Chinese Tea Glossary

One of the six major Chinese tea families. The fresh leaf is heated early (kill-green) so it barely oxidizes, which keeps the leaf and liquor green and the flavor fresh. Longjing, Biluochun and Huangshan Maofeng are green teas.

A tea family made mainly by withering and drying, with no rolling and no kill-green step. Chinese white tea standards describe the process as withering, not fermentation. Bai Mudan and Silver Needle are typical examples.

A small tea family processed like green tea but with an extra sealed-yellowing step (men huang) after kill-green. That step softens the grassy edge and turns the leaf and liquor yellower. Junshan Yinzhen and Mengding Huangya are yellow teas.

A partly oxidized tea family, also called 青茶 (qīng chá). Its defining step is zuoqing — shaking and resting the leaf so the edges bruise and oxidize. Styles range from light, floral Anxi Tieguanyin to roasted Wuyi rock teas and Guangdong Dancong.

The formal Chinese category name for oolong tea. Despite the character 青, which can mean blue-green, it does not mean green tea (绿茶). On a Chinese label, 青茶 and 乌龙茶 refer to the same family.

Literally "red tea": the family English speakers call black tea, named in Chinese for the red color of its liquor. The leaf is fully oxidized after withering and rolling. Keemun, Dianhong and Jinjunmei are Chinese black teas. Do not confuse it with 黑茶, dark tea.

Literally "black tea" in Chinese, but a different family from English black tea. Dark teas go through pile-fermentation (wo dui), where heat, moisture and microbes transform the leaf. Fu brick, Liu Bao and Qianliang tea are dark teas; many are compressed and can be aged.

Tea that has absorbed the fragrance of fresh flowers, most often jasmine, through scenting. It is real tea, usually a green-tea base, not a herbal infusion. Note that 花茶 is also used loosely for flower-only drinks such as chrysanthemum, which contain no tea leaf.

The best-known scented tea. A finished green tea, often a baked-style green tea whose porous leaf takes up fragrance well, is layered with fresh jasmine buds so it absorbs their scent; the spent flowers are then usually removed.

Pu-erh made from sun-dried maocha without pile-fermentation. Young raw Pu-erh can taste brisk and bitter-sweet, and it changes slowly with storage. Aging raw Pu-erh does not turn it into ripe Pu-erh — they are different products.

Pu-erh that has gone through pile-fermentation (wo dui), giving a dark red liquor and a smooth, earthy cup. The piling step makes it drinkable without long storage, and Chinese standards grade it as a separate product from raw Pu-erh.

A protected-origin oolong from the Wuyi Mountains in Fujian, usually roasted. The national standard (GB/T 18745-2006) divides it into five products: Da Hong Pao, Mingcong, Rougui, Shuixian and Qizhong. Da Hong Pao is one of them, not a synonym for all rock tea.

Oolong from the Fenghuang (Phoenix) Mountain area of Chaozhou, Guangdong, famous for named aroma types such as honey-orchid. In the national standard it means tea from selected Dancong cultivar lines — not, as the English "single bush" suggests, tea from one tree.

The main category of Chinese whole-leaf black tea, finely made with careful rolling. Keemun (祁门工夫红茶) and Dianhong are examples. 工夫 here describes the work put into processing; it is a different word from 功夫茶, the gongfu brewing style.

A black-tea category from the Wuyi area of Fujian, separate from gongfu black tea. Its best-known form, Lapsang Souchong (正山小种), can be smoked over pinewood; the standard also covers the related smoked style 烟小种.

A compressed dark tea brick, best known for its "golden flowers" — a beneficial fungus deliberately grown inside the brick during a flowering step. It brews an earthy, smooth cup. Golden flowers are a production feature, not a quality score.

"Thousand-tael tea": a dark tea from Anhua, Hunan, pressed into a tall cylinder wrapped in bamboo and leaves, then cured outdoors by sun and dew over an extended period. It has its own national standard, GB/T 32719.2-2016.

