From the oolong and green teas of Asia to the black and white teas of Europe, there are many different types and subtypes of tea. The world of tea is as complex and expansive as that of coffee or wine, so finding a favorite among all available teas may be difficult. Some teas are fussy and difficult either to prepare or to obtain, but not all. Your favorite may be among the cheaper, more flavorful variations of tea, but you need a place to start.

If you want to become such a tea aficionado as to know which tea is your favorite, then you need a starting place. Where will your tea career start? What are you going to knock back first, and what are you going to brew first? What do you want tea to do for you, and how do you think it will improve your life? First of all, tea can do much for you such that you might buy tea gifts for friends.

There are health benefits. Lots of teas have antioxidants. Are you looking for that? How about strong tea? Do you want your tea to be strong, like white tea, or mild, like green tea? You may also be looking for caffeine. Many turn from coffee to tea in interest of dental health and less stress. While there is plenty of caffeine in coffee, a lot of it can just stress us out instead of giving us energy.

Tea’s caffeine kick is much less significant, and there are so many health benefits to tea as to make it almost inherently healthier than coffee. Certainly, tea is worlds healthier than expensive and sugary espresso drinks. Other teas have no caffeine and are great for relaxing at the end of a stressful workday. The last but not least immediate factors might be price and quality. Are you drinking your tea on a budget? For what quality will you settle?

1.Mild Versus Strong

The most flavorful teas of all are generally divided into these two categories. Unsurprisingly, one of the most flavorful mild teas is a black tea known as golden monkey tea. It is a high-quality Chinese tea that is very rare in part due to its lack of popularity in the west. However, because it is not popular outside of China, it is pretty inexpensive.

Another excellent mild tea is a white tea called white hair silver needle tea. Tea experts consider it among the mildest teas in existence, regarding it as the highest-quality white tea. Similar to golden monkey tea, it is affordable in spite of being high-quality.

Let us move onto stronger teas whose flavor profiles tend to be more bitter. There is a Japanese green tea called sencha, which has a lot of the distinct green tea flavor that pervades across Japanese snacks and candies. Also, there is a Chinese black tea whose flavor is strong enough to rival coffee’s: lapsang souchong. It presents a nearly smoky flavor that drinkers either love or hate. Still, if you are already a coffee drinker or an IPA drinker, then bitterness and smokiness should not faze you too much.

2.Relaxing Versus Stimulating

Some turn to herbal tea, such as chamomile, for purposes of winding down, while others enjoy conventional black and breakfast teas as part of a morning routine or commute. Relaxing tea options do not begin and end with chamomile. Jasmine tea is particularly effective in terms of relaxation. Jasmine teas can be green or white, but both options offer soothing and mellow flavors. Green jasmine teas are also fairly inexpensive.

Options with a modicum of caffeine include big red robe tea, a Chinese oolong tea from a province whose oolong plants necessarily have less caffeine than other oolong plants. Generally speaking, oolong teas owe their low caffeine content to the fact that oolong leaves are roasted to produce the tea.

Teas with a lot of caffeine are among teas this article has already covered, namely the mild teas, golden monkey and white hair silver needle. This is because stronger teas have their caffeine burnt away during the preparation process. Still, green tea can be just as electrifying as black or white tea, especially matcha tea. Matcha tea is such a high-caffeine form of green tea because no leaves get left behind during the process of harvesting the tea from field to bag.

3.Pricing

In general, black teas are cheapest. They are the most flavorful and the most common. Green teas are not far behind, as one can always enjoy a cup of green tea in any Asian restaurant. Green teas are also very common across Asia, naturally. White and oolong teas are a bit more novel than green and black teas, but that is it.