Walk into a good tea shop and you’ll encounter shelves upon shelves of canisters, all brimming with teas of different shapes, sizes, and scents. The array can be dizzying: leaves sporting shades from bright to pale green, from mahogany to rich, deep black. And you could easily spend an hour breathing in fragrances that range from sweet to spinachy to the smell of a dank cellar.

With so much variety, you may be surprised to learn that black, green, oolong, and even white teas are all made from just a single plant species, camellia sinesis (and by tea, we mean the brewed beverage made with tea leaves. Herbal teas, also known as tisanes, aren’t actually teas at all). And with its