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.