Earl Gray Tea vs Black Tea: Similarities and Difference

by Nilam Kumari Digital Marketing Consultant

Black tea is the most popular type of tea out there. Many questions arise when we talk about Black tea and Earl gray tea as two individual types of tea. Many people assume they are the same.

If we talk in general black tea is the major categorization and Earl gray tea fall more into the subcategory of Black tea. They both are different due to the difference in their processing. They both originate from the same plant but the process of making separates them quiet a bit. Lets’ know about these in detail.

What is Black tea?

Black tea can be called the authentic form of tea with no additional flavors to it. They originate from the leaves of the Camellia Sinensis plant. What makes Black tea different from all others is the way it is processed during production.

The tea leaves are allowed to oxidize completely and then they are heat-processed and dried. The oxidation process turns the leaves into rich dark brown to black in color.

Among the teas, black tea has the highest amount of caffeine contained in it. Average caffeine contains is said to be between 14 to 61 mg.

This happens in the oxidation process of the tea leaves. The black tea has its own unique flavor. This can be described as earthly, malty, and smoky. The tea leaves are plucked from the gardens and then rolled in a variety of ways to bruise the leaves and start oxidation. This creates color and flavor. Then they are fired to stop the oxidation and then graded for quality.

Black tea is grown in four major different parts of the world. They are Assam, Darjeeling, Ceylon, and Kenyan.

Assam region is the largest tea-growing region in the world. Most of the tea grown is done for exports around the nation and worldwide.

Black tea from the gardens of Darjeeling is a softer and more herbaceous black tea. Darjeeling is often termed as India’s base for the most spiced beverage Chai.

Ceylon and Kenyan black tea are produced in Sri Lanka and Kenya respectively. Ceylon black is one of the largest exports from Sri Lanka. Kenyan tea originated around the 1900s. They have grown faster and are now among the largest tea exporters from Africa. 

What is Earl Gray Tea?

Earl Gray is prepared by a lot of different processes than any other tea. Many say that they are a form of black tea as it is mostly made by adding flavors and processing the black tea. But it is not completely true. They can also be made using green, white, or oolong tea.

Earl Gray tea is termed flavored tea and it has a very unique taste. It is because the Earl Gray tea is flavored with essential oils or peels of bergamot, which is a small orange or any citrus oil.

In most instances, the oil used is from the bergamot fruit but it can also range from Italian green citrus. The citrus gives the tea a very airy and delicate flavor.

For the creation of Earl Gray tea, different productions will use a different recipe. This is the specialty of Earl Gray tea. They are different and full of flavors.

There are many twists recipes of Earl Gray tea around. It is prepared from black,  green, white, or oolong tea; depending on the maker's choice.

They have less amount of caffeine present in Earl Gray tea compared to the black tea. The caffeine content is up to 30mg.

Earl gray tea has an amazing antioxidant quality which is believed to be helpful in supporting heart and health. It prevents some cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure.

Most Earl gray tea is made from the base of Black tea. The difference originates in the addition of flavors. The citrus flavor is the major differentiative quality between the both.

Try now both the flavors of tea directly from the hilly tea gardens of India. Get a cup of healthy drink every morning and have a fresh and healthy of your day.

 

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Created on Mar 4th 2022 00:58. Viewed 84 times.

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