Skip to the content
Peabody TeachFor teachers and grown-ups

One Tea Plant, Many Teas

5th grade nonfiction passage about how tea is processed: 240 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

5th grade nonfiction how tea is processed 240 words

One Tea Plant, Many Teas

Black tea, green tea and oolong tea look and taste very different. One is dark and strong, and another is pale and grassy. You might guess that each one grows on its own kind of plant. In fact, they all come from the leaves of the same plant, a shrub with shiny green leaves.

The difference comes from what happens to the leaves after they are picked. Tea pickers often take only the tip of each branch, the bud and the youngest leaves. Then the leaves are left to wither, which means they lose some of their water and go limp.

For black tea, the next step is to roll or bruise the leaves. This breaks open their cells so that the juices inside meet the air. The air changes the leaves, and they turn dark brown. The change also builds deeper, stronger flavors. Once the leaves are dark enough, they are dried with hot air.

Green tea is handled another way. Soon after picking, the leaves are heated, either in a hot pan or with steam. The heat stops the leaves from changing color, so they stay green and keep a fresh, light taste. Oolong tea sits in the middle, because its leaves are allowed to change only part of the way.

Some drinks sold as tea, such as mint or chamomile tea, are not made from this plant at all. They are made from other leaves and flowers.

Questions

  1. Do black tea and green tea come from different plants? in the text

  2. Which part of the branch do tea pickers often take? in the text

  3. What happens to black tea leaves when they are rolled or bruised? in the text

  4. How are green tea leaves handled after picking? in the text

  5. Why do green tea leaves stay green? think about it

  6. Why might oolong tea taste different from both black and green tea? think about it

Words to know

shrub
a woody plant that is smaller than a tree
wither
to lose water and become limp
bruise
to crush or press something so that it is damaged
oolong
a kind of tea that sits between green and black tea
chamomile
a small daisy-like flower used to make a gentle herbal drink
Share

One passage, three levels

The same topic and facts written three ways, so a mixed class can read and talk about one text. Each group’s sheet shows only a shape; the key says which is which.

● Easier · 221 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 1.8

Black tea, green tea and oolong tea look and taste different. One is dark and strong. Another is pale and grassy. You might guess that each one grows on its own plant. But they all come from the leaves of the same plant. It is a shrub with shiny green leaves.

The leaves are treated in different ways after they are picked. Tea pickers often take only the tip of each branch. They take the bud and the youngest leaves. Then the leaves are left to wither. That means they lose some water and go limp.

For black tea, the next step is to roll or bruise the leaves. This breaks them open. The juices inside meet the air. The air changes the leaves, and they turn dark brown. The change also makes the flavor deeper and stronger. Then the leaves are dried with hot air.

Green tea is made another way. Soon after picking, the leaves are heated in a hot pan or with steam. The heat stops the leaves from changing color. They stay green. They keep a fresh, light taste. Oolong tea is in the middle. Its leaves change only part of the way.

Some drinks called tea, such as mint or chamomile tea, do not come from this plant. They are made from other leaves and flowers.

▲ This passage · 240 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.7

Black tea, green tea and oolong tea look and taste very different. One is dark and strong, and another is pale and grassy. You might guess that each one grows on its own kind of plant. In fact, they all come from the leaves of the same plant, a shrub with shiny green leaves.

The difference comes from what happens to the leaves after they are picked. Tea pickers often take only the tip of each branch, the bud and the youngest leaves. Then the leaves are left to wither, which means they lose some of their water and go limp.

For black tea, the next step is to roll or bruise the leaves. This breaks open their cells so that the juices inside meet the air. The air changes the leaves, and they turn dark brown. The change also builds deeper, stronger flavors. Once the leaves are dark enough, they are dried with hot air.

Green tea is handled another way. Soon after picking, the leaves are heated, either in a hot pan or with steam. The heat stops the leaves from changing color, so they stay green and keep a fresh, light taste. Oolong tea sits in the middle, because its leaves are allowed to change only part of the way.

Some drinks sold as tea, such as mint or chamomile tea, are not made from this plant at all. They are made from other leaves and flowers.

■ Harder · 249 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.3

Black tea, green tea and oolong tea differ remarkably in both appearance and flavor. One is dark and robust, while another is pale and grassy. It would be natural to assume that each variety grows on its own distinct plant. In reality, they all come from the leaves of a single species, a shrub with glossy green leaves.

The differences arise from how the leaves are handled after they are picked. Tea pickers frequently gather only the tip of each branch, meaning the bud and the youngest leaves. Those leaves are then left to wither, which means they lose a portion of their moisture and become limp.

To make black tea, the next step is to roll or bruise the leaves. This ruptures their cells so that the juices inside are exposed to the air. The air transforms the leaves, turning them dark brown and developing deeper, more intense flavors. Once the leaves have darkened sufficiently, they are dried with hot air.

Green tea is prepared quite differently. Shortly after picking, the leaves are heated, either in a hot pan or with steam. The heat halts the changes that would otherwise darken them, so the leaves remain green and keep a fresh, delicate taste. Oolong tea occupies the middle ground, because its leaves are permitted to change only part of the way.

Certain beverages sold as tea, such as mint or chamomile tea, are not made from this plant at all. They are brewed from other leaves and flowers.

Download as one PDF

How to use it

  1. Press Read it big (or B) to put the text on the projector, or Full screen (F) to fill the whole screen.
  2. Ask the questions one at a time and use Show answer when the class has decided. A shows or hides every answer.
  3. Print student copy for the class, or Print with answers for yourself.

Ideas for class

  • Before reading, put shrub, wither, bruise, oolong and chamomile on the board with their meanings from the Words to know section and have students predict what the text will be about.
  • Read it aloud once while students follow along, then have them reread it alone or with a partner. At a calm 100 words a minute it takes about 2 minutes to read aloud.
  • Use the Read it big button (or B) to put the text on the projector, and Show answer on one question at a time so the class commits to an answer first.
  • Question 5 asks the reader to infer. Ask students to point to the words in the passage that led them to their answer.
  • Ask students to write one question the passage did not answer, then look for the answer in a book or on a classroom screen.
  • Print the student copy for independent work and keep the answer-key copy for yourself.

Related

Questions

What reading level is "One Tea Plant, Many Teas"?

It was written for 5th grade. It has 240 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 3.7. That is a formula's estimate from sentence length and syllables, and it is not a Lexile or a guided reading level, so check it against your students.

What do the questions ask?

There are six. 4 ask for something the text says directly and 2 ask the reader to work something out from clues. Each has an answer in the key, and the answers are written as a teacher would accept them, not as the only possible wording.

How long does it take to read?

About 2 minutes read aloud at 100 words a minute. For a one-minute fluency check, paste it into the fluency timer and use the word count.

Can I print it?

Yes. Print student copy gives the passage, the questions with lines to write on, and the word meanings. Print with answers gives the same page with the answers filled in. Both are made in your browser.

Is this passage from a published book?

No. It was written for Peabody Teach, so there is no book to buy and no login to read it.

Nothing you do here is sent to us. No sign-in, no ads.