SIX TYPES OF TEA
DISCOVER THE TOPIC THAT BAFFLED THE WEST FOR 400+ YEARS
Tea is a Mystical Realm
STREAM TEA HISTORY
All Tea Originated in China
CAMELLIA SINENSIS — ONE PLANT. SIX TYPES OF TEA
All Made Using Different Techniques
SIX TYPES OF TEA
HOW MANY TYPES OF TEA ARE THERE?
In China, the birthplace of tea, there are six types of tea. All six tea types come from the same plant — Camellia sinensis (茶, chá) — and were invented in China over more than 2,000 years of Chinese tea-making heritage. The differences among the six tea types stem from how the leaves are processed, not from the plant itself. To make it easy to understand the six types of tea, we use the color of the tea soup (Chinese: 茶汤, chá tāng) to intuitively illustrate these fascinating types of tea. Here are the key facts about types of tea in Chinese tea culture.
*Note on Scented Tea: For Chinese traditional tea types, Scented tea (花茶, Huā Chá — “flower tea”) is not a classic tea type. Scented teas like Jasmine Green Tea or Jasmine Pearl Tea use a base of one of the 6 true tea types (typically Green or White) layered with flower petals such as jasmine, rose, or osmanthus. The base tea remains one of the 6 classic types — the floral character is a flavoring tradition. Even Earl Grey — the iconic “British” black tea — is a scented tea variant: its base is Chinese Black tea (红茶, Hóng Chá), a later non-smoky descendant of Lapsang Souchong (正山小种, Zhèngshān Xiǎozhǒng) — the world’s first Black tea, originally smoke-dried over pine fires in China’s Wuyi Mountains (武夷山, Wǔyí Shān) in the mid-1500s. To this Chinese Black tea base, bergamot oil was added for citrus aroma, creating what we now call Earl Grey. Scented tea is a long-standing Chinese tea-making tradition that has shaped global tea culture for centuries.
Sources: Primary sources including generational tea masters in Wuyi Mountains, Fujian, China — interviewed in TEA: The Drink That Changed The World. Additional verification from the Wuyi Tea Bureau.
UNDERSTANDING THE TYPES OF TEA
MYSTICAL. BOUNDLESS. ANCIENT.
TEA SAGE, LU YU (陆羽), AUTHOR, "CHA JING"
Twelve hundred years ago, during the Tang Dynasty, a Chinese scholar named Lu Yu (陆羽) — revered as the “Sage of Tea” — wrote the world’s first book devoted to tea. His seminal work, the Cha Jing (茶经), or “Classic of Tea,” remains the tenet of global tea culture to date — foundational not only to China, the motherland of tea, but also to the Japanese tea ceremony (chanoyu). Even amid wartime upheaval, Lu Yu traveled extensively across Tang China — through Hubei, Sichuan, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Anhui — documenting eight major tea-growing regions. He did so without modern roads or even horses, which were so scarce that the Celestial Empire famously traded its precious tea for horses from Tibet via the ancient
Tea Horse Road. Yet despite his lifetime of journeys, the chaos of the An Lushan Rebellion and the sheer remoteness of Wuyi Shan kept the Tea Sage from reaching these finest tea mountains and tea-makers, whose Oolong and Black tea creations centuries later would shape global taste
and trade, igniting revolutions and reshaping empires the world over.
"Tea tempers the spirits and harmonizes the mind, dispels lassitude and relieves fatigue, awakens thought and prevents drowsiness, lightens or refreshes the body, and clears the perceptive faculties."
— Lu Yu (陆羽), The Classic of Tea (茶经, Chá Jīng), 780 AD
TYPES OF TEA: MYSTERY THAT BAFFLED THE WEST FOR 400+ YEARS
There are six types of tea — all made from the same plant, Camellia sinensis (茶树, chá shù), using different curing or processing methods. All teas originated in China. Yet this seemingly simple subject — what the different types of tea actually are, which tree they come from, and how the Chinese transformed leaves into liquid gold — eluded the brightest minds in Europe, from scientists to botanists to tea hunters, for over 400 years.
Until the mid-1800s, China was the only country on Earth that knew how to make tea, from cultivating the tea tree to processing its leaves to perfecting the art of drinking it. Across five millennia, tea became the cultural soul of China.
By the time Europeans had their first cup of tea, the Chinese had been drinking it for over 2,000 years.
