The Ten Famous Varieties of Tea in China
6 min readThere are various kinds of tea produced in various places of China. Among them the following the ten varieties are the most famous ones.
West Lake Longjing Tea
West Lake Longjing Tea is one of the most famous green teas, produced at the side of the West Lake in Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province. It is almost second to none in the Chinese green tea. Longjing tea enjoys a very long history, which was recorded as early as the Tang dynasty in Lu Yu’s Tea Classics, and the Longjing tea had already been listed in the tribute teas in the Song dynasty. The collection time and processing skills of Longjing tea all have strict requirements, for example the tea leaves should be plucked early, bud leaves should be tender and the processing diligently. Especially the “Mingqian Tea”that are collected before Pure Brightness festival and the “Yuqian Tea”that are collected before Grain Rain day, which are all very precious, and there even have the saying of “Yuqian Tea is the best tea and Mingqian Tea is the precious tea.”The bud leaves of Longjing tea also deserves great attention; the one with only one bud is called”lianxin”, one bud and one leaf “qiqiang”and one bud and two leaves “queshe”.
Biluochun Tea
Biluochun Tea is grown on Dongting Mountain at the side of Taihu Lake in Jiangsu Province, The major characteristics of Biluochun Tea that distinct itself from the other teas are that the Biluochun tea plant should be grown in alternative row with other fruit trees,i.e. the tea plants are planted with peach trees, apricot trees, plum trees, persimmon trees and guave trees etc, alternatively in rows. When the tea plants bud and grow, the leaves could absorb the various fragrances of other fruits sufficiently, and gradually take on the natural flower and fruit fragrance on tea plants. In addition, planting tea and other fruit trees alternatively for a long time would make the branches and roots of tea plants and fruit plants interweave, which could enable tea trees to absorb the vitamins in fruit trees effectively, which is also quite good for the human body. The collection of Biluochun Tea alsoemphasizes”early, tender, frequent and quiet”. The collection usually begins before Pure Brightness festival and finishes in Grain Rain day, and Mingqian Tea is the most precious one.
Huangshan Maofeng Tea
Huangshan Maofeng Tea is one of the famous green teas, which is produced in Huangshan Mountain in Anhui Province, where the excellent geographical environment nurtures out excellent and famous green tea. Huangshan Maofeng Tea is famous for its slander, tender and even leaves on which are covered with white hair all over the surfaces, hence the name of Maofeng(“mao”in Chinese means “hair”), which is the best kind among Maofeng teas and one of the ten great dry teas in China. Tea production in Huangshan Mountain enjoys a long history, which was already very famous before the Ming dynasty and there were many records in the historical books of the Qing dynasty. Collection of Huangshan Maofeng Tea starts by Pure Brightness Festival or so, and when plucking, the bud leaves are fresh and tender, hair standing and even in sizes; after the tea is brewed, the color of the tea water is very limpid and the fragrance mellow, which is of an elegant style.
Lushan Yunwu Tea
Lushan Yunwu Tea is also one of the famous green teas, which is produced in Lushan Mountain in Jiangxi Province. Because of its supreme quality, it was listed into the tribute teas in as early as the Song dynasty. The history of tea planting in Lushan Mountain could be dated back to the Han dynasty. According to the historical records, the famous monk Huiyuan in the Eastern Jin dynasty (317~420) used to spread Buddhism in Lushan Mountain on the one hand and plant tea on the other hand. There were many poems in the Tang and Song dynasties describing Lushan Tea. However, it was not until the Ming dynasty that the name of Lushan Yunwu Tea was nailed down. Taking advantage of the excellent environment in Lushan Mountain, the Lushan Tea contains rich nutritive ingredients such as protein and vitamin etc.
After the tea is brewed, it is fragrant, mellow with brilliant green water color. It is fascinating in both appearance and taste.
