard that tea is a healthy alternative to other beverages we love to consume, but just how healthy is a cup of tea?Many studies suggest that tea drinkers have a lower risk for heart disease, strokes and high cholesterol. In fact, ...

Health Benefits - Does Black Tea Offers Less?
Black tea is the cup that cheers the most, hence it delivers the most. It is the tea that is consumed the most all over the world. There are chemicals in black tea that are equally beneficial to health. Lots of research has been done on black teas, t...

What is a Quality Black Tea Garden?
Black tea has helped to revolutionize the beverage market. Over the years, the exotic drink had become the worlds most popular tea. In fact, 80 percent of the tea consumed in the U.S. is actually of the black tea variety.Perhaps black tea is so po...

Discover Many Black Teas from Around the World
All over the world many people choose tea as their favorite drink. Whether green tea, china tea or black tea, water is the only thing we drink more of. There are over a thousand varieties of different teas from more than thirty countries, which means...

Is Tea Actually A Healthy Drink? Part 2
In my last article we put the theory of tea being a healthy drink to the test, and it passed with flying colors. Facts were presented, and the outcome was rather obvious. If you havent read my first article, you can read it here: http:///?Is-Tea-Actu...

Is Tea Actually A Healthy Drink?
Well.in short YES! But what does research have to say about this?Just recently studies from the top leading medical journals, institutions, and universities have put tea in a class by itself, saying that tea contains the potential to help prevent ca...

Uncover the Secrets Of Wu Long Tea
Wu Long tea, which is also called "black dragon tea", is within a group of teas that have a virtual mythical quality surrounding them. From the birth of their very existence which projects back to an ancient time in which tea was considered by most t...

Chinese Tea
China, in addition to being the homeland to the Han people and fifty-five other ethnic groups, is also the birth place for one of the worlds most consumed beverage- tea. Tea plants originated in China and were first used for medicinal purposes. It is...

A Peak Into the World of Tea
Tea now is the second most consumed drink in the world, only after water. Tea, especially green tea, can particularly provide people with many benefits such as reducing dental cavities, lowering the blood pressure, slowing the spread of breast cance...