Ah, so this is the difference between tea and infusion
Did you know that tea is the most consumed drink worldwide after water? The tea-drinking club is therefore gigantic, you could say. On menus, you sometimes also see ‘infusion’ listed in the tea section. What is the difference between tea and infusion? Or is it actually all just the same thing?
A fun topic to chat over a cup of tea!
Real tea
Real tea is made from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant. So all real tea comes from the same tea plant, although there are varieties that originate from that tea plant. Think of green tea, black tea and white tea. So how do you get tea with an orange-ginger flavour? Or so-called ‘Christmas tea’? Those different flavours are created by blending different types of tea and adding aromas. With many of these types of tea, you have to ask yourself to what extent you are actually drinking real tea. In some flavoured teas, those aromas are overwhelmingly dominant. Incidentally, you probably don’t want to know what’s actually in those tea bags…
What are infusions?
Infusions are not made with tea leaves. Instead, you use all kinds of herbs, spices, flowers and fruits, which you steep in hot water. If you order ginger tea in a restaurant, you are actually getting an infusion. Your glass will probably contain slices of ginger, some honey and perhaps a little lemon. The same applies to fresh mint tea. Technically, the menu should therefore say ‘ginger infusion’ or ‘mint infusion’. But because these drinks are served in the same way as tea, restaurants often choose to call them ‘tea’ anyway.
More differences between tea and infusions
There are more differences: tea contains caffeine, while infusions do not. So if you want to live caffeine-free, it is better to choose infusions. You can also add milk and sugar to tea if you like, whereas infusions are best left alone. Milk in tea isn’t really a thing here in the Netherlands, by the way. You see it more often in England—although, according to a professor, we should actually be doing that more too.
So, are you still a tea lover, or, looking back, are you more of an infusion lover?
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