Know about the 5 types of tea in the world

Do you know there are only 5 types of tea in the world?

For a long time, The only tea I knew was Black Tea. The black dust tea which you can buy in most supermarkets and have it with milk.

Then one day,  I drank Green tea at a friend’s house. I did not have a good opinion of its taste back then. But, I became curious about what are the other types of tea in the world.

As I researched and learned more about tea, I started trying out various tea types. Thus, I started enjoying the variety of aromas and tastes the world of tea has to offer.

Tea Classification

• Tea or true tea comes from a plant known as Camellia Sinensis, also known as the tea plant.
• Herbal Tea comes from a broad variety of herbs
• Tea blends are true teas mixed with additives like oils, herbs or spices

The list below will help in understanding the variety of tea in the world from the tea plant.

To know about the benefits from tea, please read 7 Popular Teas and Their Benefits in the World.

Here’s a list of types of tea from the tea plant:

I. Types of Black Tea

For most of us, This is the first tea we have tasted. This is the most common tea, something which you will always find in my kitchen shelf. 

It is my go-to beverage in the morning, I prefer having it with milk.

Tea pluckers remove green leaves from the tea plant and then heat the leaves to oxidize them.

After this, The leaves are rolled to remove any essential oils from them. This also enhances the taste further.

Finally, Tea factory workers dry the leaves to remove moisture to make black tea.

Black tea’s taste, aroma, and price depend on the region it has been grown in.  Also, they vary by extra ingredients added to it to enhance taste and aroma.

Here are some of the more popular types of black tea:

1. Assam Tea

Assam tea has full-body, strong malty flavor, and bright color.  It is a good candidate for serving with milk.

This tea grows in the state of Assam, India. At the eastern edge of the Himalayas.

An interesting fact about Assam tea;  It grows in the lowland regions of Assam. In the Brahmaputra river valley basin.

2. Darjeeling Tea

Darjeeling has a thin body, lighter color, and floral aroma. with a spicy taste.

This tea grows in the state of West Bengal, India.

As per estimates, its worldwide consumption figures are 40,000 tonnes. But its total production figures are a quarter of that estimates.

That means a lot of fake Darjeeling tea circulates in the market. Thus, one must look for the ‘Darjeeling certification mark and logo’ before buying.

3. Kangra Tea

Kangra tea grows in Himachal Pradesh, India. Right in the heart of Himalayas.

I love to fly over tea gardens in Kangra on my paraglider. Thus, I have a special connection with this region.

This tea has a unique aroma, subtle fruity flavor, and a unique earthy taste. 

4. Keemun Tea

Keemun tea has a distinct orchid fragrance and a bright red color.

This tea grows in Qimen County, in the south of Anhui province, China. 

Here’s an interesting fact about Keemun tea. Keemun was only used for producing green tea earlier. Here’s the story of how Keemun black tea started.

In the 1870s, A young man from Qimen lost his civil service job. He then started exploring the process of making black tea in other Chinese provinces.  

He came back to Qimen in 1875 and started producing Keemun black tea.

5. Lapsang Souchong Tea

Lapsang souchong is a strong tea with a distinct smoky flavor and has a transparent amber color. 

This tea grows in the mountains of the Wuyi region. In the province of Fujian, China.

It’s one of the oldest teas known. At the start of the 17th century, Chinese tea traders started exporting it to Europe and America.

For the tea to survive the long 15-18 month journey, it was smoke-dried over pinewood fires. Thus, it got its distinct smoky pine flavor.

II. Types of Green Tea

I had been drinking milk tea (black tea) for a long time before I tasted green tea.

At first, I did not like it. It did not feel like tea at all.

For some people, it’s love at first taste. 

For others, like me, it takes time to enjoy new tastes which we are not used to.

Both Green tea and Black tea leaves are harvested from the same plant (Camellia sinensis). For Green tea, the tea leaves do not undergo the same withering and oxidation process as Black tea.  Green tea is not oxidized as much as Black tea.

Tea planters grow the majority of green tea in China and Japan. Chinese tea leaves are pan-fried to heat them, whereas Japanese green tea uses steam.

Here are some of the more popular types of green tea:

1. Genmaicha Green Tea

Genmaicha consists of steamed green tea mixed with roasted popped brown rice.

