Steeping

Steeping is the soaking of an organic solid, such as leaves, in a liquid (usually water) to extract flavours or to soften it.

Some solids are soaked to remove an ingredient, such as salt, where the solute is not the desired product.

[1] In the process their moisture content rises from 15% to 45% and their volume more than doubles.

The corn is then ground to break free the germ and other components, and the water used (steepwater), which has absorbed various nutrients, is recycled for use in animal feeds.

There is a huge variety of teas available in the market with broad based categories like oolong, green, black, white etc.