Black Tea Recipes in Five Different Flavours

There are four different kinds of tea - black tea, green tea, white tea and oolong tea. India, China and Sri Lanka are the three main producers of black tea. Different types of black tea derive their names from the places where they are produced and also have different characteristics in texture and flavour depending on the areas and conditions they grow in. Black tea leaves are the fully oxidized form of green tea leaves, dried and further fermented. Hence black tea acquires its characteristic strong colour and flavour.

Varieties of Black Tea: Apart from Chinese black tea and Sri Lankan black tea, black tea is grown in a number of areas across the length and breadth of India. The two varieties of Indian black tea which has gained wide popularity are Darjeeling Tea and Assam Tea.

Benefits of Black Tea: Black tea is heavily oxidized than its other green or white counterparts and comes after green tea in terms of richness in antioxidant properties.

Recent studies in leading medical journals declare black tea a potential:

• heart tonic,
• cancer blocker,
• fat buster,
• immune stimulant,
• arthritis soother,
• virus fighter and
• cholesterol detoxifier

• Cut an inch long ginger into fine pieces or better grate the ginger into fine threads
• Boil two cups of water (with cover) along with the grated or finely cut ginger
• Turn off the heat, add two teaspoonfuls of any good brand of black tea leaves and cover the pot or pan
• Allow the tea to brew for 3-4 minutes
• With the help of a strainer, strain the tea into your favourite cups
• Enjoy the rejuvenating ginger-flavoured tea

Ginger tea is highly recommended when you are suffering from common cold, cough or sore throat, it will definitely relax you and relieve the discomfort in your throat. You may add sugar according to your taste, but it works best when served without milk.

• Take 4 pods of cardamom and with the help of mortar and pestle, grind into powder. Too much fine powder is not necessary, coarse powder will do as well, keep the green coatings aside
• Boil two cups of water (with cover) along with the powdered cardamom and the green coatings of cardamom pods
• Add two teaspoonfuls of any good brand of black tea leaves and allow to brew for 3-4 minutes (with cover)
• Strain the tea into cups
• Enjoy the cardamom-flavoured tea

Cardamom tea is also a good cure for sore throat and lung congestion conditions. You may add sugar according to your taste, but it works best when served without milk.

• Boil two cups of water (with cover) and two teaspoonfuls of sugar
• Add two teaspoonfuls of any good brand of black tea leaves and allow to brew for 3-4 minutes (with cover)
• Squeeze the juice of one lime into two separate cups (that means each cup gets half a limejuice)
• Strain the tea into the cups containing the lime juice and stir well, the colour of black tea lightens slightly
• Comfort yourselves in your favourite couch and enjoy the lemon tea

Lemon tea is refreshing and is bound to recharge your energies after a long day's work or a tiring journey. You may or may not add sugar, but I would prefer with sugar to minimize the tanginess of lime. Of course it should be served without milk.

• Boil two cups of water (with cover)
• Add two teaspoonfuls of any good brand of black tea leaves and add 2-3 fresh or dried basil (Tulsi) leaves into the boiled water
• Allow the tea to brew for 3-4 minutes (with cover)
• Strain the tea into cups
• The basil tea or tulsi tea is ready to drink!

Tulsi or basil tea is good for health as it is rich in antioxidants. You may add sugar according to your taste, but it works best when served without milk.

• Boil two cups of water (with cover) with two teaspoonfuls of milk (previously boiled) and two teaspoonfuls of sugar
• Add two teaspoonfuls of any good brand of black tea leaves and allow to brew for 3-4 minutes (with cover)
• Strain the milk tea into cups
• Drink your tea in Indian way, natives call it "chai"

Milk tea is very common and integrated with Indian culture. However a lot of reports say combination of milk with the compound tannin naturally present in tea forms the acidic compound called tannic acid, which might cause hyperacidity and gastric related problems in some people due to too much comsumption of milk tea. Nevertheless, trying once in a while will not cause any harm, it does have a rich aroma and will energize you.