Culture insider: 7 types of Chinese tea you must know

( chinadaily.com.cn )

Updated: 2014-05-28

Pu'er tea

Pu'er tea is grown in southern Yunnan province. The tea is famous for its health benefits, history and post-fermentation characteristics. Pu'er has both "raw" and "cooked" varieties. The raw version exhibits a green color and matures over a number of years. The cooked variety is black in color and has an earthy flavor.

Pu’er tea in the shape of the Buddha collected by Zhi Chunchen, resident from Handan, Hebei province, September 3, 2013.[Photo/IC]

 

White tea

Not as popular as other varieties, but good alternatives are Silver Needle and White Peony, and a white tea from Yunnan, a fermented white tea cake and white tea bricks. It contains a greater number of antioxidants than other teas.

White tea leaves from Anji county, Zhejiang province.[Photo/IC]

Yellow tea

Nowadays, yellow tea is only found in a few locations in China, mainly because it is difficult to process. Only three varieties are well known: Meng Ding from Sichuan province, Junshan Silver Needle from Hunan and the Huoshan Yellow Buds from Anhui. Both the leaves and the brewed tea are yellow-green in color. The taste is fresh, with a slight hint of pepper.

Yellow tea leaves plucked in Jinyun county, Zhejiang province, March 18, 2013.[Photo/IC]

 Scented teas

Scented teas are made by combining high quality tea leaves with the fragrances and tastes of blossoms, for example, jasmine or pomelo flowers.

Jasmine flowers, a main ingredient of jasmine tea, at the 16th Cross-Straits Fair for Economy and Trade in Fuzhou, Fujian province, May 19, 2014.[Photo/IC]