About green tea, black tea, oolong tea, white tea, yellow tea and dark tea

Tea is native to China, and Chinese tea culture has a long history.Originally tea was used as a medicineinstead of a drink. It was said that Shennong，the legendary ruler in ancient China, once tasted a lot of plants and was poisoned many times. It was tea that helped him get rid of the poisoning effect. Later the ancient Chinese got to know more and more about tea, and instead of being regarded as a medicine, it became a drink.So originally, tea was only used as medicine and well-renowned for its medicinal properties. Aside from this sometimes tea was used for cooking.

Chinese teas are generally divided into six major types, mainly according to the method of production. These types are green tea, black tea, Oolong tea, white tea, yellow tea, and dark tea.

Green Tea

Green tea is the oldest type of tea in China, and it is also produced there in the greatest quantities. Many provinces and cities are renowned for their production of green tea, the most eminent provinces being Zhejiang, Jiangxi, and Anhui. In green tea the leaves are not fermented, so they largely retain the original flavor of tea, which is simple, elegant, and enduring. At first sip, green tea may taste a little thin, but after a while, it gains a fragrance in the mouth that lingers.

Black Tea

Black tea is a type of fermented tea; originating from green tea after it is mixed, kneaded, fermented, dried, and otherwise processed. Tea made from green tea leaves is a fresh green while that made using black tea is orange-red. What is more important is that black tea does not undergo the processes of green steaming or green frying, but is fermented, during which time the tea leaves go through chemical reactions. While green tea retains the thin and refreshing flavor of the leaves, the fermented black tea gives a stronger and thicker flavor.

Oolong Tea

Oolong tea is somewhat intermediate between green and black tea. The finishing technique is that of green tea, but the preparation involves fermentation like black tea – it is a semi-fermented tea. It, therefore, has characteristics of both green and black tea: the fresh and clear flavor of green tea and the thick and luscious fragrance of black tea.

Dark Tea

Dark tea was invented by accident. Long ago, in order to supply tea to the ethnic groups of the northwest, tea produced in Yunnan, Sichuan, Hubei, Hunan, and other places had to be transported to the north by sea, and then to the northwest via the Silk Road. In ship cabins and on horseback, the alternating damp and dry conditions caused major changes to the chemical composition of the leaves, and also turned them blackish-brown. In spite of this, they still give off a rare fragrance, and this type of tea quickly came to be appreciated by the locals.

Yellow Tea

Like dark tea, yellow tea was also a chance discovery when making green tea. People found that if leaves were not dried promptly after being finished, kneaded, and twisted, they would turn yellow in color, forming yellow tea. At first, people regarded yellow tea simply as bad-quality green tea. But some came to prefer the flavor of yellow tea, which gradually became one of the six major tea types. It's a type of fermented tea.Junshan Silver Needle of Hunan and Mengdi Yellow Shoot of Sichuan are two representatives of yellow tea.

White Tea

White tea is slightly fermented. In the Tang and Song Dynasties, people regarded white tea as very valuable, but at that time white tea was just a rare kind of tea tree whose leaves were white, notthe same as the white tea we know today. White Hair Silver Needle and White Peony produced in Fujian are representatives of white tea.