Tea

Tea, without the Guesswork

Categories, regions, characters & where to find the best cup

There are four major types of Chinese tea — and more varieties within them than most people can name. Each comes from a specific terroir, carries its own tasting profile, and has its own unspoken rules for how and where to drink it.

Shaped by oxidation level, region, and centuries of tradition, these categories aren't just fascinating — they're the difference between tasting tea and actually understanding it.

WE SPELL IT OUT IN THIS GUIDE, SO YOU CAN TASTE THE DIFFERENCE WHETHER YOU'RE AT YOUR LOCAL THIRD-WAVE TEA BAR OR ORDERING YOUR FIRST CUP IN CHINA.

Longjing green tea Hangzhou West Lake — The tea fields outside Hangzhou that give Longjing- a famous green tea- its signature chestnut sweetness.

CATEGORY ONE

绿茶 · Lu Chá — Green Teas

The fresh, grassy intro. Zero oxidation. Highly sensitive to heat

While China cultivates hundreds of regional green teas, the following four are the heavyweights — the names that command the highest respect on the global stage.

CATEGORY 01 // GREEN TEA

Longjing

Dragon's Well · 龙井茶

ORIGIN Zhejiang (West Lake basin)

CATEGORY Lu Chá (Green Tea)

TASTING PROFILE

Toasted chestnut
Sweet butter
Mellow pea broth finish

CATEGORY 01 // GREEN TEA

Biluochun

Jade Spiral Spring · 碧螺春

ORIGIN Jiangsu

CATEGORY Lǜ Chá (Green Tea)

TASTING PROFILE

Stone fruit
Intense floral perfume
Savory umami finish

CATEGORY 01 // GREEN TEA

Huangshan Maofeng & Xinyang Maojian

Yellow Mountain Fur Peak & Green Tip · 黄山毛峰 / 信阳毛尖

ORIGIN Anhui / Henan

CATEGORY Lǜ Chá (Green Tea)

TASTING PROFILE

Fresh orchid
Sweet pea
Sharper chestnut-nutty notes

Where to Drink It:

High-end Zhejiang/Jiangsu restaurant chains, hotel lobbies (Shangri-La, Peninsula), Yuyuan Garden's lakeside teahouses in Shanghai. (Skip bubble tea shops and airport lounges.)

STILL TO COME: Three more categories. Ten more teas.

White Teas: Aged like a natural wine, not brewed like an ordinary cup.
Oolongs: From floral orchid to heavy charcoal roast.
Pu'er: Pressed into cakes, aged for decades, like a peated single-malt.

Explore three additional tea categories and their most iconic cultivars—from Silver Needle and Tieguanyin to Dahongpao. Each entry features full tasting profiles, terroir origins, and the specific spots where locals gather to drink them properly.

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