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PS TeasLaugh. Love. Tea.

The six hubs

One plant. Five teas. And one imposter we are fond of anyway.

Green, white, oolong, black and pu-erh are all Camellia sinensis. What separates them is almost entirely what happens to the leaf in the hours after it is picked — how much it is allowed to oxidise, and how that oxidation is stopped. Herbal tea is a different thing wearing the same word.

  1. Green Tea

    Essentially none — oxidation is halted within hours of picking

    Picked, heated, stopped. The most studied tea in the world and the easiest one to ruin.

    Tastes like: fresh-cut grass, steamed greens, chestnut, seaweed

    Water
    175 °F
    Steep
    2 min
    Leaf / 8 oz
    2 g
    Caffeine
    20–45 mg
    Re-steeps
    2

  2. Black Tea

    Full — the leaf is rolled to break its cells and left to oxidise until it darkens completely

    Fully oxidised, forgiving, and the tea most of the world means when it says tea.

    Tastes like: malt, stone fruit, cocoa, honey

    Water
    205 °F
    Steep
    4 min
    Leaf / 8 oz
    2.5 g
    Caffeine
    40–70 mg
    Re-steeps
    1

  3. Oolong Tea

    Partial — anywhere from about 10% to 80%, which is why no two oolongs taste alike

    Partially oxidised, endlessly variable, and the category with the most to give per gram.

    Tastes like: orchid, gardenia, peach, butter cream

    Water
    195 °F
    Steep
    3 min
    Leaf / 8 oz
    3 g
    Caffeine
    30–55 mg
    Re-steeps
    5

  4. White Tea

    Minimal and unmanaged — withered and dried, with some oxidation happening naturally along the way

    The least processed tea there is — and the one whose reputation most outruns its evidence.

    Tastes like: honeysuckle, melon, hay, apricot

    Water
    185 °F
    Steep
    4 min
    Leaf / 8 oz
    3 g
    Caffeine
    15–40 mg
    Re-steeps
    3

  5. Pu-erh Tea

    Post-fermentation — microbial, ongoing, and in the case of raw pu-erh continuing for decades

    The only tea that is genuinely fermented by microbes, aged like wine, and traded like it too.

    Tastes like: wet forest floor, dark chocolate, dates, leather

    Water
    212 °F
    Steep
    3 min
    Leaf / 8 oz
    4 g
    Caffeine
    30–70 mg
    Re-steeps
    8

  6. Herbal Tea

    Not applicable — there is no Camellia sinensis leaf here

    Not tea at all, strictly speaking — and the category where health claims get loosest, so we are strictest.

    Tastes like: apple and hay (chamomile), sharp menthol (peppermint), sweet vanilla wood (rooibos), tart cranberry (hibiscus)

    Water
    212 °F
    Steep
    7 min
    Leaf / 8 oz
    2.5 g
    Caffeine
    None
    Re-steeps
    0