Chinese Tea: Types, Benefits, and Complete Classification Guide

Tea is the oldest and most commonly used natural health beverage in the world. The Chinese people have created over 1,000 types of tea, earning China the reputation as the “Kingdom of Tea.”

There are numerous types of tea, and there are also various classification methods. For example, some teas are named according to the season and period of picking and processing, such as spring tea, summer tea, autumn tea, and pre-rain tea (tea picked and processed before the rainwater period); some are named based on the appearance color or liquor color of the tea leaves, such as black tea, green tea, white tea, and dark tea; some are named according to their place of origin, such as West Lake Longjing, Xinyang Maojian, Keemun Black Tea, and Lushan Cloud and Mist Tea; some are named based on the shape of the tea leaves, such as Anhua Pine Needle Tea, which resembles pine needles, and Suzhou Biluochun, which is curled like a snail; some are named according to the aroma type of the tea, such as jasmine tea with a jasmine fragrance and osmanthus tea with an osmanthus fragrance. In recent years, a more commonly used tea classification method is based on the tea processing method, combined with the quality characteristics and shape of the tea, mainly dividing tea into green tea, black tea, oolong tea, white tea, yellow tea, dark tea, scented tea, instant tea, and compressed tea.

1. Green tea

Green tea is unfermented tea. High-quality green tea has a green color in its finished form. After brewing, it features green leaves and a clear liquor, with a delicate fragrance or sweet floral aroma, and the tea leaves taste fresh, mellow, and refreshing. The main varieties of green tea include Longjing tea, Qiqiang, Dafang, Gunpowder tea, Biluochun, Nanjing Yuhua tea, Lu’an Guapian, Xinyang Maojian, Anhua Songzhen, Lingyun Baichao, Lushan Yunwu, Meicha, Songluo tea, Huangshan Maofeng, Dianqing, Enshi Yulu, etc.

Green tea is cool in nature. It clears heat and reduces fire, benefits the Liver and improves eyesight, promotes the production of body fluids to quench thirst, induces diuresis to reduce edema, moves qi downward to eliminate phlegm, reduces inflammation and stops dysentery, aids digestion of retained food, soothes the throat, helps with occasional summer heat and烦 (irritability), lowers cholesterol, reduces blood lipids, relaxes smooth muscles, helps maintain arteriosclerosis, lowers blood sugar, helps maintain and fights cancer, aids in weight loss, helps maintain radiation damage, and calms the mind. It is suitable for obesity, diabetes, dysentery and enteritis, red and blurred eyes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, wind-heat cold, indigestion, sore throat, unilateral or bilateral headache, belching and abdominal distension, and overconsumption of meat. It is especially beneficial for students, office workers, those who frequently watch television, and those who are fond of smoking and drinking alcohol to drink green tea. In addition, green tea is also suitable for young people and for consumption during summer and autumn.

2.Black tea

It is fully fermented tea. The finished tea leaves are thin and tight, with a dark and glossy color, a mellow and pure aroma. After brewing, the tea liquor is bright red, and the tea has a mellow and fragrant taste. Famous varieties include Keemun black tea, congou black tea, broken black tea, Ninghong black tea, Dianhong black tea, and Minhong black tea. Black tea has a mild nature. It can refresh the mind, calm the nerves and helps with occasional restlessness, dispel wind and helps with occasional exterior syndromes, resolve phlegm and stop coughing, sober up and helps with occasional greasiness, promote qi circulation and aid digestion, generate body fluids and quench thirst, improve hearing and vision, reduce blood lipids, promote blood circulation and remove blood stasis, invigorate the spirit, and eliminate fatigue. It is suitable for conditions such as exogenous wind-cold, indigestion, wind-cold cough, mental depression, hyperlipidemia, and excessive consumption of greasy food. Elderly people who drink black tea regularly can supports habitual constipation, and manual laborers who drink black tea can quickly helps with occasional body soreness and fatigue.

3. Oolong Tea

Oolong tea, also known as blue-green tea, is a semi-fermented tea that falls between green tea and black tea. It combines the color and aroma of black tea with the sweet and refreshing taste of green tea. The finished tea leaves are robust and loose in appearance, with a purplish-brown hue. After brewing, the tea has a yellowish-bright liquor, a mellow and refreshing taste, and leaves a sweet and lingering aftertaste. Famous varieties include Wuyi Rock Tea, Anxi Tieguanyin, Fenghuang Shuixian, and Taiwan Oolong.

Oolong tea is warm in nature rather than cold, with a mellow taste that is neither bitter nor astringent. Its functions include aiding digestion and dispelling greasiness, promoting the descent of qi and relieving alcohol intoxication, refreshing the mind and clearing the brain, aiding in weight loss and promoting physical fitness, promoting diuresis and reducing swelling, awakening the Spleen and quenching thirst, nourishing and replenishing qi, strengthening the Spleen and eliminating dampness, lowering blood pressure, reducing blood lipids, relaxing smooth muscles, stimulating nerves, fighting cancer, and resisting viruses. It is suitable for conditions such as overconsumption of meat products, obesity, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, nutritional edema, dampness injuring the Spleen, poor appetite, limb fatigue, and deficiency-cold of the Spleen and stomach.

