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The Categories of Tea
Chinese tea may be classified into five categories
according to the different methods by which it is
processed.
1)Green tea: Green tea is the variety which keeps the
original colour of the tea leaves without fermentation
during processing. This category consists mainly of
Longjing tea of Zhejiang Province, Maofeng of
Huangshan Mountain in Anhui Province and Biluochun
produced in Jiangsu.
2) Black tea: Black tea, known as "red tea" (hong
cha) in China, is the category which is fermented
before baking; it is a later variety developed on the
basis of the green tea. The best brands of black tea are
Qihong of Anhui , Dianhong of Yunnan,
Suhong of Jiangsu, Chuanhong of Sichuan and
Huhong of Hunan.
3) Wulong tea: This represents a variety half way
between the green and the black teas, being made after
partial fermentation. It is a specialty from the
provinces on China's southeast coast: Fujian, Guangdong
and Taiwan.
4) Compressed tea: This is the kind of tea which
is compressed and hardened into a certain shape. It is
good for transport and storage and is mainly supplied to
the ethnic minorities living in the border areas of the
country. As compressed tea is black in colour in its
commercial form, so it is also known in China as "black
tea". Most of the compressed tea is in the form of
bricks; it is, therefore, generally called "brick tea",
though it is sometimes also in the form of cakes and
bowls. It is mainly produced in Hubei, Hunan, Sichuan
and Yunnan provinces.
5) Scented tea: This kind of tea is made by
mixing fragrant flowers in the tea leaves in the course
of processing. The flowers commonly used for this
purpose are jasmine and magnolia among others. Jasmine
tea is a well-known favourite with the northerners of
China and with a growing number of foreigners.
Green tea
history
jasmine
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