Petewong.net > Contents > China's top 10 teas
Sometime back while I was staying at the Shangri-La Chengdu and dining with Sophie, their communications manager, I mentioned that I liked their local Sichuan tea (chuan cha) but not sure how to go about buying it. The next day, I was surprised when Sophie presented me with a nicely-packed box of local tea. I have done some research ever since and here is a guide to some of the famous teas in the country.
1. West Lake Longjing Tea
Longjing (dragon well) is a famous variety of green tea from Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China where it is produced mostly by hand and has been renowned for its high quality, earning it the title of one of China's greatest teas. Longjing is divided into seven grades: Superior, Special, and then from Grades One to Five. Longjing is often called the national drink of China and is frequently given to visiting heads of state. It is also a favourite tea of today's top leaders, with a portion of production reserved for government officials.
2. Maofeng Tea of the Yellow Mountains
Huangshan Maofeng tea is a green tea produced in the Anhui province of China. The tea is one of the most famous teas in China and can almost always be found on China's famous tea list. The tea is grown near Huangshan (Yellow Mountain), which is home to many famous varieties of green tea.
3. Hole court Biluochun tea
Biluochun tea is a famous green tea originally grown in the Dong Ting mountain of Tai Hu, Jiangsu Province, China. Also known as Pi Lo Chun, it is renowned for its delicate appearance, fruity taste, floral aroma, showy white hairs and early cropping. The name Bi Luo Chun literally means "Green Snail Spring". It is so-called because it is a green tea that is rolled into a tight spiral, resembling snail meat, and is cropped during early spring.
4. Anxi Tieguanyin Tea (Oolong Tea)
Anxi Tieguanyin tea is a premium variety of Chinese oolong tea associated with Anxi in Fujian province. This oolong is typically close to a green tea, with only a little oxidation. Consequently, it has a very flowery, delicate aroma without the green tea "grassiness" or astringency.
5. Junshan Silver Needle Tea
Junshan Silver Needle tea is a yellow tea from Junshan island of Hunan Province in China. It is one of Chinese Famous Teas. Although the same kind of tea trees are also planted around Dongting Lake, where Junshan Island is located, those teas should not be called Junshan Yinzhen. The tea resembles the White tea Yinzhen known as Bai Hao Yinzhen. Junshan Yinzhen, allegedly the preferred tea of Chairman Mao, is a rare tea sometimes sold as White tea.
6. Lu Shan Yun Wu
Lu Shan Yun Wu is one of China's traditionally famous teas, Lu Shan Yun Wu is harvested from the peak of Mount Lu, a beautiful scenic spot shrouded in thick mist and a favorite holiday destination. There was a old Chinese saying "Yun Wu Chu Hao Cha", which means "where there's cloud and mist, there's bound to be good tea". Indeed, Lu Shan Yun Wu is one of China's finest, and it was already an Imperial Tribute Tea since the Song Dynasty. In recent years, new processing techniques have created new variations of Wun Yu tea. There are Chun Jian (original), Chun Mao, Mao Feng and Yin Zhen styles. We chose the latter as it is made only from the most tender tea buds.
7. Keemun Black Tea
Keemun Black Tea, an exceptional Black tea is made entirely of young Hao Ya, Keemun's finest grade of tea leaves. The bright amber infusion has an appetizing honeyed sweet aroma while the taste is wonderfully smooth and with a light hint of floral aftertaste. It comes in a tin can for easy storing.
8. Pu er Tea
Pu er tea is a type of tea made from a "large leaf" variety of the tea plant Camellia sinensis and named after Pu'ercounty near Simao, Yunnan, China. Pu er tea can be purchased as either raw/green (sheng) or ripened/cooked (shu), depending on processing method or aging. Sheng pu-erh can be roughly classified on the tea oxidation scale as a green tea, and the shou or aged-green variants as post-fermented tea.
9. Dongding Oolong Tea
Dongding Oolong Tea is one of the most famous and finest Formosa Oolong is Dong Ding Oolong. The leaves of this tea are carefully hand-picked from Mount Dong Ding in Taiwan. It is believed that Dong Ding Oolong tea plants are actually a specimen of Wuyi strain that have been carefully selected and re-planted in Taiwan. As with most Taiwanese Oolongs, the frangrance and taste of this tea is wonderfully sweet and will leave you craving for more.
10. Suzhou Jasmine Tea
Suzhou jasmine tea is the best of the jasmine teas in China. Suzhou jasmine tea has developed since the Qing Dynasty, Emperor Yongzheng times, with its mass production and sale history dated back 250 plus years ago. According to historical records, in the Song Dynasty, Suzhou was one of the first provinces to plant jasmine and use it as an ingredient for tea. By 1860, SuZhou Jasmine Tea became one of the most pouplar teas in the Northeast and Northern China.
