If you've visited our Soho or Pearl River Mart Foods stores lately, you know we have a wide selection of teas. While variety is certainly the spice of life, all the choices can be a little overwhelming. So we've broken down the basics right here.

Tea versus tisane

Teas are made from tea plants while tisanes are made from fruit, flowers, and roots. Tisanes are naturally caffeine free.

Types of tea

Teas differ due to the oxidation process. In oxidation tea leaves are exposed to the air to dry and darken. The more oxidized a tea is, the stronger. From strongest to lightest are black, oolong, green, and white. Then there's pu'erh tea, which is fermented.

Black tea

Black tea is the most oxidized and therefore the strongest. Varieties include lapsang souchong, which is smoked; golden monkey, so called for the leaves' resemblance to monkey paws; Yunnan gold tip, named for its place of origin and the color the leaves turn in the oxidation process.

Health benefits of black tea include:

• Antioxidants
• Possible anti-cancer effects
• Heart health
• Improved metabolism
• Gut health

Please note all black teas contain caffeine and should be consumed in moderation.

Caffeine content: High

Oolong tea

Translated from Chinese as "black dragon," oolong is less oxidized than black tea. Varieties include da hong pao or "big red robe," named for the attire of a legendary scholar who was given the tea by a generous monk; milk (also called jin xuan or "golden daylily"), which contains no milk but is named for its creamy flavor; tung ting or "icy peak," so called after the mountain on which it's cultivated.

Health benefits of oolong tea include:

• Lower risk of diabetes
• Heart health
• Reduced stress
• Improved sleep

Please note all oolong teas contain caffeine and should be consumed in moderation.

Caffeine content: Medium

Green tea

Green tea is less oxidized than black or oolong tea. Varieties include jasmine, in which the leaves are infused with fragrant jasmine petals; gunpowder, so called because of the tightly rolled leaves resembling tiny pellets; and genmaicha, a Japanese tea with roasted and popped kernels of brown rice.

Green tea is believed to have various health benefits. A large study in Japan showed a link between daily consumption of green tea and lower risk of death from cardiovascular diseases. Another Japanese study showed that "higher consumption rates of green tea were associated with a reduced risk of stroke." 

Green tea has also been shown to help regulate blood sugar levels, aid in digestion, and decrease inflammation in the skin.

Caffeine content: Medium-low

White tea

White tea still contains caffeine but the least of all the oxidized teas. A popular variety of white tea is mudan or peony, which is from Fujian province in China.

Potential health benefits of white tea include:

• Anti-inflammatory effects
• Lower risk of heart disease
• Reduced insulin resistance
• Better dental health

Caffeine content: Low

Pu-erh tea

Pu-erh tea is made by drying and fermenting tea leaves. The name pu-erh comes from a town formerly called Pu'er in Yunnan, China, and now called Ning'er. Pu-erh tea can be loose, in bags, or in compressed cakes.

Caffeine content: Medium