White Tea - From Fujian Province in China this tea is generally light, buttery, slightly nutty and sometimes offers notes of hay. It is delicious with buttered toast in the morning, or apple pie in the evening. Low in caffeine and high in antioxidants, white tea is named after the downy white hairs covering every leaf. Common White teas include Silver Needle and White Peony.

Green Tea - From China, Japan, or Korea, Green tea ranges in taste from grassy and oceanic, to bittersweet and nutty. Common green teas include Dragon Well, Bi Lo Chun, Ryokucha, and Gyukoro.

Black Tea: Black tea harks primarily from China and India, but there are now outposts in Japan now making special Japanese black tea. With more caffeine than green and white teas, black teas are also generally more astringent and known to have more floral, fruity and even smoky intense tastes. Common black teas include Keemun, Darjeeling, Assam, and Lapsang Souchong. What we know as “chai” (which really is just the international word for tea) is a blend of any black tea and Indian spices, mixed with milk and sugar and simmered for many hours.

Oolong Tea: Oolong tea is known as a “semi-oxidized” tea, and yields perhaps the widest range of flavors. Often favored by connoisseurs, oolongs range in flavor from grassy and light with notes of tropical fruit, to incredibly dark, roasted, and smoky. Because oolongs leaves are processed into twisted or rolled leaves, it allows for numerous infusions, the flavor evolving and blossoming into something unique with every steeping. Popular oolong teas include Monkey Picked Iron Goddess of Mercy, Wuyi, and Baochong.

Pu-erh Tea: The only tea to actually be fermented, pu-erh is also incredibly low in caffeine and is one of the earthiest, creamiest and richest brews around. With notes of forest floor, peat, and ocean brine, puerh is a great coffee alternative because of it’s dark, bittersweet notes. Puerhs are can be found in either loose leaf, or pressed into cakes called “beenchas.”

Herbal Infusions: Herbals are not tea and therefore don’t have any caffeine. Herbal infusions are delicious and widely varied, and include any infusion of dried roots, berries, citrus rinds, fruits, or herbal leaves such as mint. Popular infusions include blends of peppermint and lavender, orange rind and ginger, or rooibos a newly popular herbal from South Africa.

If you are looking to go out for tea, look no further. California has recently been named the “epicenter of the world’s tea cultures,” and for good reason. Nowhere else in the world can you find more tea establishments representing the world’s tea cultures including English, Chinese, Japanese, Moroccan, Taiwanese among others. Below is a list of places to visit. For more information, view the new tea guidebook by Jennifer Leigh Sauer, The Way to Tea.

places to enjoy tea
in the los angeles area

Chado Tea Room
Copper Kettle Tea Room
Tea Garden & Herbal Emporium
Urth Cafe
Scarlet Tea Room
The Four Seasons Tea Room

places to enjoy tea
in the san francisco bay area 

Far Leaves Tea
Imperial Tea Court
Leland Tea Company
Lovejoys Tea Room
Modern Tea
Poleng Tea Lounge
Red Blossom Tea Company
Samovar Tea Lounge
Tal-y-Tara Tea & Polo Shoppe
Teance
Urasenke Foundation San Francisco