Its smell reminds one of  fresh grass fields combined with a sweet, toasty, and nutty aroma. It has a light yellow hue, after brewing.

Genmaicha green tea comes from Japan.

You should definitely try this tea,  if you haven’t had green tea and want to start. It’s a great beginner green tea.

2. Matcha Green Tea

This is one of my favorite green teas. Matcha green tea is a thick full-bodied tea, vibrant green in color. It tastes a little acidic and bitter, with a lingering sweet aftertaste.

It is grown in the Uji region of Japan.

Matcha green tea is grown in shade. Thus leaving the tea with high chlorophyll content. 

This tea is often served in Japanese tea ceremonies.

3. Gyokuro

Gyokuro tea is full-bodied, and deep green in color. It has a mellow,savory flavor, and tastes like seaweed.

Gyokuro is grown in select locations in Japan. Tea planters cover the plant for shade, a few weeks before picking the leaves. This adds to the intensity of chlorophyll in the leaves. Thus, giving its characteristic dark green color and complex flavor.

Gyokuro, also known as “jade dew” from Japan. It’s considered one of the finest green teas in the world. Thus, It’s expensive and a luxury for most people.

People use leftover tea leaves as dressing over salad or rice, after brewing.

4. Gunpowder Green tea

Growers carefully roll each tea leaf in a pinhead shape, like gunpowder pellets. 

Thus, giving the name Gunpowder green tea.

This tea has a bold, and a light smoky flavor.

Gunpowder tea’s origins date back to the Tang Dynasty 618-907. These days it grows in the Zhejian Province in China.

Tea planters compress Gunpowder tea, Thus the leaves stay fresh for a long time.

It improves endurance. Thus, a favorite among athletes.

5. Mao Jian Green tea

It’s tea leaves are thin, small, uniform in shape, and covered with white hairs.

Mao Jain means fur tip in Chinese, Hence the name.

Mao Jian green tea has a sweet taste, and a brisk, long-lasting aftertaste. 

This tea’s birthplace is in Xin Yang, China.

The Mao Jian legend; All the people in a village in Xin Yang started falling ill years ago. A girl from the village crossed 99 mountains in search of a mysterious tree with the cure.

Once she found the tree, the keeper of the tree converted the girl into a bird. Hence, she could fly back with the seeds of the tree to her village.

The seed turned into the Mao Jian green tea shrub and cured people in the village. 

III. Types of White Tea

White tea consists of young leaves of Camellia sinensis. It is the rawest form of tea available, and has excellent anti-aging properties.
White tea gets its name from silvery-white hairs on the unopened buds of the tea plant. On brewing, it’s pale yellow in color.

Here are some popular white tea types:

1. Darjeeling White

‘Champagne of teas’ is the other name for Darjeeling White. It is a thin-bodied, light-colored tea. 

It tastes sweet with bright floral aroma, which is unique. People sometimes also describe it to have musky spiciness.

Darjeeling white originated in 1841. Tea planters grow this tea in Darjeeling, State of West Bengal, India. In slopes below 4000 ft, the Lower Himalayan Range.

A surprising fact about Darjeeling tea is that it’s origins are not from India. Scottish adventurer and botanist – Robert Fortune, smuggled tea seeds from China.

2. Silver Needle Tea

Silver Needle tea is also known as Bai Hao Yin Zhen tea.

It has a strong sweet fragrance, and a pale, ivory color. also It has a delicate floral taste, with a hint of white grapes.

Silver Needle grows in Fujian province, China.

Tea planters bag Silver Needle, while the leaves are still hot. Thus, the leaves do not crack and mature while packed.

You can brew Silver Needle in cold water as well. You may have to brew it for more than an hour, though.

3. White Peony Tea

Pai Mu Tan is the chinese name for White Peony tea.

It has a bright apricot color, with mellow floral and earthy flavors which is a little sweet.

It grows in the Fujian Province, China. This place is also famous for being the birthplace of white teas.

4. Ceylon White

Ceylon White is a new white tea, compared to the other white teas mentioned on this blog. 

It is golden in color, once brewed. The tea is creamy with a distinct sweet and vegetal taste.

The tea’s production started in 1867 by James Taylor, a British planter, in Sri Lanka.

5. Long Life Eyebrow White Tea

Shou Mei is the Chinese name of Long Life Eyebrow tea. The tea leaves look like eyebrows, Thus the name.

