Oolong (, ; Chinese: 烏龍茶 is a traditional semi-oxidized Chinese tea produced through a process that includes withering the leaves under strong sun and allowing some oxidation to occur before curling and twisting. Most oolong teas, especially those of fine quality, involve unique tea plant cultivars that are exclusively used for particular varieties. The degree of oxidation, which is controlled by the length of time between picking and final drying, can range from 8% to 85% depending on the variety and production style. Oolong is especially popular in southeastern China and among ethnic Chinese in Southeast Asia, as is the Fujian preparation process known as the gongfu tea ceremony.
Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of Camellia sinensis, an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and northern Myanmar. Tea is also made, but rarely, from the leaves of Camellia taliensis. After plain water, tea is the most widely consumed drink in the world. There are many different types of tea; some have a cooling, slightly bitter, and astringent flavour, while others have profiles that include sweet, nutty, floral, or grassy notes. Tea has a stimulating effect in humans, primarily due to its caffeine content.
Lapsang souchong or Zhengshan xiaozhong is a black tea consisting of Camellia sinensis leaves that may be smoke-dried over a pinewood fire. This smoking is accomplished either as a cold smoke of the raw leaves as they are processed or as a hot smoke of previously processed leaves. The intensity of the smoke aroma can be varied by locating the leaves closer or farther from the source of heat and smoke or by adjusting the duration of the process. The flavour and aroma of smoked lapsang souchong is described as containing empyreumatic notes, including wood smoke, pine resin, smoked paprika, and dried longan; it may be mixed with milk but is not bitter and usually not sweetened with sugar. The tea originates from the Wuyi Mountains region of Fujian and is considered a Wuyi tea. It is also produced in Taiwan. It has been labelled as smoked tea, smoky souchong, tarry lapsang souchong and lapsang souchong crocodile. While the tea leaf grading system adopted the term souchong to refer to a particular leaf position, lapsang souchong may be made with any leaf of the Camellia sinensis plant, though it is not unusual for the lower leaves, which are larger and less flavourful, to be used as the smoking compensates for the lower flavour profile and the higher leaves are more valuable for use in unflavoured or unblended teas. In addition to its consumption as a tea, lapsang souchong is also used in stock for soups, stews and sauces or otherwise as a spice or seasoning. Beginning in the early 21st century, an unsmoked variety of lapsang souchong was developed in the village of Tong Mu Guan in the Wuyi mountains. The unsmoked variety has become increasingly popular, particularly in the Chinese domestic market.
Pu'er or pu-erh is a variety of fermented tea traditionally produced in Yunnan Province, China. In the context of traditional Chinese tea production terminology, fermentation refers to microbial fermentation, and is typically applied after the tea leaves have been sufficiently dried and rolled. As the tea undergoes controlled microbial fermentation, it also continues to oxidize, which is also controlled, until the desired flavors are reached. This process produces tea known as hēichá (黑茶), literally "black tea", though the term is commonly translated to English as "dark tea" to distinguish it from the English-language black tea.
White tea may refer to one of several styles of tea which generally feature young or minimally processed leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant.
Camellia sinensis is a species of evergreen shrub or small tree in the flowering plant family Theaceae. Its leaves, leaf buds, and stems can be used to produce tea. Common names include tea plant, tea shrub, and tea tree.
Nilgiri tea is a drink made by infusing leaves of Camellia sinensis that is grown and processed in the Nilgiris district in Tamil Nadu, India. The leaves are processed as black tea, though some estates have expanded their product offerings to include leaves suitable for making green, white and oolong teas. It is generally described as being a brisk, fragrant and full-bodied tea. The region produces both rolled and crush, tear, curl tea and it is predominantly used for blending. Nilgiri tea is also used for making iced tea and instant tea.
