A CUP OF TEA :

The folllowing inroduction, just to clarify what we talk about :

For ages no word has been more often misused as « Tea »

Under « Tea » the « Larousse » says with great wisdom 1 ; roasted tea leafs after plucking ( green tea) or after a slight fermentation ( black tea). 2 ; the infusion made from it.

This very short definition is quite right.  It gives you a precise information while most people use complicated, inaccurate vocabulary. 

As soon as the tea leaf is plucked from the tea bush, it goes by the name of tea

The green tea leaf undergoes several treatments . After fermentation, and firing, it is called BLACK tea.

In case the tea leaf doesn’t undergo any fermentation, it is called GREEN tea.

Depending on whether the tea undergoes fermentation or not,  any  kind of tea may be made into black or green tea.

As a result, it is a mistake to say « a green tea »  without further specifying its kind or origin.

Only  the chinese GU ZHANG MAO JIAN, chinese SENCHAS and japanese SENCHA FUKUJU feature the virtues most people associate with green teas.

Peppermint, Lime blossom, camomile, verbena are HERBAL TEAS, and have nothing to do with Black or green tea.