Tea Varieties - The Chinese Six Colour System

Below is a brief introduction to the main tea varieties available. Understanding some of the processes involved in the various tea types is crucial for appreciating their different qualities, and preparing the teas appropriately.

I received a wonderful book on tea from my wife a few months ago called The Time of Tea by Dominique Pasqualini and Bruno Suet (translated from French). It has a very interesting section on tea classification and I drew heavily on this for the post below.

In the West, tea is often divided into three main types, based on their level of post-plucking fermentation:

1. Green (unfermented)
2. Oolong (semi-fermented)
3. Black (fully-fermented)

Although this is helpful, the Chinese recognise six tea families. They are not only classified based on fermentation levels, but also on their differing effects and the manner of drinking them:

1. White
2. Yellow
3. Green (lu)
4. Blue-Green (qing)
5. Red
6. Black

These can be further divided into triplets:
1. White, Yellow and Green (unfermented)
2. Blue-Green, Red and Black (fermented)

They can then be further classified into pairs based on leaf type and Processing method:
1. White/Yellow: only downy buds used. Only dried in sun.
2. Green/Blue-Green: buds and young, delicate leaves. Steamed or heated in pots.
3. Red/Black: adult leaves. Dried, crushed, fermented, fired.


These six teas can be generally defined as follows:

1. White Tea: made entirely of downy buds - Bai Mu Dan (Pai Mu Tan) "White Peony, or Yin Zhen "Silver Needles". The tea is immediately dried in the sun without other treatment. White tea come from rare genuine varieties, each with a world production of less than 300 kg. They produce a clear drink in the cup with a natural sweetness.

2. Yellow Tea: similar to white, except that they have undergone a form of light and stewed fermentation in a pan. Even rarer than white tea. Both white and yellow tea will keep for up to two years.

3. Green Tea: in their dry state, green teas have very different appearances. The buds and leaves are fragile and should be used from three months to a year. Fermentation is halted straight after plucking, either by steaming (Japanese preferred) or by heating in large copper pots (Chinese preferred). The most widely consumed tea variety in Asia and arguably the most diverse in flavour, in Japan, ranging from the coarse Bancha (particularly the "Kukicha" - stalks only variety) to the finest, spinach-green Gyokuro.

4. Green-Blue Tea: oolong (wulong) tea is fermented between 12 to 65 percent. Although one of the lesser known teas in the West, in China and Taiwan there are several thousand vintages, representing the largest range of teas. The dried leaves are dense gren with bluish reflections. Least fermented types, such as "Wen Shan Bao Zhong" have a fresh floral aroma, while the higher fermented oolongs, such as the "Bai Hao" or "Dan Cong" have a leathery aroma and a taste of muscat.

5. Red Tea: this is what the West know as black tea. It is reddish, amber or crimson in the cup and its aromas should be fruity, woody, sometimes chocolatey. It has a roundness in the mouth. It is fermented from 90 to 100 percent. Ceylon and Indian red teas (such as Assam) are usually darker and stronger in flavour than those from China (Keemun, Yunnan), although the Indian Darjeeling is an exception.

6. Black Tea: post-fermented tea; aged tea. Predominantly Pu Er or compressed tea. They are teas that have been given an extended period of fermentation, a method of maturation similar to that of wine for keeping. During this process, the tea completely loses its theine but gains in tannins and flavinols. Black tea has a smell of humus and undergrowth and is arguably drunk as much than for its physical effects and sensations than for its taste or aroma. Compressed tea (cake tea) often has an emblem impressed on it and was used as currency, marked sections being able to be broken off as required. Beware of cheap imitations such as "Tua Cha", with its rapid forced fermentation in factories and its blending with red tea!

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In a future post I will unwrap these tea types in much more detail. I have been enjoying green teas a great deal of late (particulary Japanese Sencha) so that may have to be one of the first I'll address!

A brief (but hopefully concise) account of the history of tea will also be coming along some time soon.

Until then,

Happy gongfucha!