TEAS

For a full list of our teas, please contact Tea At The White House directly.

All teas come from the same bush-Camellia Sinensis. Where it is grown and how the leaves are handled after plucking determines what kind of tea they will become. Tea is made from the leaves and leaf buds. Teas processed from just the leaf buds are the rarest and finest.

Black Tea - After picking, the leaves are spread out on vast trays in airy shaded rooms for up to 24 hours to wither. The next stage is "rolling", either by machine, or in the case of the finest teas, by hand. The rolling starts the process of oxidation or fermentation causing the leaf to turn a coppery orange color. During fermentation the classic characteristic of the individual tea develops. Black tea constitutes about 95% of the world's tea production.

Green Tea - Green teas are neither withered nor fermented but rather the freshly picked leaves are steamed and then quickly dried which prevents the leaves from going brown. As a result of this process vs. the black tea process, the health benefits of green teas are beginning to be recognized. Because Green tea is unfermented it is high in Vitamin C , rich in fluoride and contains a number of Vitamin B's including niacin, folic acid, pantothenic acid, and riboflavin . Recent research suggests that green tea might be helpful in protecting against heart disease and certain cancers.

Specialty Blended Teas-These teas are blends from various estates and regions such as Assam, Darjeeling Sro Lanka, Taiwan and Kenya. One reason that we often see blends is that quite often a specific estate does not produce sufficient quantity of the quality that a tea merchant is looking for.

Decaffeinated Tea- What sets the decaf teas we sell apart from others? Our tea merchants insist on using only Top quality teas, but more importantly their process is free of chemicals. They do not use normal Decaf agents (methylene chloride, or ethyl acetate), but rather they use what we term Canadian Chemical free CO2: carbon dioxide gas. Thus this tea tastes better and does not have residual chemical levels.

Premium Flavored Tea- What makes flavored tea so special? Our tea merchants only use HIGH GROWN Ceylon tea as their base which gives a lovely bright refreshing look when brewed. They then add only NATURAL FLAVORS which impart a clean, true taste without a chemical aftertaste.

Herb & Fruit Tea - These teas (a misnomer since "tea" comes from the Camellia Sinensis family and Herb & Fruit teas contain NO Camellia Sinensis) are a blend of dried fruits and natural flavors. These products have a terrific taste and aroma. They are sensational hot or as iced tea.

Herbal Tea/Tisanes (caffeine free)- Herbal Tisanes are favorites with those who eschew caffeine. In recent years these infusions have earned a reputation for being healthier and more wholesome tan either tea or coffee and, as such, have been given poetic names. These simple infusions satisfy the taste buds with their unique flavors, and soothe some ills.

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