Tea is made from the leaves of the tea plant after picking and processing. It is essentially a kind of beverage. It has health benefits such as quenching thirst, refreshing, eliminating fatigue, clearing heat, relieving heat, and losing weight. Tea is currently the first of the three major non-alcoholic beverages in the world.
What is tea?
Let's understand what tea is from the perspective of natural science. When people talk about "tea", they have to talk about tea plants - Camellia Sinensis. Camellia Sinensis are responsible for different types of tea. All tea comes from Camellia Sinensis plant.
1. What kind of plant is the Camellia Sinensis plant?
In the plant classification system, the tea tree belongs to the genus Camellia of the family Theaceae. The Camellia Sinensis is an evergreen shrub that can grow up to 60 feet in the wild. When cultivated for harvest, tea bushes are kept to a height of about 3 feet.
2. What kind of tea do we usually talk about?
Tea is a drink made from the tender leaves and buds picked from the tea tree. It can be drunk hot or cold.
In life, tea friends often ask, are roses or some herbal teas considered tea? As long as it is not made from plants of the Camellia family, other types of tea are collectively called herbal tea, which is not tea in our usual sense.
According to different fermentation production processes, tea can be divided into six basic tea categories: green tea, white tea, yellow tea, black tea, oolong tea, and dark tea. From the perspective of health care and hobbies, many flower teas have also been developed, such as chrysanthemum, jasmine, rose, etc.; herbal teas such as wolfberry (goji) , tangerine peel, lemon tea, etc. Therefore, the meaning of "tea" is extensive.
1. Green tea
Green tea is unfermented tea. It is made from the new shoots of tea trees through typical processes such as fixation, rolling, and drying. The color of its dry tea leaves and the tea soup and leaf bottom after brewing are mainly green, hence the name. Representatives include Longjing, Biluochun, Huangshan Maofeng, Taiping Houkui, etc.
3. Yellow tea
Yellow tea is a slightly fermented tea with the characteristics of yellow soup and yellow leaves. The name of yellow tea comes from the color of the tea leaves and the tea soup. The quality characteristics of yellow tea are yellow soup and yellow leaves, and the taste is sweet and mellow. Representatives include Junshan Yinzhen, Mengding Huangya, Huoshan Huangya, etc.
4. Oolong tea
Oolong tea is a semi-fermented tea, also known as green tea. Oolong tea production requires shaking, and the edges of the leaves are damaged by impact. The finished tea has the characteristics of "red edges and green leaves". The quality is between black tea and green tea. Fermentation gives it the characteristics of floral and honey fragrance, and the taste is sweet and less astringent. Representatives include Tieguanyin, Dahongpao, Phoenix Dancong, Dong Ding Oolong, etc.
5. Black tea
Black tea is a fully fermented tea. The color of the dried black tea leaves is dark and oily, and some of the tea leaves have golden tips. The tea liquor is bright orange-red, and the aroma is mainly floral and honey-fruity. Of course, due to different processes and roasting, the aroma of black tea may also have pine smoke and caramel aromas. Withering and fermentation are the two key steps in making black tea and affecting the color and taste of black tea. Representatives include Lapsang Souchong, Dianhong, Keemun black tea, etc.
6. Dark tea (Hei Cha)
Dark tea is a post-fermented tea. Dark tea uses relatively coarse and old fresh leaves and is processed through processes such as fixation, rolling, pile fermentation (a process in ripe Pu-erh tea), and drying. The tea aroma of dark tea includes aged aroma and woody aroma, and representatives include Guangxi Liubao tea, Yunnan Puer tea, Tibetan tea, Hunan Fu brick dark tea, etc.
TIPS: The tea type commonly referred to as 'black tea' in English is called 'red tea' in Chinese. The sign 黑 (hei) used to describe post-fermented tea in Chinese can be translated as 'black' or as 'dark'. To avoid any confusion, post-fermented tea is referred to as 'dark tea' in English.
7. Flowery and fruity tea
Flowery tea is made by blending and scenting fragrant flowers (such as jasmine, rose, etc.) with tea, or blending and drying sweet fruits with tea in a golden ratio, so that the fragrance is absorbed by the tea leaves, thus making fragrant flower tea, also known as scented flower tea (scented tea).
Representative flowery teas include: jasmine tea, osmanthus black tea, rose white tea, etc.
Representative fruity teas include: peach oolong tea, etc.
8. Herbal tea
Herbal tea is a catch-all phrase applied to products that are steeped in a manner similar to tea, but are not from the Camellia sinensis plant. This can include any number of plants such as chamomile, peppermint, rooibos, lavender, hibiscus, ginger, etc. – some of which are enjoyed by themselves or blended together with other products. Since these products are not related to the tea plant, the vast majority of them are caffeine free (yerba mate and guayusa are exceptions and both contain caffeine). They also do not share the same elaborate processing techniques that give tea its unique transformation. Herbal products are often referred to as “tisanes”, which is a French word meaning “beverage made from herbal infusion.”
