Green tea, the first variety to be cultivated, has been popular in China for thousands of years and has more recently gained notoriety in the West. Although black tea is the most widely consumed variety today, green tea constitutes thirteen of the fifteen tea varieties currently cultivated worldwide. Green tea's clear color and lighter flavor is due to its special processing technique. Steaming or quickly roasting the leaves after harvesting stops the oxidation process. Other varieties of tea are allowed to ferment more fully, resulting in bolder aroma and flavor. After the initial heat treatment, green tea leaves are then carefully shaped by rolling or pressing before being slowly dried into a form that is readily preserved
More on green tea processing can be found on the Green Tea Lovers website.
The descriptions below are adapted from EasternTea.com.
Traditional teas:
Oolong is semi-fermented. It is specially grown in the southern regions of China like Taiwan, Guangdong and Fujian. There are eleven main types of Oolong.
- Tie Kuan Yin
- Taiwan Oolong
- Oolong with orange pekoe
- Anxi Oolong
- Japanese processed Oolong
- Teochew Oolong
- Yunnan Oolong
- Sweetened processed oolong tea only available in Singapore and Malaysia
- Infused Fragrant Oolong tea
- Kinmen or Jin Men Oolong
- Virgin Fujian Oolong tealeaves
Black Tea, the standard tea in the West, is another type grown in China and South Asia. Its dark colour is the result of the fermenting process. In Africa, black tea is sometimes drunk with mint leaves. In the west and in Singapore, black tea is drunk with milk and sugar.
The Chinese term for black tea in fact translates directly into "red tea," due to its reddish hue.
There are about twenty main types of black tea in China. One of the most famous types of black tea, originally from Hunan, is Zheng Shan Xiao Zong, or "small tea variety of the Zheng Shan mountains." The leaves are carefully smoked using bamboo baskets to attain a rich flavor. In the mid-1800s, the British imported this tea in large quantities, calling it Lapsang Black. As the tea's popularity spread, its elaborate manufacturing process, and thus its taste, was modified. Today, authentic Zheng Shan Xiao Zong is highly prized.
Scented tea is processed tea by infusing tealeaves with the scents of flower petals within a closed compound.
The classification of scented tea is according to the categories of tea and flowers that it originated from, such as Jasmine Oolong tea.
Scented tea is excellent for people who are not used to the strong taste of tea and is excellent accompaniment for meals. They are also drunk often with light meals like dim sum. Some Chinese like to add a sugar cube or two to enhance the taste.
White tea is barely fermented, resulting in a light taste and sweet aftertaste.
White tea is only grown in China and nowhere else. It is produced in the province of Fujian, which has a long history of tea production. Fujian is the main tea-growing region in China as its climate is suitable for cultivating such tea.
White tea is classified according to the degree of maturation of leaves. There are four main types of white tealeaves. The white peony variety, Bai Mu Dan, is particularly well known.
The tealeaves of white tea are unique in its shape. When you open the container you will see many white tealeaves in the shape of eyebrows. That is why they are often described as "eyebrow" tea by the Chinese.
Compressed tea is found mainly in the south. It is the oldest form of tea. It is still used by some tribes in southern China as a form of traditional medicine or Shaman magic. It is made by high-pressure compression into shapes resembling bricks. Thus, compressed tea is also known as brick tea.
Ginseng tea, an herbal tonic that is not derived from the tea plant, has been used by the Chinese for their health for thousands of years. Until recently, ginseng, a root, was grown primarily in Korea and China. But since North American climate and soil are also suited for growing ginseng, both the United States and Canada have recently become major ginseng suppliers, exporting large quantities to China and Korea.
Ginseng has multiple benefits according to Chinese medicine, including reducing "heatiness," or huo qi, an imbalance, manifested in sore throat, rashes, and similar symptoms, that is supposedly caused by hot weather, stress or spicy food.
Experts in Chinese medicine recommend that ginseng tea should be drunk daily or whenever one is feeling unwell. It can be lightly sweetened to make the bitter taste more palatable. However, like most Eastern medicines, it should used only as a supplement and not as a primary or cure for any illness.
Lasi is a form of south Asian tea that consists mainly of fermented milk. Most of the time, goat's milk is used as cows are considered sacred animals in Hindu states.
It consists of fermenting the milk in a big pot and leaving for days, using traditional techniques. The resulting mixture is sour in taste and reportedly good for health and has been drunk by South Asians for a very long time.
Such drinks are available in places as isolated as Nepal where the mountainous regions enable mountain goats to be bred and they provide the ingredients for Lasi.
Kuma Saza tea is a bamboo leaf tea from Hokkaido, Wakkanai in northern Japan, made from a bamboo species peculiar to that region. It is green in colour and is known to be alkaline and rich in amino acids and vitamins.
This light-tasting tea is said to be therapeutic for digestive problems or for liver detoxification.
Lei Cha tea is the special tea of the Hakka (Ke Jia) minority people of China It is basically tea that is mixed with beans and herbs to form an interesting infusion tea. It is usually served it in a cup with a chopstick for mixing.