Dry tea comes in 26 distinct shapes, each associated with a specific type of tea: Flat shape: Pressed by hand into a flat form during rolling, with West Lake Longjing as a representative.
Whole leaf shape: The whole tea leaf is rolled back, with Lu’an Guapian as a representative, and the fragmentary type is represented by Sanjiao Pian.
Sharp shape: Two leaves embrace the bud slightly pointed, with plump and large leaves, such as Taiping Houkui.
Sparrow’s tongue shape: One bud and one leaf, with the leaf head slightly curved, resembling a sparrow’s tongue, with Jintan Queshe as a representative.
Needle shape: Slightly pointed at both ends, resembling a needle, thinner than needle buds, with Anhua Songzhen as a representative.
Needle bud shape: Made from a single bud, naturally needle-shaped, plump and straight, such as Baihao Yinzhen.
Sword shape: Pressed into a flat sword shape, with Tianzhu Jianhao and Longquan Jianming as representatives.
Tadpole shape: The tea stem is twisted into a round shape at the top, resembling tadpoles, such as Anxi Tieguanyin.
Spiral shape: Heavily rolled to form a spiral shape, with Biluochun as a representative.
Curled shape: Rolled into a curled and slender shape, with Jingshan Tea as a representative.
Hook shape: Medium to small leaf tea rolled into a tight, curled dry tea, resembling a fishhook, with Jiuqu Hongmei as a representative.
Hemispherical shape: Tea leaves are half-dried and wrapped in cloth to roll into a hemispherical shape, with Dongding Oolong as a representative.
Block shape: Compressed into small tea blocks, with Zhangping Narcissus and some Fuding white teas as representatives.
Brick shape: Tea leaves are refined, steamed, and pressed into bricks of varying sizes, with representatives such as Mi Zhuan, Lao Qing Zhuan, and Kang Zhuan tea.
Bowl-mortar shape: Also known as nugget shape, with a concave middle resembling a bowl, with Tuocha as a representative.
Cake shape: Pressed into large round or square cakes, with aged Pu-erh tea and some white teas as representatives.
Column shape: Tea leaves are tightly compressed into a column shape, with Anhua Qianliang tea as a representative.
Orchid shape: Tea leaves are mildly rolled into a shape that, when brewed, curls tightly downward like an orchid, with Xiao Lan Hua tea as a representative.
Bundle shape: Tea leaves are tied into bundles, and when brewed, resemble chrysanthemums or peonies, with Huangshan Green Peony as a representative.
Bud shape: One bud and two leaves without rolling, brewed to resemble the bud on the tea tree, with Huangshan Maofeng as a representative.
Eyebrow shape: Resembling human eyebrows, slender and slightly curved, with Jin Jun Mei and Hongqing as representatives.
Thick eyebrow shape: Shorter and thicker than the eyebrow shape, with Wuyi Rock Tea Cinnamon as a representative.
Spherical shape: Resembling round beads or water droplets, with Xiuqiu Longzhu tea as a representative.
Granular shape: Tight curls or individual grains of tea, with Yongxi Huoqing as a representative.
Crushed: Tea leaves are cut into granules, fine as sand, with red broken tea as a representative.
Tea powder: Green tea is deeply processed and ground into powder, with matcha as a representative.
