Classification of the Eight Major Types of Tea

The classification of the eight major types of tea. In fact, 99% of tea lovers only know the surface. They know nothing about the detailed classification of tea. Today, I will explain the classification of tea in the most detailed way. The content is detailed and a bit long. It is recommended that tea-drinking friends collect a copy!
Classification of Tea

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Basic Classification of Tea

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1. Green Tea: There are two ways to fix the green tea, hot steam fixation and wok-frying heating fixation. The green tea made by the hot steam fixation method is called “steamed green tea”. The green tea made by the wok-frying heating fixation method has three drying methods. According to its drying method, it is divided into stir-fried green tea, baked green tea and sun-dried green tea.

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2. Black Tea: According to different manufacturing methods, black tea can be divided into three categories: Lapsang Souchong, Congou Black Tea and Broken Black Tea. Among them, Lapsang Souchong is divided into Zhengshan Lapsang Souchong and Waishan Lapsang Souchong. Congou Black Tea is divided into Big Leaf Congou and Small Leaf Congou. Broken Black Tea is divided into four varieties: leaf tea, broken tea, fannings and dust.

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3. Oolong Tea (Qingcha): Oolong tea is mainly produced in Fujian, Guangdong and Taiwan provinces. Due to some differences in variety and quality, oolong tea can be divided into four categories: Northern Fujian Oolong, Southern Fujian Oolong, Guangdong Oolong and Taiwan Oolong. Northern Fujian Oolong mainly includes Wuyi Rock Tea, Northern Fujian Narcissus, Cinnamon, Northern Fujian Oolong, etc.

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4. White Tea: Due to different tea tree varieties and raw material picking standards, white tea is divided into bud tea and leaf tea. The tea made from single buds is called “Silver Needle”, the tea made from leaves is called “Shoumei”, and the tea with buds and leaves not separated is called “White Peony”.

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5. Yellow Tea: According to the tenderness and size of the raw material buds and leaves, yellow tea can be divided into three categories: Yellow Bud Tea, Yellow Small Tea and Yellow Big Tea. Yellow Big Tea is made from picking one bud with two or three leaves, or even one bud with four or five leaves as raw materials. Yellow Small Tea is processed from picking delicate buds and leaves, mainly including Beigang Maojian, Weishan Maojian, Pingyang Huangtang, etc. Yellow Bud Tea is made from picking delicate single buds or one bud with one leaf as raw materials, mainly including Junshan Silver Needle, Mengding Huangya, Huoshan Huangya, etc.

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6. Dark Tea: Dark tea is categorized by its producing regions such as Hunan dark tea, Hubei aged green tea, Sichuan border tea, Yunnan dark tea, and Guangxi dark tea. By variety, dark tea includes four types: Sanjiao, Huazhuan, Fuzhuan, and Heizhuan. Sanjiao refers to Tianjiao made from first-grade dark tea, Gongjiao made from second-grade dark tea, and Shengjiao made from third-grade dark tea.

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7. Scented Tea: (1) Aroma-infused Scented Tea: Made with black tea, green tea, or oolong tea as the base, combined with fragrant flowers such as jasmine and osmanthus, and crafted through the infusion process, examples include jasmine tea and osmanthus tea, with jasmine tea being the most representative. (2) Handcrafted Scented Tea: Shaped by hand with tea leaves and dried flowers, then dried to create beautiful flower shapes that bloom in water, exhibiting a graceful and charming appearance, highly appreciated for their aesthetic value.

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(3) Herbal Tea: Tea made by infusing dried flowers directly. Technically, these are not teas but herbal infusions, however, in China, they are traditionally referred to as tea due to being brewed with hot water. Herbal teas often possess beautifying or health benefits, making them popular among women, such as rose tea and chrysanthemum tea.

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8. Reprocessed Tea: (1) Tea Bags: Classified into heat-sealed and cold-sealed types based on the special long-fiber materials used; and into green tea bags, black tea bags, oolong tea bags, health tea bags, etc., based on the ingredients. (2) Instant Tea: Including instant black tea, instant green tea, instant lemon tea, and instant flavored tea. (3) Tea Beverages: Tea beverages are divided into pure tea soft drinks and flavored tea soft drinks based on their ingredients. Pure tea soft drinks refer to black tea beverages, green tea beverages, oolong tea beverages, etc.; flavored tea soft drinks are categorized based on added components into fruit-flavored tea beverages, fruit juice tea beverages, carbonated tea beverages, and milk-flavored tea beverages, among others.

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