There are more than 1500 varieties of tea available worldwide and one of the most interesting tea facts is that all true teas come from the same plant, Camellia Sinensis. How a tea is produced specifically affects the flavours and aromas, and is what makes it unique from other teas. There are 6 main categories of teas, 5 are more well known, and 1 is more rare. Each types of tea are unique thanks to its processing methods. Let’s explore all of them and a few extra.
The Six Types of Tea
White Tea
White tea is the least processed of all teas.
Originating in China’s Fujian Province, this type of tea is made from the buds and the leaves from the Camellia Sinensis plant. They are carefully handled so there are no bruised or broken leaves.
The buds and/or leaves are picked, withered and dried.
White teas are light in colour. In fact, some buds even still have fine white hairs. These hairs are a layer of protection from any harmful attacks (ie. insects, harsh weather).
It is the most delicate tea in flavor and aroma, as the leaves are not rolled or crushed in the processing.
White tea can be aged, too.
Some popular white teas are:
Silver Needle (this white tea is bud only) and Bai Mu Dan (White Peony)
Green Tea
Green tea is the oldest type of tea.
It is slightly oxidized (not unoxidized as commonly known). The leaves are picked, withered and then either roasted in a pan or steam-heated to stop oxidation.
Pan-firing is more common for Chinese tea and steaming is more common for Japanese tea. With pan-fired green teas, the tastes can be more vegetal.
With steamed green teas, the tastes can be more grassy.
The shapes of green tea leaves also vary from flat, to curled or tightly rolled.
For fresh steeps, not stale, it is recommended to drink green tea within the first year.
Some popular green teas are:
Long Jing (Dragonwell), Sencha, and…
Matcha is a bit different than the green teas above. It’s actually a green tea (tencha) that is finely ground into powder form. So, when preparing matcha you are ingesting the entire leaf. Check out more about this green tea and how to prepare it here.
Yellow Tea
Yellow tea is a rare tea that is produced in small quantities and only in China.
It’s a lengthy process that usually requires the skills of an experienced tea master.
High quality yellow tea is made from buds plucked in the early spring. While low quality yellow tea is made from buds and leaves from later in the year.
Processing yellow tea is similar to green tea. However, it also goes through a “yellowing” stage where the leaves are wrapped in paper.
Therefore, skipping this step would simply make the tea a green tea, not yellow.
Some yellow teas are:
Mo Gan Huang Ya and Jun Shan Yin Zhen
Oolong Tea
Oolong tea is semi-oxidized and the leaves are curled, twisted or tightly rolled.
The best way to describe the characteristic of oolong tea is that it is between green tea and black tea.
An oolong can be lightly oxidized and share soft flavour notes from a green tea, or an oolong can be heavily oxidized and share bold flavour notes from a black tea.
The leaves are picked, withered, bruised, and then partially oxidized.
Oolong is anywhere from 10-80% oxidized, and some are also roasted after the oxidization. The more red/darker your leaves are, the more oxidized.
Some popular oolong teas are:
Dong Ding, Tie Guan Yin (Iron Goddess), Oriental Beauty
Black Tea
Black tea is the most oxidized type of tea. It is perhaps the most common type of tea.
Black tea is grown largely in Kenya and many Asian countries, including Sri Lanka, India and China. But, this type of tea is referred to as “red tea” in China because of the colour of the liquid when steeped.
Orthodox and CTC (cut, tear and curl) are the two processing methods for black tea.
The leaves are picked, withered, rolled or cut, oxidized and dried.
Some popular black teas are:
Assam, Darjeeling, Dian Hong
*Earl Grey and English Breakfast are some popular blends that are black tea based, too.
Dark Tea (Puerh)
Puerh is a dark tea that is produced in the Yunnan Province of China.
This tea is fermented and compressed into shaped cakes such as flat squares or circles. It can also be left as loose tea.
There are two categories of puerh tea: sheng puerh and shou puerh.
Sheng (raw) is compressed or left loose and aged, fermenting naturally over time. The fermentation process is sped up for shou (ripe) puerh.
The flavours can improve over time, and is highly valued.
There are more dark teas, however, puerh is a more popular one.
Other “Teas” Not On This List…
Herbal Tea (Tisane)
Herbal tea (also known as tisane) is not actually tea as it does not contain any leaves from the Camellia Sinensis plant.
It is prepared the same way as tea–steeping in hot water to extract flavours–which is why it is often categorized as tea.
It is a good option for something naturally caffeine free. Herbal teas can consist of dried fruit, flowers, nuts, herbs and spices.
Some popular herbal teas are:
Rooibos, Peppermint, and Chamomile
Purple Tea
Purple tea is very much a tea, but it’s not considered a type of tea. It’s a variety of tea plant which is high in anthocyanins – a type of flavonoid responsible for giving the leaves the purple colour.
Rooibos
As mentioned above, “red tea” is a black tea in China. However, sometimes you’ll see rooibos listed as a red tea or “red bush tea” because of the colour of the Aspalathus Linearis leaves.
This is what I refer to as original rooibos, because you can also get green rooibos (my personal favourite) which are the same leaves but unfermented.
In the end, rooibos is still technically an herbal tea/tisane, and not a red tea as the leaves are not from the Camellia Sinensis plant.
Kombucha
I’ve included this on the list because when talking about the different types of tea, I sometimes I get asked what type of tea kombucha would fall under.
Kombucha is a fermented tea beverage, but, it is made with a type of tea prior to being fermented. Therefore, it’s not a type of tea on its own, but a tea infused drink.
Learn more about tea:
- How to Steep Tea Properly
- The Art of Tea Blending
- How to Make Perfect Iced Tea
- Best Tea Infuser Baskets for Loose Leaf Tea
- How to Cold Brew Tea (& why!)
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Do you favour one type of tea more than the other? Share your steep preferences in the comments below.
Very helpful post and nice shots! I would be interested to try Purple Tea! I also didn’t know that the darker your oolong is the more oxidized it is. Now I am very thirsty for some tea:)
I loved this post! Clear pictures and easy to understand description! Good job!
hi, i like your website, very beautiful.I am a tea lecturer in China.
Clear picture and easy to understand
Thanks so much!
What a fantabulous article !! I always loved tea , but only now am I starting on a deep dive into its rich diversity and wide joys !! I am from India , so mostly we have here black tea !! But now with digitisation , other types have become available , though not too popular as of now !! For me “tea is liquid wisdom “, and I hope to find a lot of “tea wisdom “through your informed writing !! i am glad i discovered this blog !! Thank you !!
Nice introduction to the main tea types. Surely many beginner tea drinkers will find something they didn’t know before!
I’ve always been more interested in Chinese tea culture, and I always associated green tea with China. However, I’ve started learning more about Japanese tea culture – and O.M.G – it’s almost as if Japanese tea deserves it’s own category. Like, recently I’ve been introduced to Batabatacha – a fermented herbs & tea blend – crazy 😀
Just to expand a little bit on Dark tea: real Pu’erh only comes from Yunnan,
and for some time it was considered a type of tea on it’s own. However, they found tea in Hunan, which is prepared essentially the same way – so grouped it together and called the type “Dark tea”, which now references to both Pu’erh and the tea from Hunan.
Keep up the good work, I enjoy your writing.