black tea

American  

noun

• black teas
  plural

1. a tea that has been allowed to wither and ferment under controlled conditions before being subjected to a heating process that stops fermentation and turns the leaves black.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• black teas
  plural

Etymology

Origin of black tea

First recorded in 1780–90

Compare meaning

How does black-tea compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• black tea vs. green tea
• oolong vs. black tea

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

black tea

Poornima, a salt pan worker, sips black tea during the day -- saying the hot drink induces sweating in the dry weather to cool the body.

From Barron's ● May 10, 2026

At Bird & Blend, black tea - which includes flavours like chocolate digestive and violet cream - is lined up alongside rooibos, chai, matcha and other teas.

From BBC ● May 8, 2026

They don’t have coffee, but they do have Jeju Island–grown “Regenerative Organic-Certified” black tea oxidized as matcha.

From Slate ● May 8, 2026

The Taiwanese beverage, which blends black tea, milk, sugar, and chewy tapioca pearls, has spread worldwide since it first appeared in the 1980s.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 1, 2026

I remember Hassan and I crouching that next morning outside my father’s study, as Baba and Rahim Khan sipped black tea and listened to breaking news of the coup on Radio Kabul.

From "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini