Black tea is oxidized further than other teas, allowing for a fuller body than oolong, green, yellow, and white tea. All four types of tea are made from leaves of the shrub, Camellia sinensis. Two primary varieties of the species are used in tea, the small-leaved Chinese variety plant (C. sinensis var. sinensis), used for most other types of teas, and the large-leaved Assamese plant (C. sinensis var. assamica), which was traditionally mainly used for black tea, although in recent years some green and white teas have been produced. In China, where black tea was developed, the beverage is called "red tea", due to the color of the oxidized leaves when processed appropriately.

While green tea usually loses its flavor within a year, black tea retains its flavor for several years. For this reason, it has long been an article of trade, and compressed bricks of black tea even served as a form of de facto currency in Mongolia, Tibet and Siberia into the 19th century.

Flower of Life offers many varieties of single origin as well as blends of black tea that are of the highest quality.