---
title: 'Tea types'
url: 'https://howtotea.me/teas'
markdown: 'https://howtotea.me/teas.md'
lang: en
date: '2026-11-03'
description: 'The six types of Chinese tea: green, white, yellow, oolong, black and dark. What sets them apart is how the leaf is processed and how far it oxidizes.'
---

# Tea types 茶

All tea is picked from one plant. The type depends on what happens to the leaf after picking.

 ![Four piles of dry tea in a row, from pale green leaves to almost black](https://howtotea.me/images/c/o/v/e/r/cover-12e74b2d.webp) 

茶

Tea types

chá

 Plant: tea bush, Camellia sinensis

Types: six

Basis: leaf processing and degree of oxidation

System by: Chen Chuan, 1979

Fresh green [Longjing](https://howtotea.me/teas/green/longjing) and aged [pu-erh](https://howtotea.me/teas/dark/puer) are leaves of the same species, the tea bush *Camellia sinensis*. Chinese tea scientists divide tea into six types (六大茶类) by processing. Chen Chuan, a professor at Anhui Agricultural College, proposed the system in 1979, and this whole site is organized around it.

## Oxidation and fixation

Once picked, a leaf wilts, and its own enzymes oxidize the [polyphenols](https://howtotea.me/science/chemistry/polyphenols). The leaf darkens, and the scent shifts from grass toward fruit and honey. The tea maker decides when to stop it. Heating the leaf briefly in a wok, with steam or with hot air, destroys the enzymes, and oxidation goes no further. This step is fixation, sha qing (杀青) in Chinese, literally "kill-green."

![Dry leaf at three levels of oxidation: green, oolong and black tea](https://howtotea.me/images/o/k/i/s/l/okislenie-248300ca.webp)Illustration

The earlier the fixation, the greener the tea. Green tea is fixed almost at once; oolong is shaken for hours first. Black tea is never fixed at all and oxidizes fully. In China it is called hong cha, "red tea," named for the color of the liquor.

## The six types

| Type | Key step | Oxidation | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| [Green](https://howtotea.me/teas/green) | fixation right after picking | minimal | [Longjing](https://howtotea.me/teas/green/longjing) |
| [White](https://howtotea.me/teas/white) | long withering, no fixation | light | [Bai Hao Yin Zhen](https://howtotea.me/teas/white/bai-hao-yin-zhen) |
| [Yellow](https://howtotea.me/teas/yellow) | sealed yellowing after fixation | light | [Jun Shan Yin Zhen](https://howtotea.me/teas/yellow/jun-shan-yin-zhen) |
| [Oolong](https://howtotea.me/teas/oolong) | shaking, then fixation | partial | [Tie Guan Yin](https://howtotea.me/teas/oolong/tie-guan-yin) |
| [Black](https://howtotea.me/teas/black) | rolling and oxidation, no fixation | full | [Dian Hong](https://howtotea.me/teas/black/dian-hong) |
| [Dark](https://howtotea.me/teas/dark) | wet piling after fixation | microbial fermentation | [Pu-erh](https://howtotea.me/teas/dark/puer) |

![Six cups from pale green to deep red-brown: green, white, yellow, oolong, black and dark tea](https://howtotea.me/images/s/h/e/s/t/shest-tipov-5a4020ec.webp)Illustration

## Dark tea and fermentation

In five of the types, color and flavor come from the leaf's own enzymes. In dark tea, microorganisms do that work. Makers moisten the leaf and heap it into a pile (wo dui, 渥堆). The pile heats up, and fungi and bacteria transform the leaf over anything from a few hours to two months, depending on the tea. That is why this site keeps the word "fermentation" for dark tea and says "oxidation" for the rest. Chinese texts use one word for both processes, 发酵.

## Type and brewing

The type tells you the water temperature. Green and yellow teas take water at 75–85 °C, while oolong and dark teas take it at a full boil. Brewing in short infusions in a small vessel is the [gongfu cha](https://howtotea.me/brewing/methods/gongfu-cha) method. [Gaiwans](https://howtotea.me/teaware/brewing-vessels/gaiwan), teapots and fair cups have their own [Teaware](https://howtotea.me/teaware) section.

