A Complete Guide to Tea Types

Intro to Camellia Sinsensis

While the term "tea" is often used to describe a wide range of beverages, it is a much more specific term than many people often realize. Tea, in the traditional sense of the word, is a beverage steeped specifically from the leaves of the camellia sinensis plant. The phrase "tisane" is often used to refer to what many people call herbal tea. There are two main varietals of Camellia sinensis. Camellia sinensis var sinensis grows primarily in China and East Asia, while Camellia sinensis var assamica grows primarily in India. These tea types both have distinct flavors. However, the abundance of different tea types is more so a result of different processing and growing methods than of the tea plant itself. There are thousands of different tea varieties. However, these teas can be grouped into seven main tea types. These tea types are black tea, green tea, white tea, oolong tea, pu-erh tea, purple tea, and yellow tea. Each of these tea types has distinctly different flavors, aromas, hues, and processing methods.

Black Tea:

Black tea is the most commonly consumed type of tea in the world, and is heavily favored in many Western countries. It has a high-caffeine content (about half that of coffee) and typically has a stronger, more robust flavor than many other tea types. It is primarily grown in China, India and Sri Lanka. However, some other countries have also started growing black tea. Some popular variations of black teas are breakfast teas, assam tea, ceylon tea, darjeeling tea, lapsang souchong tea, keemun tea, and yunnan tea. Flavored varieties like Earl Grey, Lady Grey, and Masala Chai are also popular.

How Black Tea is Produced

While in production, black tea undergoes a five-step manufacturing process. The tea leaves are harvested, then they are left to wither. This withering step in the process reduces the water content in the leaves. The tea is then rolled. This step in the production process starts the oxidation process by damaging the tea’s cell wall, thus speeding up the oxidation process. When the tea leaves are done oxidizing, they are then fired. The firing step in this process dries the leaves and stops the oxidation process.

Green Tea:

Green tea is a very popular tea type in many Asian countries. It has a much more delicate flavor than many black teas, and about half as much caffeine. The flavor of green tea can range from earthy, to floral, to vegetal- depending on growing conditions and processing methods. Green tea is grown primarily in China and Japan. It has played an important part in both of these cultures for thousands of years. Some popular varieties of green tea include Sencha, Dragonwell, Gunpowder, Genmai Cha, and Matcha teas.

How Green Tea is Produced

Types of green tea can vary significantly, depending on the processing method. The tea is harvested, wilted, and rolled, similarly to the production process of black tea. However, unlike black tea, green tea is fired before it can oxidize. Green tea is most often either steamed or pan-fired. Steamed green teas tend to have more herbaceous or floral flavors, while pan-fired green teas are often nutty or earthy in taste.

White Tea:

White tea is a highly sought-after specialty tea. It has a delicate flavor and floral notes. It is minimally processed and low in caffeine. This tea experiences only minimal amounts of oxidation, which results in its mild flavor, light body, and low caffeine content.

How White Tea is Produced

The production process for white tea is much simpler than that of other tea types. The tea leaves are harvested and allowed to wilt until they are fully dry. White teas are not oxidized or fired in any way. However, there are a few different harvesting methods that affect the outcome of the tea. To produce the finest white teas, only the unopened tea leaf buds are harvested. These buds are still covered in fine white hairs, which is where the tea gets its name. In other varieties, the tea leaves are harvested just after opening. Some more modern varieties of white tea may harvest the first and second opened leaves alongside the unopened bud. Traditional white teas are only harvested in the spring.

Oolong Tea:

Oolong teas fall between green and black tea on the oxidation scale. At ten percent to eighty percent oxidization, they are partially oxidized. The differences in oxidation levels between oolongs result in a greater range of flavors from variety to variety. Heavily oxidized oolongs tend to have stronger, earthier flavors that are similar to those found in black tea. Lightly oxidized oolongs resemble green teas in the sense that they are lighter and more floral. Some more popular oolong varieties are Iron Goddess of Mercy, Pouchong, Milk oolong, and Wuyi oolongs. The most expensive tea in the world, Da Hong Pao, is an oolong. It costs more than gold.

How Oolong Tea is Produced

Oolongs are the most complicated and time consuming tea type to produce. In fact, many oolongs require unique plant cultivars and are manipulated to achieve a certain oxidization. After being harvested, the leaves are wilted to reduce the moisture content. The leaves are then rolled, and allowed to rest and oxidize for a while. The tea leaves may be rolled and oxidized several times in the production process, which allows the tea to develop a more nuanced flavor. During this process, a little bit of heat may be applied in order to slow the tea’s oxidation. When the tea reaches the preferred oxidation, it is fired at high heat in order to stop the oxidation process.

