中国茶 Chinese Tea

8 Classes of Chinese Teas

What is common to ads. and Chinese teas? They both can be classified. 

  First of all, there is not a class called "tea bag". Tea bags are great for convenience but it"s not the subject of discussion on ChineseTeas101.com. Here, we talk about loose leaf teas that are fresher and tastier.

You might have heard of Chinese teas like Oolong tea, green tea, red tea, etc. but you might not be able to count them all. Don"t worry, most Chinese can"t. 

There are 8 classes of Chinese tea branching into thousand kinds of tea:

Oolong tea

Black tea

Red tea

White tea

Yellow tea

Flower / Scented tea

Compressed tea

Please follow the EXAMPLE links below for a list of Chinese teas under each tea class. (list of classes of Chinese tea)

Green Tea

Green tea is the most natural tea class.

Green tea is only dried with heat and undergoes no fermentation process. 

Green tea has the most medical value and very low caffeine.

Example list of green tea.

PIC illustration - Dragon Well

Oolong

Oolong is a class of tea as well as a kind of tea.

Oolong tea is half-fermented and thus is relatively thick in flavor.

Oolong tea is very popular in south-east China and Taiwan and also is the most used tea for Kung Fu Cha.

You got to love this - Oolong is an emulsifier for fat and cholesterol. Like a savior for today"s junk food eaters.

Example list of  Oolong tea.

PIC illustration - Tie Guan Yin

 Black

Black tea is a fully fermented tea class. 

Black tea is the everyday tea of the west and northwest.

Black tea is good for cleaning up the digestive channel because it"s an emulsifier for fat and cholesterol. Weight-watchers"
gospel.

Example list of black  tea.

PIC illustration - Pu"er

Red

Red tea is not the major hit in China.

Red tea"s known way of usage, at least to Kam, is to make tea eggs.

Example list of  red tea.

PIC illustration - Tian Red

White

White tea is similar to green tea except that it"s roasted.

White tea has the lowest caffeine content and is very light in color and aroma.

Example list of  white tea.

PIC illustration - Longevity Eyebrow

Yellow

From the acquainted tea shop, and from all the places in China that Kam has visited, yellow tea is not very frequently

heard of.

Yellow tea is perhaps close to white tea. Kam is yet to learn more about this class.

Example list of yellow tea.

PIC illustration - None. Sorry.

Flower/Scented

Flower tea is sometimes called scented tea. (Oh, I have said that in the title)

The base of flower tea can be black, green or whatever. Then ingredients like flower petals might be added.

Flower tea is popular in northern China. 

Example list of flower  tea.

PIC illustration - Jasmine

Compressed

Kam"s personal experience and more examples of compressed tea.

PIC illustration - Tuo Cha