A dark tea from Cangwu County, Guangxi (officially "Liupao tea"). Its standard includes piling and a defined aging step, which gives a smooth, earthy cup sometimes described as betel-nut-like. It is its own product, not a variant of Pu-erh.

Heating fresh leaf — by pan-firing, baking or steaming — to deactivate the enzymes that cause oxidation. It is the defining early step of green tea and also appears in yellow tea, oolong and Pu-erh processing, at different points.

Spreading fresh leaf out so it loses moisture and softens. It is the main step for white tea and the first step for black tea and oolong. Chinese white tea standards call white tea's process withering, not fermentation.

Pressing and twisting the leaf, by hand or machine, to shape it and break some cells so flavor comes out more easily in the cup. How hard and how long a tea is rolled helps explain why teas look so different — needles, curls, strips or tight balls.

The defining oolong stage: repeated rounds of shaking and resting the leaf so its edges bruise and partly oxidize while the center stays greener. The visible result is the "green leaf, red edge" pattern you can see in the infused leaves.

Part of zuoqing in oolong making: the leaves are tumbled or shaken so their edges rub and bruise. It alternates with standing (静置), when the leaf rests and moisture moves from the stem into the leaf.

The step that makes yellow tea its own family. After kill-green, the warm, damp leaf is held enclosed — wrapped or piled — so it slowly yellows. Green tea never goes through this step, which is why yellow tea is gentler and less grassy.

Piling moistened leaf so that heat, moisture and microbes transform it over days or weeks. It is the defining step of dark tea and of ripe Pu-erh; raw Pu-erh skips it. This is true microbial fermentation, unlike black tea's oxidation.

The half-finished leaf that both raw and ripe Pu-erh start from. It is picked, kill-greened, rolled and dried in the sun rather than by machine. Raw Pu-erh is pressed or sold from it directly; ripe Pu-erh goes on to pile-fermentation.

Slow baking of finished leaf over charcoal or in an electric roaster. Roasting deepens color and adds toasty, mineral or fruity notes, and it is central to Wuyi rock tea. Roast level is a style choice, not a measure of quality.

Layering finished tea with fresh flowers, often over several rounds, so the leaf absorbs their fragrance. This is how jasmine and osmanthus teas are made. The flowers are usually removed afterward, so visible petals are not a reliable sign of quality.

Picking out stems, fibers and off-grade pieces from the finished leaf. In white tea it follows drying, which is one reason "just withered and dried" understates how much work a finished white tea involves.

Storing tea under controlled conditions so its flavor slowly changes. For most teas it is optional storage; for Liu Bao it is a defined step written into the production standard. Age claims on labels are hard to verify from the leaf alone.

A word Chinese tea writing often uses for black tea's processing step, though what actually happens there is enzymatic oxidation. True microbial fermentation happens in dark tea and ripe Pu-erh. Read "fermented" on a label with that difference in mind.

A sweet impression that rises in the mouth and throat after you swallow, often following initial bitterness. It is a prized tasting note, but it is a personal sensory description, not an objective quality score.

A tasting term for the mineral, lingering character associated with Wuyi rock tea. The national standard uses it to describe top grades, but it has no precise chemical or sensory definition. Treat it as tasting vocabulary, not a measurable specification.

A lighter, greener, more floral oolong style with little roast, used in standards for teas such as Tieguanyin and Foshou. It describes processing style, not grade, and the product name alone may not tell you which style is inside.

A more roasted, deeper oolong style, usually set alongside light-fragrance in the same product standard. Expect warmer color and toasty or fruity notes. Like light-fragrance, it is a style axis separate from cultivar and origin.

A deeply roasted style named in some oolong standards, alongside light-fragrance and honey-fragrance styles. For Taiwan-style ball-rolled oolong, the standard describes a long, slowly rising bake to build its deeper, fruitier character.

The settled, woody-sweet aroma of well-stored older tea. Pu-erh standards use it across ripe-tea grades and treat it as different from mustiness or mold. Some oolong standards also define an aged-fragrance category with minimum storage times.

A smoky note from drying over pinewood fires, found in some Hunan dark teas such as Qianliang tea and in smoked black teas like Lapsang Souchong. It comes from processing; it is not added flavoring.

