Chinese Tea Guide

Varieties of Tea

Tea is produced from leaves and leaf buds of Camellia sinensis, the tea plant. All tea varieties, such as green, oolong, and black tea, are harvested from this species, but differ by the varietal of the plant and how its leaves are processed.

Processing and classification:

A fundamental factor determining tea type is oxidation. If the tea leaf membrane is broken by rolling or shaking then plant oils are released and natural oxidation will begin. The leaves turn progressively darker because chlorophyll breaks down and tannins are released.

Heating the leaves deactivates the enzymes that cause oxidisation. It also adds flavour to the tea. In China, most teas are heated in a dry pan but they can be steamed or baked.

Green tea (綠茶)

The oxidation process is stopped after a minimal amount of oxidation by application of heat; either with steam, a traditional Japanese method; or by dry cooking in hot pans, the traditional Chinese method. Tea leaves may be left to dry as separate leaves or rolled into small pellets to make gun-powder tea. The latter process is time consuming and is typically done only with pekoes of higher quality. The tea is processed within one to two days of harvesting.

Oolong (烏龍茶)

The leaf is shaken to bruise and oxidize only the edges of the leaf. The amount that the leaf is shaken and the time allowed for oxidation will affect how dark the oolong becomes and changes its flavour..

Red tea (紅茶)

Known as black tea in the West, the leaves are rolled and allowed to completely oxidise. Black tea is the most common form of tea in the western countries. The oxidation process will take around two weeks and up to one month.

Pu-erh (普洱茶/黑茶)

Pu’Erh tea is technically a fermented Green tea made from special broad leaf tea leaves that have a unique chemical composition making them suitable for ageing. Artificially aged Pu’Erh is called SHU and is fermented for 48 days in controlled humidity. Naturally aged Pu’Erh is called SHEN. Pu’Erh is classified and priced by how old it is.

Yellow tea (黃茶)

This is the most rare of all tea types. Yellow tea was popular during the Imperial times because yellow was the colour of royalty. The processing technique was thought to be lost forever until it was rediscovered in the 1970’s, since then it has been produced in small quantities. Yellow tea is processed in exactly the same way as green tea but is lightly heated a second time in a moist environment, which turns the tea leaves yellow.. This extra stage removes the grassy notes and adds a sweet, mellow flavour to the drink.