Travel China and Beyond

Chinese Tea

Living in China one must learn something at least about Chinese tea. This is a drink that is so prominent in everyday life here, that you just cannot avoid it, cannot miss it, and for sure will experience it in multiple forms. Tea, of course is part of almost all lunches and dinners you would most likely have while living and working, or even just visiting China.
Given the importance of the drink, I decided to put together some information on it and provide you with some links and references to resources on tea.

In summary form, Chinese tea can be classified in the following categories/types:

Green tea - this is tea which has been processed with very little or no fermentation thus the leaves actually retain their “green” color and the tea (liquid) itself has light green color. Good examples are the Longjing tea from Hangzhou area, Maofeng from the area of Huangshan in Anhui province.
Red tea — in the West this tea is known as Black tea, while in China it is Red tea (hong cha) is processed by first fermenting it then baking the leaves. HuHong tea (from Hunan province) is an example of red tea. Here is an example from Amazon.com Dragon Pearl Fresh Black Tea for those who do not have access to the tea markets in Beijing
WuLong (also spelled Oolong) tea - is sort of between green and red tea — it is a result of a partial fermentation process. Guandong and Fujian provinces (both in the South of China) are usual producers of WuLong teas. Here is a good example of this type of tea Dragon Pearl Ti Kwan Yin (Iron Goddess) Oolong Tea
Pressed tea — this is tea which is pressed into shapes — very hard ones. You would have to chip off a piece of tea and use it in a tea jar or pot. Pu Er tea is often sold in a pressed form. It is preserved for long periods (many years in some cases) and is easier to transport (at least that is what many tea merchants and manufacturers believe). In case you have not come across this type, you can read about it here:Imperial Pu-er Tea
If you reside in Beijing, a good place to buy both various teas as well as tea pots, cups or tea sets, strainers, etc. is the Tea Market located in the Southwest part of Beijing.