Types of Tea

Overview#

• White tea（白茶）
• Green tea（綠茶）
• Yellow tea（黃茶）
• Oolong tea（烏龍茶，literally black dragon tea, or 青茶，literally blue-green tea)
• Black tea（紅茶，literally red tea)
• (Post-)Fermented tea / Dark tea (黑茶，literally black tea)

White Tea#

White tea is the least processed. It is wilted and unoxidized. Its name derives from the white hairs on the unopened buds of the tea plant, which give the plant a whitish appearance. Please note that not all white teas have that type of appearance and that brewed white tea is usually a pale yellow.

Green Tea#

It is unwilted and unoxidized.

Yellow Tea#

Yellow tea is similar to green tea but with an added step of encasing and steaming the tea, that also gives the leaves a slightly yellow coloring during the drying process. It is unwilted and unoxidized but allowed to yellow. It's the rarest and most expensive type of tea.

Oolong Tea#

It is wilted, bruised, and partially oxidized.

Black Tea#

It is wilted, sometimes crushed, and fully oxidized.

Dark Tea#

It is green tea that has been allowed to ferment/compost.