China is the hometown of tea and the birthplace of tea culture. There are a wide variety of Chinese teas. According to the processing technology and quality characteristics, they can be mainly divided into six categories: green tea, black tea, oolong tea (qingcha), white tea, yellow tea, and dark tea. Under each major category, there are numerous varieties and famous teas with regional characteristics.
There are various versions of the top ten famous teas in China. Different selection times and institutions may yield different results. The following is a relatively recognized list of the top ten famous teas:
Representative products include Anxi Tieguanyin and Wuyi Rock Tea. (4) Dark Tea Production Process: A type of post-fermented tea. Flavor characteristics: The appearance is black or dark brown. Health benefits: Aids digestion, etc. Representative products include Yunnan Pu’er Tea and Cangwu Liubao Tea. (5) White Tea Production Process: A simple production process, without frying or kneading, only withering and drying.
Flavor characteristics: Fragrant and refreshing, light and sweet aftertaste. Health benefits: Possesses certain detoxifying effects. Representative products include Zhenghe Baihao Yinzhen and Bai Mudan. (6) Yellow Tea Production Process: Slightly fermented tea (fermentation level of 10-20%), during the tea-making process, it undergoes a pile-fermentation process resulting in yellow leaves and soup. Flavor characteristics: Yellow leaves and soup, with a fresh aroma. Health benefits: Aids digestion, etc. Representative products include Huoshan Huangya and Meng’er Yinzhen. (1) In the 1959 National Top Ten Famous Tea Selection, West Lake Longjing: Produced in the peaks of Xixi, Longjing, Wuyun Mountain, and Huqiao in Hangzhou, the peak of Longjing is produced in Shifeng. According to its quality, it is divided into five grades: premium, special grade, first grade, second grade, and third grade. When identifying, the leaves are flat, delicate, neatly arranged, consistent in width, green-yellow in color, smooth to the touch, with one bud and one leaf or two leaves; the bud is longer than the leaf, generally less than 3 cm, and the bud and leaf are evenly arranged in clusters, without stalks or fragments, small and exquisite, with a fragrant aroma. Price: 2000 – 10000 yuan per jin. Dongting Biluochun: One of the top ten famous teas in China, listed as a tribute in the Tang Dynasty, known for its four excellences: beautiful shape, bright color, rich aroma, and mellow taste. High-grade Biluochun requires 60,000 to 70,000 tea buds for 0.5 kg of dry tea. Counterfeits have one bud and two leaves, with buds and leaves of uneven lengths, and yellow in color. Price: 400 – 2500 yuan per jin. Huangshan Maofeng: A famous tea from the Qing Dynasty, divided into special first-grade, special second-grade, special third-grade, and first, second, third grades. The appearance is delicate and slightly curled, with plump buds, uniform, and with fine tips, resembling a sparrow’s tongue, with golden yellow leaves; the color is tender and oily, with a fresh aroma, clear, apricot-yellow, and bright water color, mellow taste, and sweet aftertaste, with buds and leaves forming clusters, thick and bright. Counterfeit tea is earth-yellow, bitter in taste, and the leaf base does not form clusters. Price: 100 – 500 yuan per jin. Lushan Yunwu Tea: Anciently known as Wenlin Tea, a traditional famous tea of the Han nationality. The tea buds are plump, green, moist, and hairy, with compact and beautiful shapes, fresh and lasting aroma, mellow and sweet taste, clear and bright soup color, and tender and uniform green leaf base. Lu’an Guapian: Known as Luzhou Lu’an Tea in the Tang Dynasty, and Lu’an Guapian since the Ming Dynasty, it was a tribute tea to the court in the Qing Dynasty, and among all teas in the world, Lu’an Guapian is the only tea without buds or stems, made from single living leaves.During identification, the single leaves resemble sunflower seeds, naturally flat and slightly curled at the edges, with a treasure green color, uniform in size, excluding bud tips and tea stalks. They offer a high and refreshing aroma, a fresh and mellow taste with a sweet aftertaste, and a clear and transparent tea liquid. The leaves at the bottom are green and bright. Price ranges from 200 to thousands of yuan per jin. Junshan Yinzhen: One of the top ten famous teas in China. Xinyang Maojian: Also known as Yu Maofeng, a traditional Chinese tea for the Han ethnicity, divided into special grade and grades one to five. It has a fine, round, shiny, straight shape with abundant white hairs, a green color, and a long-lasting, high aroma after brewing. It has a rich and mellow taste, a sweet aftertaste that stimulates saliva production, and a bright and clear tea liquid. Wuyi Rock Tea: One of the top ten famous teas in China. Anxi Tieguanyin: One of the top ten famous teas in China. Keemun Black Tea: One of the top ten famous teas, a premium black tea, also known as the queen of fragrances, the black tea queen. (II) In 1915, at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, West Lake Longjing, Biluochun, Xinyang Maojian, Junshan Yinzhen, Huangshan Maofeng, Wuyi Rock Tea, Keemun Black Tea, Duyun Maojian, Tieguanyin, and Lu’an Melon Seeds were all exhibited. (III) In 1999, the Jiefang Daily listed Jiangsu Biluochun, West Lake Longjing, Anhui Maofeng, Anhui Melon Seeds, Enshi Yulu, Fujian Tieguanyin, Fujian Silver Needle, Yunnan Pu’er Tea, and Fujian Yun Tea as notable teas from various regions. (IV) In 2001, Associated Press and the New York Daily mentioned West Lake Longjing, Huangshan Maofeng, Dongting Biluochun, Anhui Melon Seeds, Mengding Ganlu, Lushan Yunwu, Xinyang Maojian, Duyun Maojian, Anxi Tieguanyin, and Suzhou Jasmine as some of the renowned teas.
