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Types of Tea · August 25, 2023

How Is Tea Made? | The 6 Types Of Tea And Their Fascinating Journey From Leaf To Cup

Workers plucking tea leaves to make many types of tea
Plantation of Camellia sinensis, the one plant from which all types of tea are made. Image by Quang Nguyen Vinh from Pexels.

Tea might be an essential part of your life. It’s how you start your day and how you end it. Maybe you are an adventurous tea drinker who wants to know about every possible blend that exists. Or maybe you only stick to your one favorite brand of green tea because you are intimidated by the countless choices.

You have often wondered, how many different types of tea are there. After all, tea has existed for over 2000 years. There’s black and green and herbal tea. But what on earth is yellow and white tea? Where do all the different types of tea come from?

Well, this article will try to answer all your questions on types of tea, how tea is made, who makes your tea, and more!

In this article, we’ll explore:

  • What is tea?
  • The six types of tea
  • How is tea made?
    • Plucking
    • Orthodox method
    • Crush-Tear-Curl (CTC) method
  • Who makes your tea?

Disclaimer: This post was written with the help of ChatGPT and Bard, but all content has been curated, heavily edited, and fact-checked by the author.

What is tea?

All types of tea come from the same plant

So in today’s world, we use the word ‘tea’ quite loosely. You boil some ginger or mint in hot water and it becomes tea. But ‘true tea’ actually comes from only one plant: Camellia sinensis, while other kinds of tea are ‘herbal teas’ or often called ’tisanes’. For this article, we will only be discussing ‘true tea’ that comes from the Camellia sinensis plant.

There are two varieties of the tea plant

The Camellia sinensis plant was first grown in China but is now grown in many parts of the world. There are mainly two varieties of the plant. There’s Camellia sinensis var. sinensis, native to China, and Camellia sinensis var. Assamica, native to Assam, India.

The latter has a stronger flavor and has higher caffeine content. Generally, the Camellia sinensis prefers moist, acidic, organically-rich soil. It can grow in different conditions, but all factors can hugely affect the tea’s final taste and smell.

How many types of tea are there?

Historically, green tea was very popular in Chinese tea culture. For many years, all tea was green tea. But eventually, the Chinese discovered that by controlling the oxidation level of the Camellia sinensis tea leaves, they could make many different types of tea. By tweaking the production process slightly, the resulting tea had vastly different flavors, smells, and colors.

So how many types of tea are there you ask? Well, too many to count. The specific region, growth conditions of the Camellia sinensis, and tea production methods can all greatly change the smell and taste of tea. Thus no tea from any two regions is the same. However, all tea from the Camellia sinensis plant can be put in one of six broad categories.

The six types of tea:

White tea, the least processed of all types of tea
White tea is the least processed of all the types of tea. Image from Wallpaper Flare.
  1. White Tea:
    White tea is the least processed or oxidized of all the teas. Because of minimal handling, the tea has intact white hairs on the surface. It is also considered delicate and has subtle, floral flavors. It is very rare and considered a high-grade tea because it is made from finely plucked and the youngest tea leaves. White tea is the most popular in China.
  1. Green Tea:
    Green tea is the second least processed tea that has been subject to minimal oxidation. When making green tea, the aim is to preserve the natural grassy, earthy flavors of the tea leaf. Chinese green tea flavors are often described as nutty, while Japanese green tea flavors are described as more umami and vegetal. The difference in the taste is primarily because Japanese tea masters steam the leaves whereas the Chinese tea masters pan-fry them.
  2. Yellow Tea:
    Yellow tea is only drunk in China. This is also a very rare tea. The process of making yellow tea is very similar to that of green tea, except it has an extra step of ‘yellowing’. The end result is a tea with a sweet, floral, and nutty scent. Yellow tea is said to be a more mellow and smooth version of green tea.
Oolong tea, a type of tea made by partial oxidation
Oolong tea is made by partial oxidation. Image by Jose Esquivel from Pexels.
  1. Oolong Tea:
    Oolong tea, often called wulong tea, is said to be the perfect balance between green and black tea. This is because it is oxidized less than black tea and more than green tea. The oolong tea has a unique aroma profile. There are popular varieties that are found in different regions. Taiwan is known for its high mountain oolong and tieguanyin. In China, the famous Wuyi oolong is roasted to create a smoky and distinctly fruity flavor.
  2. Black Tea:
    Black tea is made through complete oxidation of the Camellia sinensis leaves. It has a very strong, rich flavor and high amounts of caffeine. Of all the types of tea, this one is the most popular worldwide and has the highest production. It is often drunk with milk, cream, or sugar.
Puer tea, one of the most expensive types of tea.
Puer (dark) tea, is one of the most expensive types of tea. Image by Scott Wilson from Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
  1. Dark Tea:
    Dark tea undergoes a post-fermentation process. Depending on the variety of tea, this can happen over 2 days to months and even years. There are many types of dark tea. But the most famous Puerh tea is from a region in China called Puerh. Puerh tea often has a woody, earthy flavor with a sweet aftertaste. This is also one of the world’s most rare and expensive teas ($10,000 for a kilogram!).

How Is Tea Made?

So, now we have a general understanding of the different types of tea. Next, let’s dive into how tea is made!

Worker plucking tea leaves, the first step in how tea is made
The number of leaves plucked depends on the type of tea. Image by Evan Galib from Pexels.