It has a dark color and bold flavor, unlike other white teas.

The dry leaves range from brown, green to silvery colors.

This tea grows in Fujian Province and Guangxi Province in China.

Shou Mei consists of large tea leaves. Tea planters harvest this tea after plucking of Silver Needle and White Peony tea leaves is over. Thus, all 3 teas come from the same tea plant.

IV. Types of Oolong Tea

Oolong tea is semi-oxidized Chinese tea, made from the leaves of Camellia sinensis.

It is more oxidised than green tea, but lesser than black tea.

People in China have been drinking this tea since the Ming Dynasty. 

Tea planters started growing Oolong tea in the Phoenix Mountain,  in Guangdong Province. Hence, this is the birthplace of Oolong tea.

Here are some popular Oolong tea types:

1. Phoenix Tea

This tea tastes close to fresh fruit juice. It is sweet with no residue of bitterness in it. It has a strong aroma and aftertaste.

Phoenix tea has existed since the Ming Dynasty. Planters grow this tea in the Phoenix Mountain, Guangdong province, China. This is also the birthplace of Oolong tea.

Phoenix tea has a unique quality, it makes water soft and smooth

2. Da Hong Pao

Also known as Grand Scarlet Robe or Big Red Robe. Da Hong Pao tea has a smooth texture, and smells like roasted peanuts.

Planters grow this tea in Wuyishan, which is a mountain region in Jiangxi province, China.

This is an expensive tea. In 2002, only 20 gm of the tea fetched $28000.

3. Iron Goddess of Mercy

This tea tastes smooth and rich, with aromas of roasted chestnut.

Planters grow Iron Goddess of Mercy tea in the high mountains of the southern Fujian province, in the Anxi region.

According to old folk tales, Iron Goddess of Mercy’s tea leaves were only picked by monkeys. Thus it’s also referred to as “monkey-picked”.  

Earlier, the emperors’ of China were the only consumers of Iron Goddess of Mercy. Thus it is one of the highest quality oolong teas. 

4. Wuyi Oolong Tea

Da Hong Pao is the other name for Wuyi Oolong tea.

Tea planters oxidized this tea for a long time. Thus, its dark in color.

It has a smoky flavor with hints of caramel and butter. It is bright orange in color, once brewed.

This tea grows in the mountain area of Wuyishan, in Jiangxi Province. The Wuyi Mountains consist of 36 rock peaks along with a river called Nine Bend Creek.

Legend of Wuyi Oolong tea; This oolong tea saved the mother of an emperor in the Ming dynasty.

5. High Mountain Oolong Tea

This tea tastes sweet, flowery, with a hint of pine. It is creamy and has a buttery aftertaste.

High Mountain oolong teas come from high mountains in Taiwan.

Tea planters harvest this tea 2 times in a year, in October ( winter Gaoshan) and June (spring Gaoshan).

V. Pu-erh Tea

This tea grows in Yunnan Province in China’s southwest. 

Much like wines and whiskeys’, this is the only aged and fermented tea.

Pu-erh tea usually comes in the form of a compressed cake, shaped round or rectangular. 

Pu-erh tea does not taste like tea at all.

It changes its taste with age. Hence every time you take a few tea leaves out of the cake, you get to experience new tastes.

Here are the 2 Pu-erh tea types:

1. raw (sheng)

This is the raw or green form of Pu-erh tea. Thus, it undergoes minimal oxidation.

This tea has a more bitter along with a strong vegetal flavour, compared to its ripe version.

As the taste of Pu-erh tea changes with time, like a good aged scotch.  

The younger cakes are astringent, nutty, woodsy, and pungent.

The aged cakes are smooth, smoky and sweet.

2. cooked/ripe (shou)

Shu cha is the other name for this tea.

It is the dark or ripe form of Pu-erh tea. Thus, it undergoes oxidation like black tea. 

This tea is dark and thick. Once aged, It becomes mellow and smooth.

Like any matured food or drink, the tea has complex flavor.

It has earthy, woody, and damp aroma. It tastes like herbs, mushrooms with notes of tobacco.

In Conclusion

It is difficult to understand the world of teas. There are many types of teas in the world.

Furthermore, there are various herbal blends, advertised as teas. 

This article helps you in understanding true tea types in the world.

I hope this article helps you in finding your next tea experience and get ‘High on tea’.