Pu-erh Tea:

Pu-erh teas are fermented teas that only come from the Yunnan province in China. These teas are full-bodied, with an earthy taste. Pu-erhs are produced similarly to green tea before they are fermented for a number of years. The flavor of pu-erh tea refines with age. Most pu-erhs begin to develop nuanced flavors after four to seven years of the aging process. However, some older pu-erhs are aged for decades. There are two different processing methods for pu-erhs, which I will describe below.

Raw (Sheng) Pu-erh

Raw Pu-erh is processed similarly to green tea and is sometimes pressed into various shapes. The production process for this type of tea consists of withering, rolling, re-wetting the leaves, and finally pan-firing the tea leaves. Once this process is complete, the tea is carefully stored and aged for a number of years. Young sheng pu-erhs are very astringent, but their flavor improves over time.

Ripened (Shou) Pu-erh

Ripened Pu-erh undergoes a faster aging process than sheng pu-erh. This process consists of piling the tea together and adding moisture to encourage oxidation and fermentation. This type of pu-erh only takes about three months to age. Once finished, the ripened pu-erh will taste similar to a raw pu-erh that was aged for fifteen to twenty years. The flavor will not be identical. However, the reduced production time means that this variety of pu-erh tea is significantly cheaper than raw pu-erhs.

Purple Tea:

Purple tea is a comparatively new tea variety with a light body and a mellow flavor. It is low in caffeine and high in antioxidants. This type of tea is produced from a rare tea varietal with naturally purple leaves. There is some debate as to where purple tea originated from. However, most theories place the tea’s origin in either China, Kenya, or India. Purple tea is primarily produced in Kenya.

How Purple Tea is Produced

Similarly to black and oolong teas, purple tea is the product of a five-step production process. The tea leaves are first harvested, and then wilted. They then undergo partial oxidation. After the tea reaches the preferred level of oxidation, the tea leaves are shaped and dried.

Yellow Tea:

Yellow tea is a rare type of Chinese tea. It has a mellow flavor that is reminiscent of green tea. This tea is often characterized by its yellow color and smooth texture. Due to the difficult production process, there are very few types of yellow tea in the world.

How Yellow Tea is Produced

The process of making yellow tea is particularly complicated and time-consuming. The leaves are harvested in early spring and are either sun-dried or gently pan-fired. Once they are dry, the tea leaves are wrapped in wet paper or cloth to start the oxidation process through steaming. This process may last for up to three days. The tea leaves may also go through extra firing or drying rounds.

The Impact of Growing Conditions on Tea

It is also worth noting that the flavor of tea is influenced by the growing conditions of the tea plant. Teas growing at higher altitudes are slower growing. As a result, mountain-grown tea leaves often have more complex flavors, less bitterness, and creamier textures. Additionally, dryer regions tend to yield stronger teas, as teas picked after a period of rain are less flavorful. Seasonal weather patterns have an impact on tea flavor as well. In tea-growing regions where plants go dormant in the winter, spring harvests are often prized due to their complex flavors and natural sweetness. These teas are often floral tasting and aromatic. The dormancy period in the winter allows the tea plants to build up carbohydrates, which then impact the final taste of the tea. These prized "first-flush" teas include Taiwanese oolongs, minimally processed green and white teas, Yunnan gold tea, Darjeeling teas, and "tippy" black teas. During the summer, however, these tea plants grow prolifically. As a result, the tea plants have less time to develop complex flavors. These plants also produce more caffeine in order to repel summer pests. Consequently, summer harvested teas are often more astringent and bitter. After the cooler weather of fall slows the tea plants' growth, however, many oolongs have a second harvest. The taste of fall-harvested oolongs varies from year to year and person to person. However, these autumn harvests can often be described as having richer, creamier textures. Most tea plants go dormant in the winter. There is, however, an interesting exception to this usual dormant period. In Taiwan, unseasonably warm weather can cause the tea plants to bud. These "winter sprout" teas are the sweetest of the year and are nothing like teas from any other harvest seasons.

In Summary

After many millennia of careful tea cultivation, modern tea offerings provide tea drinkers with an extensive selection of unique teas. Through years of experimentation and practice, people have learned how to process tea leaves in order to achieve many different results. Tea artisans can produce a product with certain desired characteristics by accounting for the growing conditions, processing methods, and growing region of a tea. The resulting diversity of teas is nothing short of impressive.