Plucking depends on the type of tea being made

The first step in the tea process is plucking the tea leaves. Before plucking, farmers often shade the Camellia sinensis plants with a net to protect them from the sun. The sun converts sweeter L-theanine to bitter-tasting catechins. So when farmers want a sweeter taste, they grow the plants under shade for a few weeks before harvest.
There are many different types of plucking. The most common practice for high-quality teas is to pick one bud and two leaves from the top of the plant. The youngest leaves at the top are packed with nutrients and aromatic compounds and are best for making fine teas. For rare, high-grade teas like white tea, a single leaf and bud are plucked. The more number of leaves that are picked, the quality of the final tea decreases.

Flow chart summarizing the Orthodox Method of tea processing for the six types of tea
The Orthodox Method of tea processing for the six types of tea. Image: Original

The Orthodox Method is used for making high-quality teas

After harvest, the tea production process can be done through the Orthodox method or through the Crush-Tear-Curl method. You can watch this video to learn in detail about how the six types of tea are made using the orthodox method in this video. The orthodox method generally consists of the following steps:

Withering, important step in how tea is made.
Withering is the first step in making white tea, oolong tea, and black tea. Image by Quang Nguyen Vinh from Pexels.

Withering:

In this step, the tea leaves are laid out either on sheets or flat bamboo baskets either indoors or outdoors. This leads to the production of terpenoids. Terpenoids are sweet-smelling compounds that help build the aroma profile of the tea. At the same time, the leaf cell walls start breaking down, causing several enzymatic reactions and oxidation, Moreover, the tea leaves lose some moisture in this step. This makes the leaves supple and prevents breakage in the next steps of the process.

Bruising:

The bruising of the leaves is unique to oolong tea processing. After withering, the leaves are placed in a rotating drum that moves the leaves around. This causes physical damage to the cells inside. You can often see red patches forming on the leaves, This step breaks down cells, accelerates oxidation, and changes the aroma as well.

Fixing:

Fixing exposes the leaves to very high temperatures. After bruising, oolong tea is fixed. This inactivates the oxidation enzymes and locks in the aroma and flavor profile. Interestingly, it’s the first step in green tea production. Oxidation is stopped very quickly. Thus, green tea retains the natural green color and flavor of tea leaves. There are two methods of fixing green tea: pan frying (Chinese method) which creates a nutty flavor, and steaming (Japanese method) which makes a grassy, vegetal flavor.

Rolling, an important step in how tea is made
Rolling can be done by hand-kneading or through a machine. Image by Quang Nguyen Vinh from Pexels.

Rolling:

Rolling further breaks the cells. It causes more oxidation and builds the tea’s aroma. It also helps to release the flavor compounds more easily when being brewed and squeezes out the moisture from the leaves. White tea doesn’t get rolled because the leaves are very delicate. Therefore, higher temperatures and longer infusion times are needed to extract the best flavors from white tea.

Oxidation or fermentation:

The purpose of fermentation is to oxidize the tea leaves. The tea is laid out in baskets in a room with over 90% humidity. The baskets are often covered with a wet cloth to aid oxidation further. This process is most important for black tea. Black tea’s strong flavor and aroma come from the full oxidation of the tea leaves.

Yellowing:

As you might have guessed, yellowing is unique to yellow tea. This step is done to reduce astringency and increase the sweetness of the tea. When yellow tea undergoes the fixation step, temperatures are slightly lower compared to that of green tea. This is done to avoid deactivating all the enzymes. The yellowing step is similar to the fermentation step of black tea; except it’s a much slower process since 95% of the oxidation enzymes have been deactivated during the fixing step. The yellowing occurs over 6-8 hours after rolling.

Post-fermentation:

You can think of post-fermentation as a kind of extended yellowing step, which can be carried out over days to even months depending on the tea variety. This is similar to the way wine is aged. This step causes the oxidation to occur slowly over a long period of time. As a result, the leaves turn a dark brown color. Thus, teas that undergo this step are called dark tea.

Drying, the final step in how tea is made
Drying is usually the last step in tea processing. Image by Quang Nguyen Vinh from Pexels.

Drying:

Drying is usually the final step in all types of tea processing. This step decreases the moisture content of the tea leaves to below 5% to prevent mold and bacterial growth. Drying ensures tea can be transported safely and has a stable shelf life. Moreover, the loss of moisture brings out more concentrated and intense flavors of the tea.

How Tea Is Made Using The Crush-Tear-Curl (CTC) Method

The Crush-Tear-Curl method is much less time-consuming than the orthodox method. In this type of processing, the leaves are put through a machine with large rotating blades. The machine crushes, tears, and curls the leaves into small pellets and dust particles.

Through this method, the whole tea leaf is no longer intact. Thus, the final flavor and aroma of the tea are of a much lower quality compared to the orthodox method. CTC is often used for mass-produced tea and for teabags. As a result, it’s also much cheaper.

Who makes your tea?

Bar graph showing tea production by country 2021
Tea Production by Country, 2021. Image: Original

Tea production by country

Tea originated in China but slowly became popular across the globe. For a long time in history, China held a monopoly in the tea market. Today, more than 60 countries make their own tea. However, 75% of global tea is produced by the top 5 countries: China, India, Kenya, Sri Lanka, and Turkey.

Although most of the world’s tea is made in these 5 countries, your tea exploration certainly shouldn’t be confined to them. There are several other countries known for their fine, high-quality teas and rich tea culture. Japanese matcha and Taiwanese high mountain oolong are just two examples.

More On Types Of Tea Coming Up!

In this series of blog posts, we are going to dive into the world of all types of tea. We will discuss the many varieties of black tea, green tea, oolong tea, herbal tea, specialty teas, and much more! Keep reading to learn about the rarest teas from different countries and the best brands for the finest teas. Happy sipping!

Posted In: Types of Tea · Tagged: Learn About Tea, Tea Production

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