Tea has always been a tradition in China, with a long-standing culture and a rich history. When the Chinese civilization discovered tea, the upper class used it as a medicine. With tea becoming more accessible it got more widespread and all of China could enjoy it. China still has a strong tea culture and Chinese tea is known all over the world.
About 2000 years ago, Chinese farmers had the habit of drinking the tea as they cultivated their tea trees ,and learned how to properly produce tea of different varieties with different flavours. China produces all sorts of teas: green tea, black tea, yellow tea, oolong tea, puerh tea, white tea , and yellow tea. Each of these species has different characteristics and various sorts of tea leaves.
Some Famous Teas,
Longjing: Longjing, also known as Dragon well green tea, is a smooth and mellow chinese green tea grown in the mountain areas around Hangzhou in the Zhejiang Province of China. The colour is light yellow-green, and it is often said that, the lighter the colour of the Dragon well, the higher the quality will be. It has a strong sweet aroma with a mellow grassy flavour. The leaves have a beautiful flat long shape.
Keemun Black : If you haven’t tried a fine loose top quality Keemun black tea, then you have been missing out. Keemun black tea has a bold, strong and malty taste. It hails from the Anhui province of China. Keemun black tea has a reputation for being one of the finest black teas on earth, especially in the United Kingdom where a lot of households can’t come through the morning without (at least) a cup. One of the most famous Chinese black tea.
Bi Luo Chun: or green snail spring, is a tea originating from the Jiangsu province. It is usually picked early in the morning. Most experts agree its one off the best fruity Chinese green tea.
The leaves are rolled in typical, tightly twisted spirals like a snail. The tea has a light green colour with a typical bit of bite in taste reminiscing its name.
Da Hong pao (great red robe) is one of the darker Chinese oolong teas. It is also called Yan Cha. It has full body twisted leaves. It is grown in the Wuyi mountains ,located in the northern Fujian province. It is a legendary tea and is not commonly sold in public.
Tie Guan Yin (iron Goddess of mercy) is a softer oolong. It is named after the mythical Chinese goddess of compassion. It has a sweet taste with touches of honey and peaches.
Bai Hao Yin Shen (silver needle) is considered the finest white tea there is. It consists of only the buds of the tea. It comes from farms in Tianmushan in the Fuding area of Fujian province. The tea has a pale yellow colour and a subtle creamy flavour.