Black Tea
Bold, malty and full-bodied. Fully oxidized leaves give black tea its deep colour and rich flavour, great with or without milk.
Black tea is fully oxidised, which turns the leaves dark and gives a full, robust cup with malty, sometimes fruity or smoky notes. It is the most widely drunk kind of tea in the world. Stands up well to a splash of milk.
- Water: 95-100°C
- Steep time: 3-5 min
- Caffeine: Medium-High
- Flavour notes: Malty, Robust, Fruity
- Goes well with: Scones, Shortbread, Fruit cake, Cheddar
Best known black teas
- Darjeeling First Flush (Darjeeling, India)
- Golden Yunnan Tips (Yunnan, China)
- Assam Tippy Golden (Assam, India)
- Earl Grey Supreme (Sri Lanka/Italy)
- Keemun Mao Feng (Anhui, China)
- English Breakfast (Blend - India/Sri Lanka/Kenya)
- Lapsang Souchong (Fujian, China)
- Ceylon Orange Pekoe (Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka)
- Darjeeling Second Flush (West Bengal, India)
- Darjeeling Autumn Flush (West Bengal, India)
- Sikkim Temi Black (Sikkim, India)
- Nilgiri Black (Tamil Nadu, India)
- Assam CTC (Assam, India)
- Masala Chai (India)
- Ceylon Dimbula (Dimbula, Sri Lanka)
- Ceylon Uva (Uva, Sri Lanka)
- Kenya Kericho (Kericho, Kenya)
- Rwanda Black (Rwanda)
- Malawi Black (Malawi)
- Jin Jun Mei (Fujian, China)
- Yunnan Dian Hong (Yunnan, China)
- Keemun Hao Ya (Anhui, China)
- Tan Yang Gongfu (Fujian, China)
- Taiwan Ruby 18 (Hong Yu) (Sun Moon Lake, Taiwan)
- Japanese Wakoucha (Kyushu, Japan)
- Nepal Ilam Black (Ilam, Nepal)
- Turkish Rize Çay (Rize, Turkey)
- Thai Tea (Cha Yen) (Thailand)
- Lady Grey (United Kingdom)
- Earl Grey Lavender (France)
- Russian Caravan (Russia)
- Irish Breakfast (Ireland)
- Scottish Breakfast (Scotland)
- English Afternoon (United Kingdom)
- Prince of Wales (United Kingdom)
- Black Tea (Worldwide)
- Keemun (Anhui, China)
- Yunnan Black (Dianhong) (Yunnan, China)
- Yingdehong (Guangdong, China)
- Zheng Shan Xiao Zhong (Fujian, China)
Brewing guides
- How to brew black tea: temperature, time and milk
- How much caffeine is in tea?
- How to store tea so it stays fresh
- How to cold brew tea