If a cup of tea is your go-to beverage for warming up, preparing for the day or relaxing, then surely, it has been your handy companion during this season of relentlessly heavy rains.

A cup of tea with a golden spoon — **Image courtesy of Terri Cnudde from Pixabay**

There are thousands of different teas to pick from, although, traditionally, there are just three categories of teas which are: black tea, oolong tea, and green tea. Each differs from the other in taste, flavour, caffeine levels, and even the mode of preparation.

Black tea has a bold flavour and is a great accompaniment to creamy and sweet foods. Green tea isn’t oxidized and is commonly used for its purported health benefits. Oolong tea is somewhere between black and green tea. It’s partially oxidized and fermented, which brings out a deep, complex flavour and aroma.

Oolang tea can be a luxury tea — **Oolong tea is somewhere between black and green tea. Image courtesy of Organic Facts**

Whatever type makes your cup, here are 10 luxury tea types you should look up this season.

Earl Grey Tea

It’s a very bright and refreshing tea that’s popular in the West. The earl grey tea has a citrus flavour that arises from the addition of synthetic bergamot oil. Bergamot is a bright orange fruit originally from the Mediterranean that gives the drink a fruity aroma while the taste excites the taste buds. Because earl grey is a black tea, it has caffeine levels similar to black teas.

Masala Chai

Masala Chai (ginger spiced tea) is another afternoon tea, made using black tea spiced with ginger. This is an evening tea, enjoyed with delicious snacks. Its popularity originates from India, where the preparation involves a few other methods. For example, you can add milk to it, use jaggery, or put some cane sugar.

Korean Yuzu Tea

Luxury yuzu tea — **Korean yuzu tea. Image courtesy of My Korean Kitchen**

Korean Yuzu tea is a traditional Korean beverage whose main ingredient is the Yuja fruit. The Yuja fruit is a citrus fruit almost similar to a lemon, with the ripest being orange in colour. With honey as the sweetener, it’s a healthy herbal tea for the treatment of colds and flu. Besides the ability to help with digestion problems, it’s generally a very tasty drink. It’s preferably taken in the morning and during winter.

Nettle Tea

Having an itchy skin after touching the stinging nettle is only one side of the coin. Otherwise, nettle is one of the best herbal infusions in tea. It improves the general wellness of the body. Some of the health benefits of nettle tea include providing folic acid, iron, magnesium, calcium, amino acids, and antioxidants. While you can make multiple cups of teas in a day, you shouldn’t exceed four cups of nettle tea daily. Apart from the herbal benefits of nettle tea, it’s a warming drink.

Pu-erh Tea

Pu-erh tea is a tea that’s both fermented and oxidized. It has a deep espresso flavour and traditionally used to wash down heavy meals. Like green tea, its production involves ripening by using heat and moisture. Good quality pu-erh tea tastes slightly sweet and smooth. It tastes bitter with age. Therefore, when you are done having a heavy meal in the evening, pamper yourself with a glass of Pu-erh tea.

White Tea

Also known as the withered leaves and buds, white tea is sourced from young, springtime tea. This makes white tea more expensive than the other teas. When brewed, it has a floral fragrance and the colour is gold. It has a very delicate flavour. If not well brewed, its taste isn’t very pleasant. The tea isn’t allowed to undergo oxidation. Therefore, it’s a healthy drink.

And when finally, the rains give way to the blazing sun, these may come in handy

Raspberry Iced Tea

Raspberry luxury tea — **Raspberry tea. Image courtesy of Larisa Koshkina from Pixabay**

For a hot summer afternoon, enjoy a cup of chilled Raspberry iced tea. It’s a summertime drink prepared by blending two elements; sweet tea and an infusion of raspberries. Both black and green teas combine to make the sweet tea.

Mint Tea

Categorized more as a herbal tea than a spiced tea, this is a type of spiced tea. It’s primarily a decoction of mint leaves. It contains honey as a sweetener instead of sugar and is preferably taken in hot afternoons. It has a very refreshing taste. Since mint tea is a cooling drink, it tastes better when served cold and is popular in Morocco.

Iced Oolong Tea

Luxury iced Oolang tea — **Iced Oolong tea. Image courtesy of Flickr**

Oolong teas are best served cold, unlike black teas. One oolong tea you should try is the oolong iced tea. It’s a semi-sweet and slightly sour drink. It’s healthier than black tea since its oxidation is partial. The tea requires a dab of honey because chilling a tea makes it lose some of its sweetness.

Iced Lemongrass tea

Also called the Thai Iced tea, it’s a refreshing and delicious tea made from lemongrass brew and is preferably served with ice. With a guided recipe, it’s quite easy to make. It contains a mixture of green tea leaves, sugar syrup, and kalamansi juice. The most important part of the brewing process that makes it unique is the crushing of the lemon stalk to release the essential oils.

Source: Luxury Travel Magazine