Tea, tisane or infusion: that's what the terms mean!

Tea

If you take a closer look at the term "tea", you quickly realize that many things that are often called tea are not actually "real" tea at all. Tea in the traditional sense is solely the drink made from the leaves of the Camellia Sinensis tea plant (see cover picture)! "Real" teas made from Camellia Sinensis are Black tea, oolong, green tea, white tea, yellow tea and pu-erh tea.

Infusion

Now that the actual definition of "tea" is clear, what about all the other "teas" you know & love? Since herbal and fruit teas are prepared in the same way as real tea and are so delicious & popular, these infusions were also called "tea" without further ado. Technically speaking, "infusion" is the correct term for anything that adds flavor & ingredients to hot or cold water by infusing & steeping. This means that infusions include real teas such as black tea, green tea, etc., as well as blends of other leaves, fruits and herbs!

Tisane

So what is a "tisane"? In short: infusions that do NOT contain real tea. This includes herbal teas, fruit teas, rooibos and mate.

Tisane, like herbal tea, also has a long history dating back to ancient China and Egypt, where tisane was drunk both for pleasure and for medicinal purposes.

Ultimately, as with many other aspects of tea drinking, it comes down to your personal preference. The variety, how long you steep it, how much tea you use, the water temperature for brewing, whether you want to drink it cold or hot (and ultimately what you want to call it ;)) is entirely up to you!

For us at BRU, the most important thing is that you end up with the drink of your choice perfectly prepared the way you want it. So choose your favorite tea or infusion, pour it into your BRU Maker, sit back and enjoy!