Around the Qingming Festival, teas like West Lake Longjing and Dongting Biluochun are already on the market, while Liuan Guapian and Kaihua Wild Tea will be available around the Grain Rain. Walking through tea villages, one can see tea masters busy stir-frying tea leaves, marking another vibrant spring tea season across the country.

Green tea is the primary tea category in China, also known as non-fermented tea. It undergoes high-temperature fixation to deactivate enzymes, preserving the natural substances of the fresh leaves. Clear broth and green leaves are the common characteristics of green tea, typically processed through fixation, rolling, and drying.

Fixation plays a decisive role in the quality of green tea; rolling shapes the tea's appearance, while drying removes moisture and enhances its aroma.

Based on the methods of fixation and drying, green tea can be divided into stir-fried fixation green tea and steamed fixation green tea.

1 Stir-fried Fixation Green Tea

Stir-fried fixation is the traditional method for green tea in China. Depending on the drying method, it can be further classified into stir-dried (stir-fried tea), baked (baked tea), and sun-dried (sun-dried tea).

(1) Stir-fried Tea

Quality characteristics: Tightly rolled and glossy, the tea broth and leaves are bright yellow-green, with a high fragrance or chestnut aroma, and a strong, astringent taste.

Process evolution: Divided into long stir-fried, round stir-fried, and flat stir-fried based on shape, plus a special stir-fried category.

(2) Baked Tea

Quality characteristics: Slightly curved and intact in shape, with visible buds, emerald-green dry leaves, a fresh and mellow aroma, and a bright green or yellow-green broth with tender green leaves.

Process evolution: Divided into rough baked and special baked based on the quality of the tea leaves.

(Dianqing Rough Tea)

(3) Sun-dried Tea

Quality characteristics: Green tea dried under sunlight, with a strong taste and a distinctive sun-dried flavor.

2 Steamed Fixation Green Tea

(Enshi Yulu)

☞ Definition: Steamed fixation green tea is produced by using steam for fixation.

☞ History: The origin of Chinese green tea, introduced to Japan during the Tang and Song dynasties, while China shifted to pan-fried fixation during the Ming Dynasty.

☞ Quality: Three greens and one freshness—emerald-green color, tender-green broth, and blue-green leaves; the tea broth is fresh and mellow, with a seaweed-like mung bean or chestnut aroma. Poorly processed steamed tea may have a dull aroma and astringent taste.

There are over 20 green tea production regions in China, each with unique processing techniques due to historical and social factors. The above covers only basic green tea processing knowledge. So,

How to find breakthroughs to understand and master the basic processing techniques of green tea?

How to judge the type of green tea based on the appearance of dry leaves?

Thereby better identifying green tea varieties and assessing their quality?

The seventh session of the "Ask the Mountain" online premium class specially invites Ms. Zhao Yuxiang, a national first-grade tea evaluator and senior engineer, to teach the unique processing techniques of five representative premium green teas from the Jiangnan and Jiangbei tea regions (West Lake Longjing, Anji White Tea, Dongting Biluochun, Liuan Guapian, and Kaihua Wild Tea). Tea enthusiasts will also learn about the processing characteristics of special green tea varieties (albino tea and wild tea).

Notably, the teaching materials for this session are all 2016 spring teas, representing some of the most iconic premium green teas.

Green tea is not only delicious but also visually appealing, widely consumed and the most familiar tea category among Chinese people, commonly used for social gatherings and hospitality. During spring and summer, the new season of green tea arrives, marking the best time of the year for fresh tea. Let these five premium green teas guide you on your journey of learning about green tea.

Special Guest

Ms. Zhao Yuxiang

Senior engineer, national first-grade tea evaluator, and senior examiner for national vocational skill certification.

Former director of the Sensory Evaluation Office and deputy director of the National Tea Quality Supervision and Inspection Center, she is a seasoned expert in national tea competitions and evaluations.

She has led the formulation of multiple national standards, including "Large-Leaf Green Tea," "Tea Sensory Evaluation Terminology," and the national occupational standard "Tea Evaluator."

Author of books such as "Tea Appreciation and Purchasing Guide" and "Tea Evaluator," she has hosted over 300 training sessions for "Tea Evaluators" and "Tea Art Masters."