The Many Colors of Chinese Tea
There are no better flavors of tea than those coming from China. With literally thousands of varieties based on four primary types of Chinese tea, the flavors are unrivaled.
To the Chinese people, tea is one of the necessities of life, along with rice, oil, salt, vinegar, sauce, and firewood. Using the four primary Chinese teas as a base, virtually thousands of varieties are produced. Tea is classified using several components to include method of preparation, quality, and procedure.
However, when most people buy tea online or through a local specialty shop, they are most concerned with quality. Regardless, we wanted to discuss the eight classifications of Chinese tea, which include green, oolong, flower, yellow, white, black, red, and compressed. Each of these special teas offers something unique, as you will discover below.
Green Tea
One of the most popular of all types of Chinese teas is green tea. In fact, it is said that of all teas from China, this is by far the most natural. The leaves are handpicked and then dried naturally in the sun before being fried to eliminate any lingering grassy odor. Most types of Chinese teas are fermented but green tea is the exception.
A huge benefit of drinking green tea is the list of healing properties. This type of tea has been studied for years and along with having low caffeine, green tea is said to help with weight loss, speeding up the metabolism, and aiding with digestion. Depending on the actual variety of the green tea, the fragrance would range from medium to rich and flavor from light to medium. Of all types of Chinese teas sold, more than half is green tea.
Oolong Tea
Another excellent choice for types of Chinese teas is oolong, a name when translated in Chinese means “black dragon”. In China, this type of tea is fondly referred to as Qing Cha, which boasts flavor heavier than green tea but lighter than black tea. The process for making oolong tea is half fermented, which involves using leaves while green in the middle and with red edges. These leaves are usually withered and prior to being fermented, they are spread out, followed by being fried, rolled, and roasted.
Black Tea
In addition to having a fuller body of flavor, this type of Chinese tea offers numerous benefits. Leaves being processed are withered and allowed to ferment for quite some time. After that, the leaves are roasted and depending on oxidation, different varieties are produced. Some of the top black tea benefits include protection against cancer, stroke, and heart disease.
Red tea is made from red leaves, thus the name. During the fermentation process, this type of Chinese tea is heavily highlighted although the aroma is subtle and the flavor only medium bodied. When looking to buy tea online or in a local store, you would find three specific types of red tea to include Small Species, Ted Tea Bits, and Kung Fu.
White Tea
Many people think of Chinese white tea as being related to green tea. While they are both made from the Camellia sinensis leaf, neither is fermented, and caffeine levels are low, they fall into two different classifications. White tea has a smooth and delicious flavor and due to the tea being harvested from the tea plant when buds are still covered with white hair, the price is higher than other types of Chinese teas.
Yellow Tea
For yellow tea, yellow leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant is used, thus the name. Most tea experts agree that of all types of Chinese teas, yellow tea is the rarest of classes but even so, the mild flavor is delicious, refreshing, and satisfying.
Flower Tea
Flower tea is considered a type of Chinese exotic tea, which is broken down into Scented Tea or Flower Tea. In this case, flowers from the Camellia sinensis plant are used instead of the leaves and the amount of processing is minimal. Now, if you want to try Scented Tea, the only difference is that along with the flowers, a blend of red and green teas are used as the base. The flavor varies from light to medium although the aroma is generally strong.
Compressed Tea
For compressed tea to be made, black tea is used for the base. Then, the process for this type of Chinese tea involves steaming of the leaves, which are then compressed into columns, bricks, cakes, or a variety of additional shapes. The flavor and aroma are similar to black tea but compressed tea has an advantage in that it can be stored for decades while remaining fresh.
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