4.White tea

The finished tea leaves are white in color, hence the name white tea. It is made from tender buds and leaves with white hairs on the underside. During processing, it is neither pan-fried nor rolled, but is dried in the sun or with gentle heat, allowing the white hairs to remain intact on the surface of the tea leaves, resulting in the silver-white appearance of white tea. After brewing, white tea has a pale yellow liquor, a fresh and mellow taste, and a fragrant, refreshing aroma. Famous varieties of white tea include Baihao Yinzhen (Silver Needle), Baimudan (White Peony), Shoumei, and Baiyun Xueya.

White tea is cool in nature. Its functions include clearing heat and improving eyesight, moistening the Lungs and soothing the throat, promoting the eruption of measles rash, promoting the production of body fluids to quench thirst, and stimulating the appetite to aid digestion. Overseas Chinese often regard white tea as a rare treasure among teas.

5. Yellow tea

After brewing, this type of tea is characterized by yellow leaves and a yellow infusion, hence the name yellow tea. To produce yellow tea, fresh tea leaves are first supports with high temperature and then undergo a process of yellowing through sealed heaping and refinement. Famous varieties of yellow tea include Junshan Yinzhen, Mengding Huangya, Huoshan Huangya, Beigang Maojian, Pingyang Huangtang, Weishan Maojian, Huangdacha, and Guangdong Dayeqing.

Yellow tea has a mild nature, neither cold nor warm. The tea leaves taste mellow and sweet, and the tea infusion has a mellow, fresh, and brisk flavor with a delicate and long-lasting aroma. The effects of yellow tea are similar to those of white tea.

6. Dark tea

Dark tea is so named because the raw materials used in its production are coarse and aged, and the prolonged pile-fermentation process during tea-making results in a dark brown color of the tea leaves. Dark tea is primarily consumed by ethnic minorities in border regions, hence it is also known as “border-distribution tea” or “border tea.” Notable varieties of dark tea include Hunan dark tea, Hubei old green tea, Sichuan border tea, Pu’er loose tea, and fangcha (square tea).

After brewing, dark tea leaves turn yellowish-brown, and the tea liquor is orange-yellow with a rich, mellow, and sweet taste, along with a fragrant aroma. Most dark teas are durable for multiple infusions, retaining their aroma even after four or five brews.

Dark tea has the effects of dispelling greasiness, aiding digestion, relieving abdominal distension, sobering up, promoting the production of body fluids to quench thirst, inducing sweating to release the exterior, supplementing fluoride to helps maintain dental caries, facilitating weight loss and bodybuilding, reducing cholesterol, supplementing various vitamins, promoting diuresis to helps with occasional edema, etc. It is applicable to wind-cold cold, overconsumption of greasy meat foods, arteriosclerosis, loss of appetite, vitamin deficiency, obesity, deficiency-cold of the Spleen and stomach, abdominal fullness and distension, etc.

7.Scented tea

Scented tea is made by scenting tea leaves with fragrant flowers that are about to bloom. It retains the rich flavor of tea while also possessing the fragrance of fresh flowers. After brewing, scented tea has a pure tea flavor, a rich floral aroma, and a sweet and delicious taste, so it is deeply loved by tea drinkers.

Famous varieties of flower tea include jasmine tea, magnolia flower tea, osmanthus tea, white orchid tea, chloranthus tea, grapefruit flower tea, bitter orange flower tea, gardenia tea, rose tea, etc.

Most flower teas have the functions of soothing the Liver and relieving depression, regulating menstruation and promoting the flow of qi, calming the Heart and tranquilizing the mind, invigorating the spirit, aiding digestion and dispelling greasiness, clearing and benefiting the head and eyes, and enhancing memory. They are suitable for conditions such as irregular menstruation, Liver Qi Stagnation, mental depression, indigestion, dizziness and blurred vision, and memory decline. In particular, they are most appropriate for adolescent females before and after menstruation and women in menopause. Office workers, clerical staff, and people can also drink flower tea in cold seasons.

8. Compressed tea

Compressed tea is a finished tea product made from black tea, green tea, or dark tea as raw materials, which undergoes further processing through steaming and pressing to form a specific shape. This type of tea is highly favored by ethnic minorities in China’s border regions. Tibetan compatriots are accustomed to preparing compressed tea (brick tea) into buttered tea, while Mongolian and Uyghur compatriots prefer to make milk tea by combining compressed tea with milk.

Famous compressed teas include black brick tea, Liubao tea, flower brick tea, Fuzhuan tea, green brick tea, compressed tea, compact brick tea, flat tea, square tea, tuo tea, Pu’er tea, Kangzhuan tea, etc.

The property and flavor, as well as the efficacy of compressed tea, are the same as those of dark tea, so it will not be elaborated on further.

9. Instant tea

This is a newly developed type of tea in modern times. Most instant teas are made by concentrating and drying the hot water extract of tea leaves. The finished instant tea dissolves instantly in water, leaves no tea residue, and is convenient and hygienic. It is easy to mix with milk, sugar, fruit juice, etc., for consumption, and thus is very popular internationally.