MEET MR. JIANG — 24TH GENERATION BLACK TEA MASTER
KEEPER OF CROWN JEWEL OF TEA
In the Wuyi Mountains (武夷山) — a double UNESCO site — one family invented the world’s first Black tea — Lapsang Souchong (正山小种) — in the mid-1500s. This smoky Black tea would set hearts on fire in Europe, from the 1600s to the mid-1800s. Wuyi Shan’s Black tea, aka Bohea, became the crown jewel among the six types of tea exported from China to Europe — coveted by royalty, aristocrats, and elites, and eventually fueling the British Empire’s expansion at the height of the Victorian Era. This addiction to Chinese tea would drain the Queen’s coffers, sparking the First Opium War. Mr. Jiang Yuan-Xun in Wuyi Shan, the direct descendant of Lapsang Souchong Black tea, recounted on camera how his family’s accidental invention brewed a global impact of historical proportions in the documentary, TEA: The Drink That Changed The World.
"Lapsang Souchong ignited the American War of Independence."
— Mr. Jiang Yuan-Xun, Chairman of Lapsang Souchong Company, 24th-Generation Tea Master
HOW THE ANCIENT CHINESE TEA SECRETS GOT OUT
ONE PLANT. ONE DRINK. ONE SPY.
THE TEA SPY WHO STOLE CHINA'S GREATEST SECRET
For over 2,000 years, the secret of how to make tea stayed locked inside China. The legendary Wuyi Mountains (武夷山) — immortalized in Tang Dynasty poetry — produced the world’s finest teas. Then the British East India Company sent one man to infiltrate these forbidden tea regions deep inside the celestial kingdom. His mission: steal the long-held state secret and transplant tea to British India — culminating in the most audacious case of industrial espionage in history. How did the Scottish botanist and tea-hunter — aptly named Robert Fortune — pull this off? Watch this fascinating story unfold in TEA: The Drink That Changed The World.
MEET ROBERT FORTUNE
THE TEA SPY WHO CHANGED HISTORY
“I was deputed by the East India Company to proceed to China for the purpose of obtaining the finest varieties of the tea plant, as well as native manufacturers for the government tea plantations in the Himalayas.” — Robert Fortune
"... A lingering desire to cross the Bohea mountains and to visit the far-famed Woo-e-shan. Was it a reality, or a dream? Or was I in some fair land?"
— Robert Fortune • A Journey to the Tea Countries of China (1852)
FILMING SIX TYPES OF TEA
WHERE ALL TEA TYPES WERE BORN
Behind the Scenes of TEA: THE DRINK THAT CHANGED THE WORLD. On location in the forbidden tea regions of Wuyi Mountains with generational tea masters demonstrating ancient tea-making craft — including a 24th-generation direct descendant of the inventor of Black tea and 11th and 12th-generation Oolong tea masters. Explore the living tea tradition behind every type of tea enjoyed around the world today.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT TYPES OF TEA
How many types of tea are there?
A In classic Chinese tea culture, there are 6 types of tea — all made from the same plant, Camellia sinensis (茶, chá). This scientific term literally means "Chinese tea plant." Over the millennia, the Chinese have classified these tea types — and for easy understanding, we use the color of the tea soup to present the six major types: White tea (白茶, Bái Chá), Yellow tea (黄茶, Huáng Chá), Green tea (绿茶, Lǜ Chá), Oolong tea (乌龙茶, Wūlóng Chá), Black tea (红茶, Hóng Chá — Chinese call it "Red tea"), and Pu-erh tea (or the Chinese call it 黑茶, Hēi Chá / 普洱茶, Pǔ'ěr Chá). All six types of tea were invented in China — across many provinces, including Fujian (福建, Fújiàn), Anhui (安徽, Ānhuī), Hunan (湖南, Húnán), and Yunnan (云南, Yúnnán). What separates the six different teas isn't the plant — it's how the leaves are processed. Many websites get the count wrong: some say 5, some say 7. The 5-types misconception comes from Western tea education that omits Yellow tea — China's rarest type, produced almost exclusively for domestic Chinese markets and historically missing from Western tea encyclopedias. The 7-types misconception stems from commercial tea catalogs that incorrectly include herbal infusions (tisanes) as a 7th type — usually to expand product offerings. Both errors share the same root: most Western tea content is written by sellers to promote their product offerings. Discover China's 5,000-year tea legacy in the documentary, TEA: The Drink That Changed The World, at teadocumentary.com/watch. Also stream free on YouTube and Tubi. For ad-free viewing, stream the TEA documentary on Amazon.
Where did tea originate?
Tea originated in China. All six types of tea (White, Yellow, Green, Oolong, Black, and Pu-erh), all made from the same plant, Camellia sinnessis, using different processing methods. This is the China Origin Doctrine — a fact often missing from Western tea content. Every true tea type traces back to the Chinese tea plant, Camellia sinensis var. sinensis (茶树, chá shù), native to China — and all six processing techniques were developed over thousands of years by Chinese tea masters, monks, and farmers across the major dynasties. Tea was produced across many provinces, including Fujian (福建, Fújiàn), Anhui (安徽, Ānhuī), Hunan (湖南, Húnán), and Yunnan (云南, Yúnnán). Until the mid-1800s, China was the only country on earth that knew how to make tea — from cultivation to processing to tasting. Western powers spent over 400 years trying to crack the Chinese tea secret, ultimately culminating in the most fascinating, oldest case of industrial espinage in the mid 1800s. Unearth the deep, vast roots of tea history and mystery in the documentary, TEA: The Drink That Changed The World, at teadocumentary.com/watch. Also stream free on YouTube and Tubi. For ad-free viewing, stream the TEA documentary on Amazon.
