Video:Find the Right Tea for You

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Transcript:Find the Right Tea for You

Hi! I'm Annelies Zijderveld with Mighty Leaf Tea for About.com Food, and today I'm going to show you how to select the perfect cup of tea.

Using Whole Tea Leaves

First, a perfect cup of tea would start with whole tea leaves. Your tea will only be as good as the ingredients being infused and whole tea leaves are the best.

Consider Your Favorite Tastes

Next, let your palate be your guide. I believe there is a tea out there to suit every palate, so as you taste tea, keep in mind what kind of notes you are tasting that you enjoy. Some examples include:

• Fruity
• Earthy
• Nutty
• Floral
• Malty
• Roasted

Selecting Herbal Teas

Next, consider caffeine. You will be the best judge of what level of caffeine you prefer Perhaps you enjoy drinking tea right before bed or to relax. You could even be avoiding caffeine altogether. If this is the case, you will most likely want to select an herbal infusion such as chamomile citrus with its bouquet of citrus notes.

Herbal infusions are generally naturally caffeine-free and composed primarily of herbs, chunks of fruit, flowers and spices. Since there is no tea in them, it is a misnomer to call them herbal teas. The French call them tisanes, which in English translates to infusion.

Selecting Green and White Teas

Maybe you like a little caffeine or would prefer to drink your tea in the afternoon. If this is the case, I would suggest trying white or green teas. These two types of tea have become quite popular in the past few years because of their high antioxidant content and low caffeine.

White teas are quite delicate but can have some amazing vegetal notes, like this white peony with its artichoke undertones. If you're new to green tea, you may want to try one that has fruit blended in like this green tea tropical, with guava and pineapple notes. If you are trying to minimize your coffee intake, perhaps a nice roasted Japanese green tea like this organic hojicha might be more your thing.

Drinking Black Teas

But let's say you like to drink your tea in the morning or look for more of a caffeine lift, steer toward black tea. There are many different variations on black tea, but there are two main categories. Classic black teas are just tea leaves with nothing added in. Many purists enjoy the nuttiness of a classic Chinese tea like this Yunnan with its chocolate undertones or the floral aroma and fruity muscatel flavor profile of this Darjeeling from India.

Scented or flavored black tea means that they have fruit, flowers, spices or herbs blended into them to impart flavor such as this orange dulce, a combination of Ceylon black tea leaves scented by jasmine blossoms, orange and vanilla notes.

In essence, the perfect cup of tea is as individual as the person drinking it. So, have fun experimenting and try different teas until you find the one that resonates, turning you from a tea novice into a tea connoisseur.

Thanks for watching. To learn more, visit us on the web at food.about.com.