China is the tea homeland, with a long-standing tea culture. It not only has a complete range of tea types but also numerous famous, high-quality, and special teas. Teas have both elegant and unique names and come in a variety of shapes.
Long strip tea. Tea leaves shaped into long strips. Many teas fall into this category, such as green tea like roasted green, baked green, special pearl, refined eyebrow, special needle, rain tea, Xinyang Maojian, Lushan Cloud Mist, etc.; black tea like strip-style red mao tea, Gongfu black tea, Souchong black tea, and leaf tea in broken black tea; dark tea like raw dark tea, Xiangjian tea, Liubao tea, etc.; oolong tea like Shui Xian, rock tea, etc.
Tightly curled strip tea. Tea with tightly rolled and curled strips, such as green tea like Dongting Biluochun, Duyun Maojian, Gaoqiao Silver Peak, etc.
Flat-shaped tea. Tea leaves that are flat and straight, such as green tea like Longjing, Qiqiang, and Dafang.
Needle-shaped tea. Tea leaves shaped like needles. For example, yellow tea like Junshan Yinzhen, white tea like Baihao Yinzhen, and green tea like Nanjing Yuhua Tea, Anhua Songzhen, etc.
Spherical tea. Tea leaves shaped like round pearls. Examples include green tea like Yongxi Huoqing, Pingshui Pearl Tea, and Xiemu Xiangzhu.
Screw-shaped tea. Tea strips twisted into a screw-like shape at the top. Examples include oolong tea like Tieguanyin, Se Zhong, and Wulong.
Flake-shaped tea. This includes whole flakes and broken flakes. Whole flake tea includes green tea like Lu'an Guapian, while broken flake tea includes green tea like Xiumei.
Pointed-shaped tea. Tea leaves with slightly pointed ends. Examples include green tea like Taiping Houkui.
Granular tea. Tea shaped into small granules. Examples include broken tea in black tea and instant tea made by freezing methods.
Flower-shaped tea. Buds and leaves connected to resemble flowers, such as green tea like Shucheng Xiaolanhua and white tea like White Peony.
Bundled tea. Tea tied into bundles with sturdy, sterilized thin threads after straightening. Examples include green tea like Green Peony.
Compressed tea. Raw tea compressed into block shapes after processing, which can be further divided into brick-shaped, bowl-shaped, cake-shaped, and pillow-shaped. Brick-shaped tea resembles bricks, such as dark tea like Hei Zhuan, Hua Zhuan, Fu Zhuan, Qing Zhuan, and Jin Cha; black tea like Mi Zhuan. Bowl-shaped tea resembles a bowl mortar, such as green tea like Tuo Cha. Cake-shaped tea is round like a cake, such as dark tea like Seven Sons Cake Tea. Pillow-shaped tea resembles a pillow, such as dark tea like Jin Jian Tea.
The shapes of tea leaves are diverse and varied. In our ancient civilization with a long history of tea culture, it can truly be said: "The Chinese tea garden is full of wonders, astonishing the world with its color, aroma, taste, and form."