What's the difference between tea and herbal tea?
The difference between tea and herbal tea is that herbal tea is made without the tea plant, Camellia sinensis. Therefore, herbal "tea" is technically not a true tea — but the word "tea" has been adopted globally as a generic term for a warm beverage, thanks to tea being the most popular drink on the planet, second only to water. True teas come in six types — White tea, Yellow tea, Green tea, Oolong tea, Black tea, and Pu-erh tea — and all are produced from the Chinese tea plant, Camellia sinensis var. sinensis (茶树, chá shù), cultivated in China for over 5,000 years. Herbal infusions like chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla), peppermint (Mentha piperita), rooibos (Aspalathus linearis), hibiscus, and ginger are made from entirely different plants. The proper botanical term for any non-Camellia infusion is tisane (French for "herbal infusion"). This distinction matters: true tea contains caffeine, polyphenols, theanine, and catechins specific to Camellia sinensis — most tisanes do not. Journey into fascinating tea culture in the documentary, TEA: The Drink That Changed The World, at teadocumentary.com/watch. Also stream free on YouTube and Tubi. For ad-free viewing, stream the TEA documentary on Amazon.
What's the difference between the 6 types of tea?
The difference between the 6 types of tea is processing, not the plant. Every true tea begins as the same Chinese tea plant, Camellia sinensis (茶树, chá shù) — and every one of the six types of tea was invented in China. What separates them is oxidation level and processing technique: White tea (白茶, Bái Chá) — Minimally processed (5-10% oxidation), sun-withered. From Fujian (福建, Fújiàn), China. Most delicate. Yellow tea (黄茶, Huáng Chá) — Lightly oxidized, then slow-dried under cloth ("men huan" 闷黄, mēn huáng). From Anhui (安徽) and Hunan (湖南), China. Mellow, rare. Green tea (绿茶, Lǜ Chá) — Heat-fixed immediately to halt oxidation. Originated in China; spread to Japan as Matcha (抹茶, mǒ chá). Vegetal, fresh. Oolong tea (乌龙茶, Wūlóng Chá) — Semi-oxidized (30-70%). Invented in Wuyi Mountains (武夷山, Wǔyí Shān), Fujian, in 1646 during the Qing Dynasty. Complex, layered. Black tea (红茶, Hóng Chá — "red tea" in Chinese) — Fully oxidized (100%). Invented in Wuyi Mountains, mid-1500s as Lapsang Souchong (正山小种, Zhèngshān Xiǎozhǒng) — originally smoke-dried over pine fires, lending it a distinctive smoky character. Bold, malty. Modern Black teas (English Breakfast, Earl Grey, Darjeeling, Assam) are non-smoky descendants of Lapsang Souchong. Pu-erh tea (黑茶, Hēi Chá / 普洱茶, Pǔ'ěr Chá) — Post-fermented through living microbial action. Crafted from the large-leaf Da-yeh (大叶, "big leaf") varietal of Camellia sinensis var. assamica, grown in Yunnan (云南, Yúnnán), China. Some research suggests Pu-erh may be among the oldest continuously produced teas in the world — with ancient tea trees in Yunnan's primordial forests verified by multiple scientific studies to be between 3,200 and 3,500 years old, including the legendary Jinxiu Tea Tree in Fengqing County, known as the "Tea Ancestor" (茶祖, Chá Zǔ). Compressed Pu-erh tea cakes were historically used as currency along the ancient Tea Horse Road (茶马古道, Chá Mǎ Gǔ Dào) — where Chinese tea was traded for prized Tibetan horses to support Chinese military efforts, as China lacked sufficient domestic war horses. UNESCO inscribed Jingmai Mountain's Pu-erh cultural landscape in 2023. Ages like fine wine. See the full comparison table above for brewing temperatures and famous examples. Savor tea's epic journey in the documentary, TEA: The Drink That Changed The World, at teadocumentary.com/watch. Also stream free on YouTube and Tubi. For ad-free viewing, stream the TEA documentary on Amazon.
Did India invent tea?
