Black tea
Tea leaf that is rolled and left to oxidise until it turns dark. Black tea is the leaf of the Indian chai, as orthodox whole leaf or as CTC granules.
How Ayurveda reads black tea
- Part used
- Leaf, oxidised
Reviewed by the Vapika team.
In the tradition
Tea is not an Ayurvedic herb. The Assam variety of the tea plant grows wild in the forests of the north-east, where the Singpho people brewed it before the British found it in the 1820s and planted the first gardens in the 1830s. Chai with milk and spice became the everyday Indian drink only in the twentieth century.
Orthodox and CTC
Orthodox leaf is rolled whole, the traditional way, and brews a clearer, more aromatic cup. CTC (crush, tear, curl) leaf is cut into small beads that brew fast, strong and dark: most Indian chai is made with CTC.
How we read it
Because the classical texts don't describe tea, this page gives it no rasa, guṇa or vīrya. By taste, black tea is astringent and bitter.
How we use it
We sell Kadak Chai (CTC), Orthodox Assam Black Leaf Tea, and our Queen Blend leaf tea, and use black leaf tea as the base of our Chocolate Chai.
From the texts: Tea is not described in the classical Ayurvedic texts.
For learning, not diagnosis. If you are pregnant, nursing or on medication, please speak to your doctor first.