Black tea is one of the many variants of tea that people have been consuming for many years throughout the world. It is more oxidized than the other varieties of tea. It is made from the leaves of ‘Camellia Sinensis’, a tea plant having an evergreen shrub. Like other forms of tea, it also contains caffeine, a stimulant that acts to invigorate our senses immediately. It also contains other important ingredients like polyphenols, vitamins, etc. Black tea is also referred to as a tea which is completely devoid of milk.

Processing of Black Tea
The processing of black tea goes through several stages. These stages are:

* The tea leaves are air blown to make them wither right after the harvest
* To get the black tea, either of the two methods are made use of. The first method is known as Crush-Tear-Curl or CTC. The second method is known by the name of orthodox. The CTC method helps in extracting the best quality tea products from medium or low quality tea leaves. In the orthodox method, hand processing is done to process high quality teas. This results in a kind of tea, the taste of which is sought by many tea lovers
* The next stage is the oxidation of the tea leaves which is done under controlled temperature and humidity. Various factors determine the quality of tea such as the quality and level of oxidation, the time taken to complete the stage of oxidation right from the stage of rolling of leaves, etc.
* The leaves are then dried to stop the process of oxidation
* The last stage involves grading of leaves according to their size, i.e., as whole leaves, brokens, fannings, dust, etc. The grading of leaves is done with the help of sieving and can be further divided as per certain other criteria

Health Benefits Associated with Black Tea
Black tea contains many health benefits and is therefore, a recommended source of drink. Some of the major health benefits associated with black tea are:

* According to research, it helps in preventing asthma attacks as the presence of caffeine clears the air flow to the lungs
* Black tea also helps in reducing the level cholesterol and works as a perfect antioxidant
* Black tea also helps in curing patients suffering from diabetes. The consumption of black tea has shown a decline on the blood sugar level in diabetic patients and an increase in the insulin level in healthy patients
* It also helps in improving mental alertness and keeping the sneeze clam and composed
* Researchers also hold the belief that black tea might help in avoiding cavities and heart attacks
* The preventions of osteoporosis is also possible in case of older women as it helps in improving their bone density.