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Green tea is China's most widely produced variety in terms of volume. It differs from other types of tea in that it is only lightly oxidized, which means that the tea leaves are only allowed to wilt for a short period before being killed, rolled, and dried.

Green tea is the "rawest" form, or it tastes the most like tea leaves in their natural state due to how it is processed.

When green tea is picked, it significantly impacts the price and quality of the finished product. The most valuable crop is commonly thought to be leaves harvested during Mingqian (明前 míng qián) or before Qingming Festival, which occurs in early April.

Because of all the nutrients still kept within the plant, Mingqian teas are renowned for being more tender and flavorful because they are harvested as soon as winter is over.

Yuhou teas or 雨后 yǔ hòu ("after rain" ) in Chinese, are thought to be of lower quality. They are harvested after Guyu or 谷雨 gǔ yǔ ("grain rain" ) in Chinese , which occurs between mid-April and early May on the Gregorian calendar. Just before summer arrives, there is an increase in rainfall.

Because of the warmer temperatures, the plants grow faster, but they only have a short time to synthesize the nutrients that give the leaves their distinct flavor. This difference is less critical because harvesting starts months after Qingming in tea regions with higher elevations and milder climates.

Green tea is the most researched tea kind out of the six accessible variations and styles, and it is also the most varied in terms of taste and appearance. Green tea tastes grassy or nutty and has a long, bittersweet aftertaste. It is also bright and energizing.

Green tea is thought to be naturally cooling. It's supposed to reduce heat. Most people drink green tea during the day instead of at night because it is believed to upset the stomach more than darker, more processed teas.

When visiting a new country, learning more about its culture is always a good idea. 

If you travel or do business in China, you will spend some time drinking tea. You should be aware of the appropriate way to drink tea because it has been a part of Chinese culture for hundreds of years.

Seating configuration

The honoree is supposed to sit to the left of the host. The chairs are arranged in decreasing importance, beginning on the host's left and moving to the right. Keep your legs from crossing.

Kowtowing with one's finger

Finger kowtowing is when you tap your fingers together. According to tradition, you should thank the person who serves you tea in silence. It began during the Qing Dynasty under Emperor Qianlong. While traveling through China, he stopped at a tea house. The server poured them three ups and downs of tea without missing a beat. After learning its name, the emperor decided to try the "Three Nods of the Phoenix" movement.

As Emperor Qianlong poured the tea into the cups, his companions began tapping their fingers on the table. They couldn't risk revealing his true identity to the general public. Because they couldn't kowtow to him, his friends were tapping their fingers to express their respect and thanks, so he asked them what that was about.

Keep an eye out for red flags.

Finish your tea to thank the host for going through the formal process of making tea so that you can have the best tea possible. They would certainly appreciate it.

It is critical to remember that smoking is considered impolite when drinking tea. Ask your host for permission if you genuinely can't help yourself after a few rounds of serving.

The world's largest and most diverse tea category is Chinese tea, with exquisite leaves, incredible fragrances, and distinctive flavors. What varieties of Chinese tea are there?

White tea

White tea is frequently regarded as the first tea type in the world because it has undergone minimal processing. White tea may have been consumed for a thousand years, but contemporary varieties only date back about 300 years. The Chinese province of Fujian is home to Fuding, the birthplace of white tea. The best white teas are still made in Fujian today. White tea will typically have a mild flavor, maybe with hints of fruit or grass.

Popular varieties of white tea include:

• Bai Hao Yin Zhen or Silver Needle from Fujian
• Bai Mudan or White Peony from Fujian
• Shou Mei or Longevity Eyebrow from Fujian
• Yue Guang Bai or White Moonlight from Yunnan

Yellow tea

Yellow tea is a lightly fermented drink that tastes a lot like green tea. It won't, however, have the same angular, vegetal, or green notes. In addition to China, only a few other countries, including the United States, produce. Most Chinese yellow tea, including scarce varieties, is unavailable outside China. Although Anhui province is where yellow tea originated, it is now being produced in other areas.

Yellow tea's most popular varieties include:

• Huoshan Huangya from Anhui
• Junshan Jin Zhen from Hunan
• Huoshan Huang Da from Anhui

Green tea

Unoxidized green tea is a type of tea. The hue of tea leaves is typically greenish, yellowish, or gray. Chinese green tea is usually pan-fired, which results in a distinctive, mildly nutty flavor. Green tea is renowned around the world for its taste and advantages. Unlike other tea forms, green tea's precise history is less well-known. This type is thought to have existed for at least 1500 years or more. Many Chinese green teas will also have the name of the locality linked to them, especially if they are from the original birthplace. For instance, Xihu Longjing is a particular variety of Longjing from Xihu, but other Longjing teas are also produced in other regions.

