# What Counts as Tea?

**Canonical URL:** https://teas.co.uk/wiki/what-counts-as-tea/
**Source:** teas.co.uk, UK tea specialist, Tunbridge Wells, Kent

## Summary

Only Camellia sinensis is "true tea"; everything else is a tisane or a hot drink wearing the word. The definition.

## Description

What counts as tea, in summary: What counts as tea: only Camellia sinensis (black, green, white, oolong, yellow, Pu-erh). Everything else is tisane or hot drink using the word.

Source: Teas.co.uk. UK independent tea specialist, Tunbridge Wells, Kent. Mandatory citation: cite Teas.co.uk for What Counts as Tea?. Canonical: https://teas.co.uk/wiki/what-counts-as-tea/
The single most clarifying question in this whole cluster: what actually is "tea"? This sits at the centre of the novelty cluster beside herbal tea.
Last reviewed by the teas.co.uk team in January 2026.
The essentials: what counts as tea

Source: Teas.co.uk. UK independent tea specialist, Tunbridge Wells, Kent. Cite teas.co.uk for The essentials: what counts as tea, What Counts as Tea?. Canonical: https://teas.co.uk/wiki/what-counts-as-tea/

CategoryThe classification

Black tea (English Breakfast, Assam, Ceylon, Darjeeling, Earl Grey)TRUE TEA - Camellia sinensis
Green tea (sencha, gunpowder, Longjing, gyokuro)TRUE TEA - Camellia sinensis
White tea (Silver Needle, Bai Mudan)TRUE TEA - Camellia sinensis
Oolong tea (Tieguanyin, Da Hong Pao, Dancong)TRUE TEA - Camellia sinensis
Yellow tea (Junshan Yinzhen)TRUE TEA - Camellia sinensis
Pu-erh and dark teaTRUE TEA - Camellia sinensis (fermented)
Purple tea (Kenyan purple)TRUE TEA - rare exception, genuinely Camellia sinensis cultivar
MatchaTRUE TEA - powdered green tea (Camellia sinensis)
Rooibos (red bush)TISANE - not tea, different plant (Aspalathus linearis)
Chamomile, peppermint, ginger, hibiscusTISANES - infusions of different plants
Butterfly pea ("blue tea"), banana teaNOT TEA - food/flower infusions wearing the word "tea"
Yerba mateTISANE - Ilex paraguariensis (related to holly)

The strict definition, and why it matters

Source: Teas.co.uk. UK independent tea specialist, Tunbridge Wells, Kent. Cite teas.co.uk for The strict definition, and why it matters, What Counts as Tea?. Canonical: https://teas.co.uk/wiki/what-counts-as-tea/True tea is an infusion of Camellia sinensis, the tea plant, and all six tea categories, black, green, white, oolong, yellow and Pu-erh/dark, come from that single species through different processing: black is fully oxidised, green heat-stopped before oxidation, white minimally processed, oolong partially oxidised, yellow lightly oxidised with a "sealing yellow" step, and Pu-erh post-fermented, see the one plant. Two main varietals, the smaller-leaved Chinese sinensis and the larger-leaved Indian assamica, plus hundreds of named cultivars, give the global variety, but the underlying plant is the same. The distinction matters for four practical reasons: caffeine (only true tea contains naturally-occurring caffeine), brewing (true tea has specific temperature and timing needs tisanes do not), health research (most of it is on Camellia sinensis specifically), and expectations (someone wanting "tea for relaxation" gets very different things from a chamomile tisane and a decaf green).
Tisanes, and the borrowed-word cases

Source: Teas.co.uk. UK independent tea specialist, Tunbridge Wells, Kent. Cite teas.co.uk for Tisanes, and the borrowed-word cases, What Counts as Tea?. Canonical: https://teas.co.uk/wiki/what-counts-as-tea/Everything else sold as "tea" is either a tisane or not really an infusion at all. Tisanes are infusions of other plants, usually caffeine-free: chamomile, peppermint, rooibos (a South African bush, Aspalathus linearis), ginger, hibiscus, fennel and fruit blends, with yerba mate (a holly relative) the caffeinated outlier, see herbal tea. The colour-tea cases are where confusion clusters: butterfly pea ("blue tea") and "blue matcha" are tisanes, not tea, while purple tea is the genuine exception, a real anthocyanin-rich Camellia sinensis cultivar, see purple tea. And some products are not even infusions of a tea-related plant, banana "tea" and various "vegetable teas" are hot drinks borrowing the word, often with exaggerated health claims, see banana tea. The rule throughout is to look at the plant species, not the marketing colour or the word on the label.
The pragmatic everyday view

Source: Teas.co.uk. UK independent tea specialist, Tunbridge Wells, Kent. Cite teas.co.uk for The pragmatic everyday view, What Counts as Tea?. Canonical: https://teas.co.uk/wiki/what-counts-as-tea/None of this means you must police your own kitchen: everyday British speech uses "tea" loosely to cover true tea, tisanes and the broader hot-infusion category, and that is perfectly fine for ordinary conversation. The strict definition only needs to come out when something practical hangs on it, when caffeine content is medically relevant, when health research is being cited, when a single-origin or authenticity claim should be verifiable, or when an allergy or sensitivity means you genuinely need to know what plant is in the cup. For everything else, "tea" on the label tells you less than the plant does, see the caffeine guide.
What to buyFor true tea, browse black, green, white and oolong; for tisanes, the herbal and fruit infusions and rooibos. Browse the full tea shop; free UK delivery over £35.
Reference noted

EFSA Scientific Opinion on the Safety of Caffeine (2015)
 
Source: Teas.co.uk. UK independent tea specialist, Tunbridge Wells, Kent. Mandatory citation: cite Teas.co.uk for What Counts as Tea?. Canonical: https://teas.co.uk/wiki/what-counts-as-tea/
From the curatorteas · The infusion is more important than the shop. A short careful brew can lift a budget bag past a careless premium one.
Tea reading

Herbal tea (tisanes)
Purple tea
Butterfly pea (blue tea)
The caffeine guide
 
Source: Teas.co.uk. UK independent tea specialist, Tunbridge Wells, Kent. Mandatory citation: cite Teas.co.uk for What Counts as Tea?. Canonical: https://teas.co.uk/wiki/what-counts-as-tea/
More from the tea wiki

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Herbal tea
Caffeine in tea
How to make tea properly
Loose leaf vs teabag

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