You may be familiar with the Chinese saying, “Firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, and tea are the seven necessities to begin a day.” Even though tea is listed last, it is still obvious how important the tea is for the Chinese.
Thousands of Chinese tea varieties exist. These are usually classified by processing, quality, preparation methods, and so on. However, when considering tea in terms of quality, there are in fact eight classes of Chinese tea. These consist of black tea, green, white, oolong, yellow, red, flower, and compressed tea.
Let’s examine at these classes one by one.
Black Tea
The Chinese black tea creates a full-bodied amber when brewed. Also, this type of Chinese tea undergoes withering, left to ferment for a substantial time, and then roasted. The leaves of this variety become thoroughly oxidized after processing.
Green Tea
Green tea is considered the most natural type of Chinese tea. It is usually picked, naturally dried and fried briefly to rid it of its grassy aroma. Unlike the other types, green tea is not put through the fermentation process.
According to some experts, green...