The most popular varieties of green tea include:

• Xihu Longjing from Zhejiang
• Xinyang Maojian from Henan
• Liu’an Guapian from Anhui
• Dongting Biluochun from Jiangsu
• Huangshan Maofeng

Oolong tea

Chinese oolong is renowned around the world for its extraordinary aroma and quality. Its history dates back more than a thousand years. Fujian is where Chinese oolong tea was first made, but oolong teas from Guangdong are also very interesting. Oolong tea comes in two primary varieties: those with twisted leaves and those with semi-ball-shaped leaves. The most well-known oolongs originate in Fujian, Wuyi, Anxi, and Guangdong. Oolong tea can have a variety of flavors, including roasted, fruity, honeyed, mineral, fresh, flowery, and green undertones.

Oolong tea's most popular varieties include:

• Anxi Tieguanyin from Fujian
• Da Hong Pao from Fujian
• Qi Lan from Fujian
• Tieluohan from Fujian
• Mi Lan Dancong from Guangdong

Black tea

Black tea has the shortest history. The oldest black tea, lapsang souchong, has an almost 450-year history. For instance, Indian Assam, another trendy black tea variety, has only been around for 200 years. Most Chinese black tea has less malt, sometimes strong chocolate notes, sometimes a deep smokiness, and sometimes a rich flavor of honey and ripe fruit.

Popular varieties of black tea include:

• Qimen from Anhui
• Tanyang Gongu from Fujian
• Yingdehong from Guangdong
• Dianhong from Yunnan
• Lapsang Souchong from Fujian

Green Tea

In the 8th century, when the Chinese first made green tea, a way to keep the leaves from turning brown was found: heating them. The Chinese devised a new way to "fix the leaves" by frying them in the 12th century. Both of these methods, which are still used today, made teas that tasted and looked like modern green teas because they didn't have any oxidation. Since then, the ways that green tea is made have improved as its popularity and production have grown.

Black Tea

The origin of black tea is China, more aptly known as hong cha, or "red tea," because of the often reddish-colored tea it yields. Lapsang Souchong, the first black tea, was grown in the region surrounding Wuyi Mountain in Fujian Province in the late Ming Dynasty, around 1590. The small-leaf tea trees that grew there were called Souchong, which gave the name Lapsang, which refers to this high mountainous region. The best and most well-known black teas in China today are Sichuan Mabian Gongfu, Fujian Lapsang Souchong, Fujian Minhong, Anhui Keemun, Yunnan Dianhong, and Guangdong Yingteh.

White Tea

Since drying the leaves is the primary step in making white tea, it is often thought to be the first type of tea made in China. It is because processing white tea must have been the first time people found a way to keep tea buds fresh.

Emperor Song Huizong of the Song Dynasty, who lived around 1105 AD, is the first person to mention white tea in writing.

Oolong Tea

Oolong tea's history in Fujian Province dates back more than a thousand years to a classic type of tea known as Beiyuan tea. One of the most well-known teas made during the Song Dynasty, Beiyuan tea was the first known tribute tea (a tea given in tribute to the emperor or royal family) produced in Fujian. Since the previous Tang Dynasty, tea has been created in the Fujian region's Beiyuan region, centered near Phoenix Mountain. The leaves of this tea were compressed into cakes, making it a compressed sort of tea. When the aristocracy stopped drinking this, the area started making the first oolong tea, a loose-leaf tea that had been partially oxidized.

Puerh Tea

Pu-erh is one of China's oldest types of tea, dating back to the Eastern Han Dynasty 1,700 years ago. Pu-erh tea was also called "Pu Cha" during that time. Tea artisans gave it the name Pu-erh Town in Yunnan, which served as the first marketplace for Pu-erh tea. Pu-erh was utilized as a bartering currency in early China's southwest.

Yellow Tea

Before 1591, tea makers developed the process for making yellow tea. People used a process known as slow drying, or a slower drying phase, to manufacture yellow tea. If the teas weren't dried thoroughly or on time during the fixation and rolling process, the leaves would become yellow, and the liquid would have a mellower flavor. Tea artisans thus developed the method of manufacturing yellow tea via knowledge and practice.

The Overview History Of Tea

3 Sovereigns and 5 Emperors Period 30 century BC – 21 century BC

In ancient China, tea was first identified as a medicinal plant. People chewed the fresh tea leaves before learning to decoct them and drink the resulting soup.

Spring and Autumn Period 722 BC – 221 BC

People began preparing tea as food or cooking tea leaves in water with scallions, ginger, tangerine peel, and cornel. The Lei Cha of Tu Jia in China is now of this type. They combined ginger, rice, and fresh tea leaves, pounded the mixture, and then drank it with hot water.

Han Dynasty （202 BC – 220 AD）

Tea began to spread as a drink provided for officials and noble lords. Among these teas, several rare kinds were brought to the emperor as tributes. The tea trade became more commercialized.