The fine white hairs on young tea buds, especially visible in Silver Needle (白毫银针) white tea. How much down you see depends on cultivar, picking standard and processing. Visible down is a useful observation but does not prove origin or grade.

The general term for fine hairs on buds and young leaves, prominent in teas such as Biluochun and Xinyang Maojian. Down can make the liquor look slightly cloudy; that is normal. Its visibility varies and does not authenticate a tea.

The color and clarity of the brewed tea. Observing it is one step of a structured tasting: color hints at tea family, oxidation and roast, while brightness and clarity say something about processing and freshness.

The spent leaves after brewing. Spreading them out shows leaf size, picking standard (bud, bud-and-leaf), evenness and processing marks such as oolong's red edges. Professional tasters always look at the infused leaf, not just the liquor.

Smelling a tea three times: the dry leaf, the hot leaf or lid right after pouring, and again once cooled. The hot smell shows aroma type and intensity; the cool smell shows how long fragrance lasts and can reveal off-odors that heat was masking.

The classic look of an oolong's infused leaf: a mostly green leaf with reddish-brown, oxidized edges left by zuoqing. Spreading out the wet leaves after brewing lets you see it, which is a good way to understand how oolong is processed.

Small yellow-gold specks of the fungus Eurotium cristatum, deliberately cultivated inside Fu brick tea. They are a regulated production feature, not mold or a defect. In some other dark teas they may appear only sometimes, so they are not a universal quality marker.

Picked before Qingming, the spring festival in early April. Early spring green teas with this label are often tender and fragrant and sell at higher prices. On its own, the word does not prove quality, authenticity or that the date on the label is true.

Tea from the spring harvest, the season most prized for many green teas because growth is slow and buds are tender. Summer, autumn and winter teas exist too; for some oolongs autumn tea is also valued. Season is a harvest label, not a grade.

The highest grade in many Chinese tea standards, usually followed by grades 1, 2 and 3. What it requires — leaf shape, tenderness, moisture, ash and so on — differs from standard to standard. A label saying 特级 without naming the standard tells you little.

Legal protection for a product tied to a defined place, such as West Lake Longjing or Mount Meng teas. A GI standard sets the production area and often the processing. Real GI products carry official marks; a famous place name on a package is not proof by itself.

China's national standards. Codes starting GB are mandatory; GB/T are recommended standards. Many teas have a GB/T product standard defining origin, processing and grades. ChinaTea101 cites these standards where they exist and says so when a tea has none.

Tea plants with large leaves, typical of Yunnan and used for Pu-erh and Dianhong. "Yunnan large-leaf" (云南大叶种) is a collective name for many cultivars, not a single variety. Leaf size describes the plant, not a grade.

Tea plants with small leaves, often shrubby and cold-hardy, common in eastern China's green-tea regions. Like large-leaf, it describes the type of plant — not a grade, a processing style or an origin claim.

A trade term, mainly for Pu-erh, for leaf from old tea trees. The national Pu-erh standard says nothing about tree age, so "ancient tree" and "100-year-old tree" claims rely on narrower trade standards or the seller's word. Ask how it is documented.

Tea grown at higher elevation, where cooler temperatures, mist and slower growth can shape the leaf. Altitude can influence a tea, but "high mountain" is not a defined grade and is not an automatic quality claim.

Tea produced under a defined organic standard and, when sold as certified organic, verified by an approved certification body — in China under GB/T 19630, elsewhere under schemes such as EU Organic. Certification checks the production system; it is not a taste grade.

Marketing language for tea said to be grown in a natural, low-input way. Unlike certified organic, it has no single certification behind it, so the claim depends on what the seller can show about how the tea was grown.

Anxi County's four signature oolong cultivars: Tieguanyin, Huangjingui, Benshan and Maoxie. Tieguanyin has its own national standard; Benshan and Maoxie do not, so their grades rest on trade practice rather than a national grading system.

A traditional grouping of four celebrated Wuyi rock-tea bushes: Da Hong Pao, Tie Luohan, Bai Jiguan and Shui Jin Gui. In the current national standard, Da Hong Pao is its own product category, while the other three fall under the broader Mingcong category.

