Chinese tea culture is profound and has a long history. Throughout its lengthy historical development, Chinese tea masters across generations have creatively developed various types of tea,

combined with widespread tea-growing regions, numerous tea plant varieties, and continuously innovating production techniques, forming a rich and diverse range of tea categories.

Currently, there is no unified and standardized classification method worldwide. Some classify based on different manufacturing methods, some based on the tea leaf's appearance, and some according to primary and refined processing stages.

Of course, among the many classification methods, the most widely used, authoritative, and recognized is the classification into China's six major tea types: Green Tea, Black Tea, Oolong Tea (Blue Tea), Dark Tea, White Tea, and Yellow Tea.

Green Tea

Green tea is the most produced category in China, with 18 tea-producing provinces. Main production areas include Anhui, Zhejiang, Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan, etc.

The variety of green tea styles and types in China ranks first in the world, accounting for about 80% of the world green tea trade volume. The basic processing steps for green tea are fixation, rolling, and drying.

There are two methods of fixation: heat fixation and steam fixation. Green tea made using steam fixation is called "Steamed Green Tea". Drying methods differ based on the final drying process: pan-firing, baking, or sun-drying.

Green tea finally dried by pan-firing is called "Pan-fired Green Tea", finally dried by baking is called "Baked Green Tea", and finally dried by sun-drying is called "Sun-dried Green Tea".

Years of research have found that among the many tea categories, green tea is the most healthful. Commonly found premium green teas on the market include West Lake Longjing, Huangshan Maofeng, Dongting Biluochun, and Nanjing Yuhua Tea.

Black Tea

The basic processing steps for black tea are withering, rolling, fermentation, and drying. The quality characteristics of black tea—red tea liquor and red leaves—are primarily formed through "fermentation".

所谓发酵，其实质是茶叶中原先无色的多酚类物质，在多酚类氧化酶的催化作用下，氧化以后形成了红色的氧化聚合物——红茶色素。This pigment is partly soluble in water, forming the red tea liquor after brewing, and partly insoluble, accumulating in the leaves, turning them red. Thus, the red liquor and red leaves of black tea are formed.

The earliest black tea in China was Souchong black tea from the Chong'an area in Fujian. Later, it evolved and produced Gongfu black tea. In 1875, the Gongfu black tea production method spread from Fujian to the Qimen area in Anhui,

followed by vigorous development of Gongfu black tea in Jiangxi, Hubei, Sichuan, Taiwan, and other provinces. Gongfu black tea is China's traditional export tea category, sold to over 60 countries and regions in Eastern and Western Europe.

Qimen Black Tea (Keemun) from Anhui and Yunnan Black Tea (Dianhong) have long been renowned overseas and enjoy high reputation.

The main black teas on the market include Qimen Hong, Dianhong, Chuanhong, Jin Junmei, Tanyang Gongfu, and Wangyang Gongfu.

Oolong Tea (Blue Tea)

Oolong tea, also known as Wulong Tea, is a semi-oxidized tea. It is a category between non-oxidized tea (green tea) and fully oxidized tea (black tea), with a bluish-brown exterior color.

After brewing Oolong tea, the leaves show both red and green. Traditionally processed Oolong tea has green in the middle of the leaf and red on the edges, often praised as "green leaves with red borders".

The liquor is yellowish-red, has a natural floral aroma, a rich taste, and a unique charm. Oolong tea is mainly produced in Fujian, Guangdong, and Taiwan provinces.

Due to varietal differences, Oolong tea is divided into four categories: Northern Fujian Oolong, Southern Fujian Oolong, Guangdong Oolong, and Taiwanese Oolong.

Northern Fujian Oolong: Produced in the Wuyi Mountain area of Fujian Province, mainly including Wuyi Rock Tea, Northern Fujian Shuixian, and Northern Fujian Oolong.

Southern Fujian Oolong: Southern Fujian is the birthplace of Oolong tea, from where it spread to Northern Fujian, Guangdong, and Taiwan. Among Oolong teas produced in southern Fujian, the most famous and highest quality is Anxi Tieguanyin.

Guangdong Oolong: Mainly includes Fenghuang Dancong and Fenghuang Shuixian from the Chaozhou region of Guangdong, which are the most famous.

Taiwanese Oolong: Mainly includes Dongding Oolong, Alishan Oolong, Wenshan Baozhong, Oriental Beauty, etc.

Dark Tea

The basic processing steps for dark tea are fixation, rolling, pile-fermentation, and drying. Dark tea generally uses relatively coarse raw materials, and coupled with the often extended pile-fermentation time during manufacturing,

the leaf color becomes dark brown or blackish, hence the name Dark Tea. Dark tea is mainly supplied to ethnic minorities in border regions, so it is also called Border Sale Tea. Raw dark tea is the primary material for compressing various compressed teas.

Various compressed dark teas are daily necessities for ethnic groups like Tibetans, Mongolians, and Uyghurs, with the saying "Rather go without food for a day than without tea for a day".

Dark tea includes Yunnan Pu'er Tea, Hunan Dark Tea, Hubei Laoqing Tea, Guangxi Liupao Tea, Sichuan Border Tea, etc., based on differences in production area and processing.

White Tea

White tea is a lightly oxidized tea. The basic process involves withering and then sun-drying or baking. White tea often uses varieties with many fine hairs on the buds and leaves,

such as Fuding Da Bai Cha. The buds are robust and downy, and the finished tea is covered with white hairs, very elegant, with a light liquor color and a fresh, mellow taste. White tea is mainly produced in Fuding, Zhenghe, Songxi, and Jianyang in Fujian Province.

The main white teas on the market include Baihao Yinzhen (Silver Needle) and Baimudan (White Peony).

Yellow Tea

The processing steps for yellow tea are fixation, rolling, heaping for yellowing (menhuang), and drying. The quality characteristic of yellow tea is "yellow liquor and yellow leaves", which is the result of the heaping and yellowing process during production.

Main representative famous yellow teas include Mengding Huangya, Huangshan Huangya, Junshan Yinzhen, etc.

The above are China's six major tea categories. Products that use these basic tea categories as raw materials for reprocessing are collectively referred to as reprocessed teas.

These mainly include Scented Teas (Floral Teas), Fruit-flavored Teas, Medicinal and Health Teas, etc.

In summary, China has a vast variety of teas. Consumers can choose tea suitable for themselves based on their preferences and different seasons.