Tea types (or colours)

Depending on how they are processed, the same tea leaves can develop very different tastes and aspects. It is the different processing techniques that result in the various tea types. These tea processing techniques make all use of one of tea’s particularity: the fact that, when left untouched, the picked tea leaves will oxidise.

Traditionally the tea types are all designated by a colour. This is an elegant and simple typology, where every tea type is named after the colour of the processed leaves or the colour you get in your cup when you brew it:

Green Tea (绿茶): The particularity of green tea is that it is processed in such a way to completely avoid the leaves from oxidising. To obtain this result, the leaves are heated (杀青) in a kind of frying pan right after being picked. Then they are kneaded (揉捻) into their final shape, after which they are dried at a high temperature (干燥) according to various techniques. That way the leaves don’t get the time to oxidise and are drained of all their water to avoid any future change of condition.

Red Tea (红茶): The Chinese call red tea what in western countries is usually referred to as “black tea”. Contrary to green tea, red tea hasn’t been heated nor completely dried after being picked. The leaves are just left untouched to “deteriorate” for a while (萎凋), before being kneaded into shape. This allows a complete oxidisation process to take place and causes the leaves to change their colour. Only when this process is over, are the leaves dried.

Dark Green Tea (青茶): dark green tea refers to wulong (乌龙) tea. It is an intermediate tea type, between green tea and red tea. Its leaves are first left to oxidise for a certain time period. Before they turn into red tea, they are processed in a similar way to green tea. Thus dark green tea is a partially oxidised tea type.

Yellow Tea (黄茶): The process of making yellow tea requires one more operation than making green tea: the storing of the leaves in damp conditions (闷堆). This procedure can last up to three days and takes place at various stages of the processing, depending on the different tea varieties. Like dark green tea, yellow tea is a partially oxidised tea type.

White Tea (白茶): white tea is a slightly oxidised tea type. It consists of tender tea buds that have been left untouched for a while, before being dried at a high temperature. They are not heated nor kneaded like green tea. That way the buds don’t loose their fuzz, which gives this tea type its white colour.

Black Tea (黑茶): Chinese black tea is a post-fermented tea type. Like green tea, it is heated to avoid oxidisation, than kneaded into shape. But after that, it is processed in such a way to allow micro-organisms to ferment the leaves (渥堆), which has a similar effect to oxidisation. When the fermentation process is fully completed, the leaves are dried. Raw Pu’er (生普洱) is a peculiar version of black tea: the leaves are stored in fermentation-friendly conditions; but without this process getting accelerated with the help of human techniques. This gives raw Pu’er its unique ageing capabilities.