The history of tea spreads across multiple cultures over the span of thousands of years. The tea plant Camellia sinensis is native to East Asia and probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and northern Myanmar. One of the earliest accounts of tea drinking is dated back to China's Shang dynasty, in which tea was consumed as a medicinal drink. An early credible record of tea drinking dates to the 3rd century AD, in a medical text written by Chinese physician Hua Tuo. It first became known to the western world through Portuguese priests and merchants in China during the early 16th century. Drinking tea became popular in Britain during the 17th century. In order to compete with the Chinese monopoly on tea, the British introduced commercial tea production to British India. Due to the tea leaves being transported by train/road for extended periods of time, the tea leaves fermented and as a result many in the West believed fermented tea is the preferred method of consumption in China. This also contributes to why fermented (black) tea is the most consumed tea in the West.
Bai Mudan is a type of white tea made from plucks each with one leaf shoot and two immediate young leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant. Bai Mudan is sometimes preferred by white tea drinkers for its fuller flavor and greater potency than the other major type of white tea, Bai Hao Yinzhen. The latter is made purely with leaf shoots, and so it is comparatively softer and more subtle. The typical taste of Bai Mudan is a result of both the processing and the tea plant cultivars employed in the production.
Baihao Yinzhen, also known as White Hair Silver Needle, is a white tea produced in Fujian Province in China. Amongst white teas, this is the most expensive variety and the most prized, as only top buds of the Camellia sinensis plant are used to produce the tea. Genuine Silver Needles are made from cultivars of the Da Bai tea tree family. There are other productions that look similar with downy leaf shoots but most are green teas, and as green teas, they taste differently and have a different biochemical potency than the genuine white tea Silver Needle. It is commonly included among China's famous teas.
Nepali tea is a beverage made from the leaves of tea plants grown in Nepal. They are distinctive in appearance, aroma and taste, but are similar in many ways to tea produced in Darjeeling, perhaps because the eastern zones of Nepal have geography and topography similar to Darjeeling. Its relatively smaller production quantities mean that teas from Nepal are less well known than those from Darjeeling.
Darjeeling tea is a tea made from Camellia sinensis var. sinensis that is grown and processed in Darjeeling district or Kalimpong district in West Bengal, India. Since 2004, the term Darjeeling tea has been a registered geographical indication referring to products produced on certain estates within Darjeeling and Kalimpong. The tea leaves are processed as black tea, though some estates have expanded their product offerings to include leaves suitable for making green, white, and oolong teas.
Korean tea is a beverage consisting of boiled water infused with leaves, roots, flowers, fruits, grains, edible mushrooms, or seaweed. It may or may not contain tea leaves.
Dongfang meiren(Chinese: 東方美人; lit. 'eastern beauty') or Oriental Beauty, or baihao(白毫), among other Chinese names, is a heavily oxidized, non-roasted, tip-type oolong tea originating in Hsinchu County, Taiwan. It is a tea produced from leaves bitten by the tea jassid, an insect that feeds on the tea plant. Terpenes are released in the bitten leaves, which creates a honey-like taste. Oriental beauty, white-tip oolong, and champagne oolong are other names under which dongfang meiren is marketed in the West.
Tea processing is the method in which the leaves from the tea plant Camellia sinensis are transformed into the dried leaves for brewing tea.
The Charleston Tea Garden is located about twenty miles south of Charleston, South Carolina on Wadmalaw Island. Owned by the Bigelow Tea Company, it grows the tea sold under the brand name American Classic Tea and Charleston Tea Garden from the Camellia sinensis plant. Every year they used to host the First Flush Festival celebrating the beginning of the harvest season.
Empoasca onukii, the tea jassid, is an insect species belonging to the subfamily Typhlocybinae of the family Cicadellidae. Plant hosts include Gossypium (cotton) species and, notably, Camellia sinensis. The species is distributed throughout East, Southeast, and South Asia.
Teatulia is a privately owned tea company based in Denver, Colorado. Teatulia is named after the Tetulia region in Northern Bangladesh where the company grows and produces its teas. It is the first USDA-certified organic tea garden in Bangladesh and the first tea in the United States that is imported from Bangladesh.
Black tea is a type of tea that is more oxidized than oolong, yellow, white, and green teas. Black tea is generally stronger in flavour than other teas. All five types are made from leaves of the shrub Camellia sinensis, though Camellia taliensis is also, rarely, used.
Camellia taliensis is a small species of evergreen shrub whose leaves and leaf buds are used to produce tea.