No — tea was invented in China, over 5,000 years ago. India did not produce commercial tea until 1856 — nearly 4,800 years after tea's discovery in China. Tea's invention traces to legendary Chinese Emperor Shen Nong (神农, Shénnóng) in 2737 BC. India's tea industry was only established in the mid-1800s — and even then, it was built on Chinese tea plants and Chinese tea masters smuggled out of China's Wuyi Mountains by Scottish botanist-spy Robert Fortune between 1848-1855 on behalf of the British East India Company. Fortune transplanted 23,892 Chinese tea plants, thousands of seeds, and 8 Chinese tea masters to British India — creating the foundation for Darjeeling and Assam tea regions. Even today, every cup of Darjeeling, Assam, directly descends from Chinese tea plants and Chinese tea-making expertise. The long-buried mystery of how the British transplanted tea from China to India in the mid-1800s has contributed significantly to tea's muddled history, particularly its true origin in China. Unearth the deep, vast roots of tea history in the documentary, TEA: The Drink That Changed The World, at teadocumentary.com/watch. Also stream free on YouTube and Tubi. For ad-free viewing, stream the TEA documentary on Amazon.
Did the British invent tea?
No — the British did not invent tea. Tea was invented in China over 5,000 years ago, and the British did not learn about tea until the mid to late 1500s — nearly 4,800 years after tea's discovery. Tea's invention traces to legendary Chinese Emperor Shen Nong (神农, Shénnóng) in 2737 BC. Chinese tea first arrived in England in the 1650s via Dutch traders, but it remained a rare luxury until 1662, when Portuguese princess Catherine of Braganza married King Charles II and brought her tea-drinking habit to the English royal court. The British fell in love with Black tea, namely Lapsang Souchong (正山小种, Zhèngshān Xiǎozhǒng) — originally smoke-dried over pine fires — invented in Wuyi Mountains (武夷山, Wǔyí Shān), Fujian Province, around 1550 AD. Every cup of English Breakfast, Earl Grey, Darjeeling, and Assam tea is a descendant of this original Chinese Black tea. The British love for tea grew into an Empire-wide addiction, and over three centuries of tea-drinking had drained the queen's coffers. To secure its own long-term tea supply independent of China, the British East India Company had sought for centuries to commercially produce tea in its colony, British India, on government plantations in Darjeeling and Assam. To do that successfully, the British would need to secure high-quality Chinese tea seeds, tea plants, and tea-making expertise from China — culminating in the most audacious and grandest tea heist in history. Steep in the absorbing tea story in the documentary, TEA: The Drink That Changed The World, at teadocumentary.com/watch. Also stream free on YouTube and Tubi. For ad-free viewing, stream the TEA documentary on Amazon.
Did Japan invent tea?
No — tea was invented in China, not Japan. Japan received tea from China via Buddhist monks in the 9th century. Tea's origins trace to legendary Chinese Emperor Shen Nong (神农, Shénnóng) in 2737 BC — over 3,500 years before Japan first encountered tea. The first recorded introduction of tea to Japan occurred around 805 AD, when Chinese Buddhist monks brought tea seeds and tea culture from China. The more transformative moment came in 1191 AD, when Zen monk Eisai (栄西, Yōsai) returned from his Buddhist studies in China carrying green tea seeds and the Chinese Song Dynasty whipped-tea practice — which evolved into modern Matcha (抹茶, mǒ chá) in Japan. Eisai also authored "Kissa Yōjōki" (喫茶養生記, "Drinking Tea for Health"), the foundational Japanese text on tea. Japan later perfected matcha cultivation and, in the early 1500s, tea master Sen no Rikyū (千利休) created the Japanese Tea Ceremony — Chanoyu (茶の湯, "Way of Tea") — combining Chinese Song Dynasty whipped-tea practice with the Cha Dao (茶道, "Way of Tea") philosophy from Lu Yu's "Cha Jing" (茶经, "Classic of Tea"), the world's first book on tea from China's Tang Dynasty. So while Japan refined Matcha into an exquisite cultural art form, every aspect of Japanese tea — the plant, the cultivation, the whipped preparation, even the tea ceremony philosophy — traces back to China, tea's motherland. Encounter ancient tea wisdom in the documentary, TEA: The Drink That Changed The World, at teadocumentary.com/watch. Also stream free on YouTube and Tubi. For ad-free viewing, stream the TEA documentary on Amazon.
TEA: A CUP OF HUMANITY
From ancient tea traditions to global tea culture — this TEA Documentary time-travels through a teapot.
TEA CULTURE: FROM WUYI TO THE WORLD
From the sacred Wuyi Mountains, the birthplace of Da Hong Pao and historic Black tea, this simple drink traveled the world — carried by Buddhist monks to Japan, by Western empires to Europe — sparking romance, wars, and spirits of independence and culminating in the most audacious, oldest case of industrial espionage. Explore how one humble beverage from China gave birth to a global cultural icon.