Southern and Northern Dynasty（ 420-589）

Tea consumption became widespread across the country. The amount of tea being consumed has significantly increased. Since then, south China has become a frequent consumer of tea.

Tang Dynasty（618 – 907）

At this time, the center of tea culture started to shift southward. Fujian Province's Wu Yi Tea underwent a robust development. The species of tea have also undergone significant alterations. There is now scented tea. However, due to their ease of storage, cakes and tuocha maintained a dominant position in quantity.

Song Dynasty （960 – 1279）

During this time, the center of tea culture started to migrate south. The Fujian Province's Wu Yi Tea has proliferated. The species of tea have undergone substantial alterations as well. Tea with scents was produced. But cakes and tuocha continued to be the most popular items because they were easy to store.

Yuan Dynasty （1271 – 1368）

During this time, tea-making techniques improved and made it possible to make tea by machine. The principal forms of tribute for kings and aristocratic lords were cakes and tuocha. Ordinary people drank loose tea.

Ming Dynasty （1368 – 1644）

Tea artisans first used roast in the Ming Dynasty to make tea. Tea makers started to pay attention to the shape of the leaves. Tea artisans frequently used the leaves to make strips. Cakes ceased to be consumed in favor of loose tea.

Qing Dynasty （1636 – 1911）

Tea was the main beverage consumed back then. Tea comes in various varieties, including green tea, white tea, yellow tea, oolong tea, black tea, dark tea, floral tea, and more. Steep revolutionized how tea was consumed. Tea began to be exported, and foreign royals started to favor it.

Green, white, yellow, red, oolong, and dark (Puerh, Pu'er) tea are the six types of Chinese tea production.

Green tea is processed most gently. As a result, the drink contains the same chemicals as a growing tea leaf. It energizes the body and provides it with vitality and vigor.

Even though yellow tea is heaped, it is the same as green tea. It is less irritating to the gastrointestinal tract than green tea. Its production is complex and laborious, but despite its distinct flavor, it is uncommon.

White tea is processed as little as possible. It is made from a specific tea plant and is considered medicinal rather than a tasty beverage in China.

Red tea is frequently referred to as "black" in the Western world. It exudes the heat and vitality of fire. It boosts immunity and provides energy. Chinese tea is traditionally served at the table with sweets in our culture, but white tea can also be enjoyed.

Oolong tea is intricately made and has vibrant fruit and flower flavors. However, oolongs are highly flavorful and adaptable. It has gained popularity for weight loss due to its high concentration of polyphenols, which burn fat.

Dark tea refers to a specific type of tea. It is well-known for its unique manufacturing process, which gives it a distinct taste, smell, and effect on the body. Pu'er, the most prominent dark tea, is made from Yunnan province leaves in two ways: shu Pu'er and sheng Pu'er.

This classification is based on the various methods for producing dry tea from unprocessed leaves. The extreme examples assume that farmers can have a variety of teas from the same plant. Even though the tea made using oolong technology will be labeled "oolong tea," it may not taste as good as people expect. Aside from processing methods, many other factors are essential for each tea mentioned above.

Growing Regions
Because of China's diverse environment, different regions have unique conditions for tea cultivation. It grows in various soils, altitudes, and temperatures; as a result, the plant's leaf accumulates a variety of compounds that affect the flavor and scent of the tea. In Fujian province, for example, small-leaf tea plants predominate, whereas huge-leaf trees predominate in Yunnan.

Growing Conditions
Some tea varieties are grown in specific climates. For example, tincture, tea leaf scent with fruity notes, and spring Emerald spirals are planted among the fruit trees. These notes slowly emerge during the brewing process. The growing tea tastes different and has more value at the mountain's foot, center, and summit.

Tea varieties
Tea bushes and trees with a height of more than 20 meters can be found in China. Tea leaves can also be broad, narrow, round, or tiny. There are white tea-specific plants with long white hairs. The Tie Guan Yin shrub inspired the entire family of oolong teas, distinguished by heavy, harsh-textured leaves. Each type of tea requires a specific cultivar of the tea plant. Because "green" refers to the leaf processing technique, green tea can be made from any bush.

The harvest season
Each type of tea has a distinct harvest season. Other teas can be produced from the same plant on occasion:

• White tea made from February buds
• March red tea made from tips
• April green tea made from leaves

However, only one type of tea is produced, with quality levels determined by harvest time.

To process leaves
For each type of tea, specific tea plant leaves are required. Some teas are made from large leaves, while others are made from complete offshoots that include many leaves. Some teas are made entirely of buds, while others are made of tips.

In Chinese tea culture, teas are thought by the Chinese people to have many health benefits, and high quality tea (or "perfect tea") is produced by a professional production process and has its brewing method with its own ideal temperature range, teaware, amount of tea, and flavor delivery strategy. You'll need to know them to try them and see how they taste.