The Six Great Families of Chinese Tea

The Six Great Families of Chinese Tea ///

Every Chinese tea begins with Camellia sinensis, but centuries of cultivation have produced regional cultivars, each with its own personality. Here are the six great tea families, their processes, and the leaves that bring them to life.

1. Green Tea (Lǜ Chá 绿茶)

Process: Fresh leaves → Withering → Kill-green (Sha Qing) → Rolling → Drying

• Oxidation: None
• Character: Fresh, grassy, chestnut-like, vegetal.
• Famous leaves:
  • Longjing Qunti (Dragon Well) – Zhejiang
  • Xinyang Maojian leaf – Henan
  • Biluochun leaf – Jiangsu

2. White Tea (Bái Chá 白茶)

Process: Fresh leaves → Natural withering → Sun/shade drying → Light bake (sometimes)

• Oxidation: Minimal (natural)
• Character: Delicate, sweet, honeyed, floral.
• Famous leaves:
  • Da Bai (Large White) – Fuding & Zhenghe, Fujian (used in Silver Needle & White Peony)
  • Da Hao (Large Hairy) – variant cultivar for Shoumei

3. Yellow Tea (Huáng Chá 黄茶)

Process: Like green tea → “Men Huang” (sealed yellowing) – gentle steaming & wrapping for slow oxidation → Drying

• Oxidation: Light
• Character: Smooth, sweet, less grassy than green tea.
• Famous leaves:
  • Junshan Da Bai – Hunan (Junshan Yinzhen)
  • Huoshan Huangya cultivar – Anhui

4. Oolong Tea (Wūlóng Chá 乌龙茶)

Process: Fresh leaves → Withering → Partial oxidation (20–70%) → Bruising/tossing → Kill-green → Rolling → Roasting

• Oxidation: Medium
• Character: Floral, fruity, roasted, layered.
• Famous leaves:
  • Tieguanyin cultivar – Anxi, Fujian
  • Shui Xian (Water Sprite) – Wuyi, Fujian
  • Dancong cultivars – Phoenix Mountain, Guangdon

5. Black Tea (Hóng Chá 红茶)

Process: Fresh leaves → Withering → Full oxidation → Rolling → Drying

• Oxidation: Full
• Character: Bold, malty, sweet, sometimes smoky.
• Famous leaves:
  • Camellia sinensis var. assamica – Yunnan (Dianhong)
  • Keemun cultivar – Anhui (Keemun black tea)
  • Zhengshan Xiaozhong (Lapsang Souchong) – Wuyi, Fujian

6. Dark Tea (Hēi Chá 黑茶, including Pu-erh)

Process: Fresh leaves → Kill-green → Rolling → Sun-drying → Microbial fermentation (natural aging or wet-piling) → Compression (optional)

• Oxidation & Fermentation: Complex, microbial-driven
• Character: Earthy, woody, smooth, evolving with age.
• Famous leaves:
  • Camellia sinensis var. assamica (Da Ye Zhong, “large-leaf”) – Yunnan Pu-erh
  • Fuzhuan Cha leaf – Hunan
  • Liu Bao leaf – Guangxi

Each family of tea is born from the same plant, but through processing, varietal, and terroir, transforms into a completely different world of flavor.