Xinyang Maojian Tea
Xinyang Maojian Tea is another famous green tea in China, which is produced in the western mountainous area in Xinyang in Henan Province. It is one of the rare precious teas that are produced in the north of China. It is said that Xinyang Maojian Tea has a history of over 2,000 years. Xinyang Maojian Tea is also called “Yumaofeng”. The fertile soil in the western mountainous area in Xinyang created an excellent environment for the growth of Xinyang Maojian Tea. This kind of tea features wiry and tippy leaves and faint fragrance.
Dianhong Gongfu Tea
Dianhong Gongfu Tea is one of the famous black teas in China, which is produced in Yunnan Province in China. Dianhong Gongfu Tea features large leaves, strong fragrance and tippy golden pekoe. Yunnan is the oldest tea production area in theworld; however, the production of Dianhong Gongfu Tea has a short history, which is only near 100 years.
Ninghong Gongfu Tea
Ninghong Gongfu Tea is one of the famous black teas in China, which is produced in Xiushui in Jiangxi Province, and also one of the precious Gongfu teas produced earliest in China. The production of Ninghong Gongfu Tea roughly began in Daoguang reign in the Qing dynasty, and because Xiushui County and Wuning County all belonged to Yining Prefecture in the ancient time, the black tea produced were all calledNingzhou Hong Cha (Ning Prefecture Black Tea), Ninghong in short. Ninghong GongfuTea features reddish color, tight and straight leaves, red and bright water after brewing and strong fragrance.”Ninghong Jinhao Tea”is the best among the Ninghong Gongfu Teas. There is also a special kind in Ninghong Gongfu Tea,i.e. Shu Tea, and since the tea leaves resemble the longxu(the two long hair beside the mouth of an imaginary dragon), it gets the name of Longxu Tea. Longxu Tea is produced through special processing skills. When brewing, the Longxu Tea opens just like a chrysanthemum in the bottom of the bowl, the water red and bright, the tea leaves in riotous profusion, which is fascinating.
Wuyi Rock Tea
Wuyi Rock Tea is produced in the area of Wuyi Mountain in Fujian Province, the traditional production area of Oolong Tea in China. Because the tea plants mostly are grown among the rocks, and we even could say that only the places with rocks that could grow tea, therefore people call this kind of tea as “Wuyi Rock Tea”. Wuyi Rock Tea enjoys a long history; it was already greatly reputed in the Tang dynasty and it was listed into tribute teas by the Song dynasty; in the Qing dynasty, because Wuyi Rock Tea had both the characteristics of green tea and black tea and of very mild nature as well, it is famous all over the world. Wuyi Rock Tea features even leaves and greenish auburn color. After brewing, the tea is very fragrant, withthe aroma of orchid. The tasting of Wuyi Rock Tea also has its requirement,i.e. the tea utensils should be small and easy to hold and use.
Tieguanyin Tea
Tieguanyin Tea, also called Hongxin-Guanyin, Hongyang-Guanyin, is one of the best Oolong teas in China. It is produced in Anxi in Fujian Province, famous for its mellow taste. Tieguanyin originally was the name of a kind of tea plant, but because it is very suitable for making Oolong tea, the tea produced was named Tieguanyin. The Tieguanyin tea leaves could be collected four times in a year, namely, spring, summer, later summer and autumn, among which the ones collected in the spring arethe best. The dried tea leaves present the forms of curled strip, bold and heavy.
After brewed, the fragrance is lasting and taste sweet, very delicious.
Pu’ er Tea
Pu’ er Tea is a famous kind in the Chinese dark tea, grown in Pu’ er County in Yunnan Province. It is made with the leaves of the large-leafed tea plant variety in Yunnan Province. Pu’ er is an unusual large-leafed tea with a very dark color, and the tea brewed out has a mellow flavor. Pu’ er is renowned for its medicinal effects, such as lowering plasma lipids level, losing weight, warming stomach, helping digestion, quenching thirst etc, and it even gets the names of cosmetic tea, life-prolonging tea and diet tea etc.
