Black tea Black tea Black tea is a type of tea that is more oxidized than oolong, green, and white teas. Black tea is generally stronger in flavour than the less oxidized teas. All four types are made from leaves of the shrub (or small tree) "Camellia sinensis." Two principal varieties of the species are used – the small-leaved Chinese variety plant ("C. sinensis" var. "sinensis"), used for most other types of teas, and the large-leaved Assamese plant ("C. sinensis" var. "assamica"), which was traditionally mainly used for black tea, although in recent years some green and white teas have been produced.
History of tea "Camellia sinensis"—the area including the northern part of Burma, and Yunnan and Sichuan provinces of China. Yunnan Province has also been identified as "the birthplace of tea...the first area where humans figured out that eating tea leaves or brewing a cup could be pleasant." Fengqing County in the Lincang City Prefecture of Yunnan Province in China is said to be home to the world's oldest cultivated tea tree, some 3,200 years old. According to "The Story of Tea", tea drinking likely began in Yunnan province during the Shang Dynasty (1500 BC–1046 BC), as a medicinal drink. From there, the drink