A brewing style using more leaf, a small vessel and many short infusions, each poured off completely. It suits oolong, Pu-erh and other teas that open up over several steeps. Not to be confused with 工夫红茶, gongfu black tea.

A lidded bowl with a saucer — the most versatile Chinese brewing vessel. You brew in the bowl and use the lid to hold back the leaves while pouring. Porcelain gaiwans are neutral, so they work for any tea and let you watch and smell the leaves.

A small pitcher, also called cha hai, that receives each full infusion before it is poured into cups. Because the whole steep mixes in it, every cup gets the same strength, and the leaves stop steeping on time.

A slatted or drained tray that sits under the brewing vessels and catches spills and rinse water during gongfu brewing. It is convenient but optional; a plate or bowl does the same job when you are starting out.

A tall, narrow cup used in some gongfu sets, especially for Taiwanese oolong, to smell the tea's fragrance separately from tasting it. It is an optional extra, not a requirement for good brewing.

A small open dish, often white porcelain, used to show the dry leaf before brewing and to tip it into the vessel. It lets you look at leaf shape and color, the first step of tasting.

A small clay figurine kept on the tea tray and "fed" with leftover tea, slowly developing a patina. It is purely decorative and has no effect on the tea.

The iron-rich clay from Yixing, Jiangsu, used for unglazed Yixing teapots. Despite the name "purple sand," it fires to several colors. Its porosity is why many people dedicate one pot to one type of tea.

The soft sheen that builds on an unglazed Yixing pot through years of use and handling. It comes with time; a brand-new pot with a heavy shine has not earned it through use.

A thick, black-glazed stoneware bowl from the Jian kilns of Fujian, made for Song-dynasty whisked tea; its dark glaze showed off the white froth. Iron in the glaze forms patterns such as hare's fur and oil spot. Japan calls it tenmoku.

A quick first pour of hot water that is discarded, used mainly to wake up compressed or tightly rolled teas such as Pu-erh and ball-rolled oolong. It is optional, and most delicate green teas do not need it.

Pouring the tea fully off the leaves at the end of each steep. Full decanting is one of the most important brewing controls: leaving water on the leaves keeps extracting and is the most common cause of bitter tea.

The craft and visible skill of preparing and serving tea well — technique, setting and presentation. It is often described as the outward expression of tea practice, compared with the inner, philosophical chadao.

The philosophical side of tea practice: inner cultivation and attention rather than technique. The term appears in Chinese writing as early as the Tang dynasty, long before the Japanese chadō became famous in the West.

Tapping two or three fingers lightly on the table when someone pours your tea — a silent "thank you" that keeps conversation flowing. It is common in southern China, especially at yum cha.

Lu Yu's Tang-dynasty book, written around 760 CE and widely regarded as the first book devoted to tea. It covers cultivation, tools, preparation and water. Lu Yu was later honored as the "Tea Saint."

The Song-dynasty method of whisking powdered tea into a froth in the drinking bowl. It replaced Tang-era boiled tea and is part of the background to Japanese matcha preparation.

The Tang-dynasty method, associated with Lu Yu, of boiling ground tea in a cauldron and ladling it into bowls. The same characters are read "sencha" in Japanese, where they name a quite different steeped green tea.

A Song-dynasty pastime in which drinkers compared whisked tea, judging the whiteness and staying power of the froth. It is why dark-glazed bowls such as Jian Zhan became the practical choice.

The Cantonese custom, strong in Guangdong and Hong Kong, of meeting over tea and small dishes of dim sum, usually in the morning. The tea is often Pu-erh, oolong or jasmine.

A Hakka tea custom in which tea leaves are ground in a bowl together with ingredients such as grains, nuts, seeds or herbs, then mixed with hot water. It is found in Hakka communities across southern China.

A Tibetan tea made by churning strong brewed brick tea with butter and salt. It is a daily staple in Tibet and nearby high-altitude regions, more like a savory drink than tea as most Western drinkers know it.