When you scan all the tea choices at the food market and particularly when you look for tea online, it is incredibly obvious how standard tea has became. But when you look at the labels of many of those teas you may find the terms herbal tea or tisane. Have you ever questioned what the difference was between tea, herbal tea and tisane?

Authentic tea is drawn from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant. Authentic teas include black, oolong, green and white tea. The list may seem more elaborate because there are different forms of these teas and sometimes they are enhanced by adding various plants, spices or oils to them.

Flavored teas include Earl Grey, which is black tea with bergamot, and Jasmine, which is usually green tea with jasmine flowers. Other varieties of teas include Darjeeling and Ceylon, which are black teas and Gunpowder and Sencha, which are green teas. These, of course, are only a few of the different varieties available.

Herbal tea and tisane are one in the same. They are created from dried flowers, leaves or roots that aren’t from the Camellia sinensis shrub. It seems almost any flower or that is steeped in hot water is referred to as tea; although in some countries the label tea is legally restricted to drinks made with the true tea shrub.

Some common herbal teas include chamomile, peppermint and rooibos. Of course this is a very short list of the commonly available herbal teas.

The nice thing is that whether it’s a true tea or a tisane many “teas” seem to have health benefits. True teas, like green and black, have been included in more research studies and seem to provide the biggest health benefit, but herbal teas have proved beneficial as well.

The herbal tea that seems to be showing the most studied benefit seems to be rooibos. It has a high level of antioxidants, somewhat similar to green tea, but because it isn’t made with tea leaves it doesn’t contain the caffeine. In recent studies rooibos, also known as red tea, has shown liver protecting abilities as well.

From my own personal experience I can almost always count on peppermint tea to soothe an upset stomach. I have a friend who always makes a mix of hibiscus, ginger and cinnamon to help her when she’s not feeling well.

But I love the flavor of authentic teas, and all the described health benefits offer a strong reason to savor more of them. With all the varieties and diverse qualities accessible it is fun to experiment and find your favorites.

Besides the question of tea or tisane you may also ask tea bag or loose leaf? Tea bags are great for convenience and the triangular tea bags are great for convenience with a little better flavor; but to truly enjoy the flavor a quality loose leaf tea is the best. The loose tea allows water to circulate around the leaves better to help draw out the flavor.

It’s easy to understand why tea is so popular. Besides its interesting history and health benefits it’s a tasty calorie-free beverage that comes in a wide range of flavors.