Both green tea and black tea come in different varieties, usually based on geographic regions like coffee varietals are. In black teas, you can find Assam, Nilgiri, Darjeeling and the smoky Lapsang Souchong. In green teas, varieties are named both for their growing regions but also for the form of tea. Chinese teas are named for places like Luo Chun and Longjing, but Japanese teas include matcha (finely ground tea) or sencha (the usual green tea).Green tea and black tea are only 2 varieties, but not the only ones. Oolong tea is processed somewhere between black and green, and white tea means only the very youngest leaves have been harvested. Red tea (more often called Rooibos tea), is actually an herbal tea that comes from a completely different plant.There are a number of other terms for tea that can add to the confusion for anyone not that familiar with all the kinds of tea. Orange Pekoe is a grade or quality of tea, not a type or a flavor. It gets confusing because Earl Grey tea does have a citrus flavor to it, and it is a very popular tea. People mistake the labeling.And on the subject of mistaking types of tea, chai is also not a type of tea but a particular style or recipe for preparing it. Usually made from black tea, chai is steeped with spices like cloves, ginger, cinnamon and many others to make a very fragrant cup of tea. In some countries, this is the typical way to drink tea and it's gaining in popularity in North America as well.
