It’s all about Chinese TEA

Chinese tea is definitely among the most purchased items on Taobao.com, as China is the origin of tea and it offers the world tons of high quality tea every year. There are so many tea lovers from all over the globe searching for great tea, as drinking tea has become an important part of their healthy life styles that brings them peace of mind. People love tea for its subtle tastes, its unique aromas, and its health benefits. However, it is never an easy task to decide which tea to buy, as it comes in such wide varieties.

Rather go without salt for three days than without tea for a single day.
Chinese proverb

The history of tea dates back to almost 5,000 years ago. First person who discovered the effects of tea was Sheng Nong. He was experimenting with tea all his life, even in classical Chinese herbal book you can find his quotes: «drinking tea one can think quicker, sleep less, move more nimbly, and see more clearly».

Thousands years of popularity is understandable — people wanted to improve themselves by this magical drink. The popularity of tea in China continued to grow rapidly from the 4th through the 8th century. The most incredible world philosophies, which are Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism, have mixed together giving birth to the amazing Chinese tea ceremony.

If you don’t know, Tea is considered as the most Zen-like drink. Also tea is often showed in poems and movies, and beautifully appears in paintings. Famous and genius artists and scientists praised tea for enhancing the mind and promoting wakefulness.

Tea is an art of life, unique phenomenon, and that’s why we want to share with you the most famous kinds of tea:

Green tea

Green tea (绿茶) is produced all over China and is the most popular category of tea. Traditional green tea has a pale color and a sharp flavor. Examples of renowned green tea include Longjing(龙井), Taiping Houkui (太平猴魁), Yinzhen (银针), Maojian (毛尖).

Oolong tea

Oolong (乌龙茶) is the semi-fermented tea. Its infusion has a fresh rich flavor and a long-lasting aromatic aftertaste. Examples: Tieguanyin (铁观音), Dongding Oolong (冻顶乌龙), Fenghuang Shuixian (凤凰水仙).

White tea

White tea (白茶) is type of tea that belongs to the category of unique tea of China. This tea is high in vitamins and has mild and mellow flavor. Also the best drink during the hot summer season. Products: Baimudan (白牡丹), Baihao Yinzhen (白毫银针), Shoumei (寿眉), Gongmei (贡眉).

Yellow tea

Yellow tea (黄茶) is very rare and expensive. The manufacture of yellow tea includes a steaming process which is similar to green tea. Yellow tea is high in antioxidants. Examples: Mengding Huangya (蒙顶黄芽), Junshan Yinzhen (君山银针), Huoshan Huangya (霍山黄芽).

Red tea

Chinese “red tea” (红茶) is what Westerners call «black tea». Why the difference in names? Simple — while the Chinese refer to the color of the infusion (red), Westerners refer instead to the color of the dried tea leaves (black): Dianhong (滇红), Zhengshan Xiaozhong (正山小种), Qimen Hongcha (祁门红茶).

Pu’er-type tea

Pu’er (普洱) tea is a post-fermented tea that can be made from green, oolong or black tea. This tea is stronger than coffee and has an amazing taste. There are two kinds of Pu’er: green (Sheng Pu’er 生普洱) and black (Shu Pu’er 熟普洱). Even though both kinds of tea are Pu’er, their taste and production technology are significantly different, – you can read about this in our article about Pu’er.

Unfortunately, many dealers use consumers’ ignorance and often offer low-quality tea at high prices. Most people who were unlucky to taste the low-quality tea may decide that they don’t like Pu’-er. But if you want to know how to buy proper Pu’er, you can read in our article about how to choose Pu’er.

Blooming tea

Blooming tea (or flowering tea, 工艺花茶) – definitely one of a kind. It is a unique creation of Chinese tea artists. They are artisan hand-tied tea balls that literally bloom into gorgeous flowers. Check out the video of how blooming tea looks!

Drink Chinese tea with Parcel Up (Taobao FOCUS) !

Of course you are wondering: “Where can I buy authentic Chinese high quality tea?” Don’t worry! Here’s our recommended list of Taobao tea stores, where you can easily find all of these types of Chinese tea described above directly from China.