Tea Classification Methods

Processing methods

Due to different technologies, the oxidation and quality of tea polyphenol are different. Thus, tea is classified into green tea, black tea, blue tea, yellow tea, white tea and black tea.

Production areas

20 provinces and autonomous regions produce tea in China: Zhejiang Tea, Fujian Tea, Yunnan Tea, Jiangxi Tea and Anhui Tea, etc. Pu-erh tea and Dianhong Gongfu Tea belong to Yunnan tea, Tie Guanyin, Huangjingui; Cinnamomum Cassia to Fujian tea.

Production seasons

Tea is classified into spring tea, summer tea, hot summer tea, autumn tea and winter tea. Spring tea plucked before Qingming is called Mingqian Tea, before Guyu called Yuqian Tea. Mingqian tea boasts the highest quality and price among green tea.

Quality grades

Quality grades are normally classified into Special, Grade 1,Grade 2, Grade 3, Grade 4 and Grade 5. Sometimes special grades are furthered as Special 1, Special 2 and Special 3. Pu-erh bulk tea has 11 grades. Grades are printed on the tea packing for easy identification.

Shapes

Tea shapes vary with lea varieties, such as needle tea like Anhua Pine Needle Tea. flat tea, such as Long Jing tea and Qiandao Jade Leaf, spiral tea. such as Bi Luo Chun and Mengding Ganlu, flake tea. such as Lu'an Guapian. orchid-shaped tea, such as Shucheng Lanhua and Taiplng Houkul, single-bud tea, such as Mengding Huangya, straight strip tea, such as Nanjing Yuhua tea and Xlnyang Maojian, bended strip tea, such as Wuyuan Mingmei and Jingshan Tea, and bead tea, such as Pingshui Bead Tea.

Distribution

Foreign sales tea, domestic sales tea, border sales tea and compatriots living abroad sales tea.

Fermentation degrees

Processing degrees

Classified as primary tea, also called raw tea, refined tea, i.e., commodity tea and tea products and deep-pressing tea, i.e., instant black tea and tea polyphenol extracts, etc.

Fermentation degrees

Classified as non-fermentation tea, such as green tea, slight- fermentation tea, such as yellow tea and white tea, semi­-fermentation tea, such as blue tea, full-fermentation tea, such as black tea and post-fermentation tea, such as Pu-erh tea.

Formation time

Historical tea, such as Guzhu Cisun and Xianshenzhang Tea; modem tea, such as Gaoqiao Yinfeng and Nanjing Yuhua Tea.