Six tea families, hundreds of varieties, four thousand years of ceremony. A foreigner's first sip into the world of Chinese tea.
The six families
Chinese tea is grouped into six families based on oxidation:
- Green (e.g. Longjing, Bi Luo Chun) — fresh, vegetal, lowest oxidation.
- White (e.g. Bai Hao Yin Zhen) — delicate, mellow, sun-dried.
- Yellow (e.g. Junshan Yinzhen) — rare, slightly oxidised.
- Oolong (e.g. Tieguanyin, Da Hong Pao) — semi-oxidised, the connoisseur's favourite.
- Red / Black (e.g. Keemun, Lapsang Souchong) — fully oxidised.
- Dark / Pu'erh — post-fermented, aged for years, deeply earthy.
Regions to taste them
- Hangzhou (West Lake) — Longjing green tea, picked from terraced hillsides.
- Fujian — Wuyi rock oolongs and Anxi Tieguanyin.
- Yunnan — Pu'erh from ancient tea forests.
- Anhui — Keemun red and Huangshan Maofeng green.
The ceremony, simplified
Chinese gongfu tea service uses small clay pots, tiny cups, and multiple short infusions of the same leaves. Each pour reveals a different layer of the tea's character. There is no choreography to fear — slowness is the point.
Etiquette at the tea table
- Tap the table twice with two fingers when the host pours your cup. It's a silent thank-you.
- Never lift the lid of the pot yourself — that's the host's job.
- Sip slowly — Chinese tea is meant to be tasted in three: aroma, body, finish.
Where to go
- Mei Jia Wu Tea Village (Hangzhou) — green tea at the source.
- Lao She Teahouse (Beijing) — traditional teahouse with Peking opera evenings.
- Heng Long Teahouse (Chengdu) — sit in a bamboo chair, watch the city pass by.
Add it to your itinerary
Most of our cultural tours include at least one tea-house experience. Tell us your style — green and floral, oolong and bold, or pu'erh aged in a Yunnan cave.
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