There are various ways to classify Chinese teas. According to the production method and the degree of polyphenol oxidation (fermentation), they can be divided into six major categories: Green tea (unfermented), White tea (lightly fermented), Yellow tea (lightly fermented), Oolong tea (semi-fermented), Dark tea (post-fermented), and Red tea (Black tea) (fully fermented). The appearance changes from green to yellow-green, yellow, greenish-brown, and black, while the tea liquor changes from green to yellow-green, yellow, greenish-brown, and reddish-brown.
2. What are the characteristics of green tea? What are its famous varieties?
The basic characteristics of green tea are: green leaves and clear liquor, with a fresh, mellow, and refreshing fragrance. It is an unfermented tea. Its shapes vary widely, mainly including: strip, needle, flat, spiral, pointed, flake, bundled, Mao Feng, Mao Jian, curly, round bead, single bud, etc. Green tea places the highest emphasis on appearance and color, pursuing a pure and elegant quality, so it is mostly made from tender buds. Pre-Qingming tea (picked before Qingming Festival) is the most precious, followed by pre-Grain Rain tea (picked after Qingming but before Grain Rain).
Famous green teas include: ① Xihu Longjing (flat shape, Hangzhou); ② Dongting Biluochun (spiral shape, Suzhou); ③ Huangshan Maofeng (Mao Feng, Anhui); ④ Taiping Houkui (pointed shape, Anhui); ⑤ Lu'an Guapian (flake shape, Anhui); ⑥ Xinyang Maojian (Mao Jian, Henan); ⑦ Lushan Yunwu (strip shape, Jiangxi); ⑧ Duyun Maojian (Mao Jian, Guizhou); ⑨ Enshi Yulu (pine needle shape, Hubei), etc.
3. What are the characteristics of white tea? What are its famous varieties?
The basic characteristics of white tea are: white appearance with a hint of green, yellow-white liquor, fresh and mellow taste, and a clear, sweet aroma. It is a lightly fermented tea. It is mainly produced in Fuding, Jianyang, Zhenghe, and Songxi in Fujian Province. White tea is divided into white bud tea and white leaf tea.
Famous white teas include: ① Baihao Yinzhen (Silver Needle), produced in Fuding, Zhenghe, and other counties; ② Baimudan (White Peony), produced in Jianyang, Zhenghe, Songxi, Fuding, and other counties; ③ Gongmei (Shoumei), produced in Jianyang, Pucheng, and other counties; ④ Tianmu Lake White Tea, produced in the Tianmu Lake tourist area, Liyang, Changzhou, Jiangsu.
4. What are the characteristics of yellow tea? What are its famous varieties?
The basic characteristics of yellow tea are: yellow leaves and yellow liquor, golden and bright, with a sweet and mellow aroma. It is a lightly fermented tea, and its basic processing method is similar to green tea. It is divided into three types: yellow bud tea, yellow small leaf tea, and yellow large leaf tea.
Famous yellow teas include: ① Hunan's Junshan Yinzhen, Beigang Maojian, Moganshan Huangya; ② Sichuan's Mengding Huangya; ③ Anhui's Huoshan Huangya, West Anhui (Huoshan) Yellow Large Leaf; ④ Hubei's Yuan'an Luyuan Maojian; ⑤ Guangdong's Daqingye (Large Green Leaf), etc.
5. What are the characteristics of oolong tea? What are its famous varieties?
The basic characteristics of oolong tea are: greenish-golden in appearance, with a clear and mellow aroma. Because of its greenish-brown appearance, it is called Qingcha (green-brown tea) in Chinese, also known as oolong tea. It is a semi-fermented tea.
Famous oolong teas include: ① Northern Fujian oolong (Wuyi Rock Tea — Da Hong Pao); ② Southern Fujian oolong (Anxi Tieguanyin); ③ Guangdong oolong (Fenghuang Shuixian — Fenghuang Dancong); ④ Taiwan oolong (Wenshan Baozhong, Dongding Oolong, Oriental Beauty, etc.).
6. What are the characteristics of dark tea? What are its famous varieties?
The basic characteristics of dark tea are: coarse, large, dark brown leaves, with a mellow aged aroma. It is a post (fully) fermented tea. Because it is mainly supplied for consumption by ethnic minorities in border regions, it is also known as border-sale tea.
Famous dark teas include: ① Hunan dark tea (Tian Jian, Gong Jian, Sheng Jian); ② Hubei old green brick tea; ③ Sichuan border tea; ④ Yunnan-Guangxi dark tea (Pu'er tea), etc.
7. What are the characteristics of red tea (black tea)? What are its famous varieties?
The basic characteristics of red tea are: high aroma, bright color, strong taste, red leaves and red liquor, with a rich, sweet, and mellow flavor reminiscent of longan soup, and some have a smoky pine scent. It is a fully fermented tea. It is divided into Souchong black tea, Gongfu black tea, broken black tea (CTC tea), and red brick tea (Milan brick tea).
Famous red teas include: ① Qimen Hongcha (Anhui); ② Dianhong (Yunnan); ③ Minhong (Lapsang Souchong — Jinjunmei, Yinjunmei, Tanyang Gongfu, Fujian); ④ Chuanhong (Zaobaijian, Sichuan); ⑤ Yihong (Hubei); ⑥ Ninghong (Ninghong Jinhao, Jiangxi); ⑦ Yuehong (Zhejiang); ⑧ Huhong (Hunan); ⑨ Taihong (Sun Moon Lake Black Tea, Taiwan), etc.