What the six types leave out

Rooibos, hibiscus and fireweed are brewed like tea but come from other plants, so they fall outside this classification.

In this section

- [![](https://howtotea.me/images/c/o/v/e/r/cover-264c1c22.webp) Green tea 绿茶 Green tea is fixed with heat right after picking, so the leaf never oxidizes. Pan-firing, baking and steaming, the main provinces, brewing and storage. ](https://howtotea.me/teas/green)[Longjing](https://howtotea.me/teas/green/longjing) · [Bi Luo Chun](https://howtotea.me/teas/green/bi-luo-chun) · [Huangshan Mao Feng](https://howtotea.me/teas/green/huangshan-mao-feng)
- [![](https://howtotea.me/images/c/o/v/e/r/cover-04f1ddfc.webp) White tea 白茶 White tea is only withered and dried, never fixed or rolled. Its Fujian home, four types from Bai Hao Yin Zhen to Shou Mei, aging and how to brew it. ](https://howtotea.me/teas/white)[Bai Hao Yin Zhen](https://howtotea.me/teas/white/bai-hao-yin-zhen) · [Bai Mu Dan](https://howtotea.me/teas/white/bai-mu-dan) · [Shou Mei](https://howtotea.me/teas/white/shou-mei)
- [![](https://howtotea.me/images/c/o/v/e/r/cover-96bbd049.webp) Yellow tea 黄茶 After fixation the warm leaf is covered and slowly turns yellow. How Jun Shan Yin Zhen and Meng Ding Huang Ya are made and how to brew them. ](https://howtotea.me/teas/yellow)[Jun Shan Yin Zhen](https://howtotea.me/teas/yellow/jun-shan-yin-zhen) · [Meng Ding Huang Ya](https://howtotea.me/teas/yellow/meng-ding-huang-ya) · [Huo Shan Huang Ya](https://howtotea.me/teas/yellow/huo-shan-huang-ya)
- [![](https://howtotea.me/images/c/o/v/e/r/cover-b3d64864.webp) Oolong 乌龙茶 Partly oxidized tea between green and black. Shaking the leaf, roasting, and four schools: North and South Fujian, Guangdong, Taiwan. ](https://howtotea.me/teas/oolong)[Tie Guan Yin](https://howtotea.me/teas/oolong/tie-guan-yin) · [Da Hong Pao](https://howtotea.me/teas/oolong/da-hong-pao) · [Feng Huang Dan Cong](https://howtotea.me/teas/oolong/feng-huang-dan-cong) · [Rou Gui](https://howtotea.me/teas/oolong/rou-gui) · [Dong Ding](https://howtotea.me/teas/oolong/dong-ding)
- [![](https://howtotea.me/images/c/o/v/e/r/cover-60636408.webp) Black tea 红茶 Black tea, or hong cha: fully oxidized leaf that China calls red tea. Why the name differs, its birthplace in the Wuyi Mountains, three groups, brewing. ](https://howtotea.me/teas/black)[Dian Hong](https://howtotea.me/teas/black/dian-hong) · [Qimen](https://howtotea.me/teas/black/qimen) · [Zheng Shan Xiao Zhong](https://howtotea.me/teas/black/zheng-shan-xiao-zhong) · [Jin Jun Mei](https://howtotea.me/teas/black/jin-jun-mei)
- [![](https://howtotea.me/images/c/o/v/e/r/cover-88c2ae34.webp) Dark tea 黑茶 Dark tea (hei cha) is fermented by microbes in a wet pile after processing. Pu-erh, Hunan bricks, Liu Bao, pressing, aging and how to brew it. ](https://howtotea.me/teas/dark)[Pu-erh](https://howtotea.me/teas/dark/puer) · [Liu Bao](https://howtotea.me/teas/dark/liu-bao) · [Anhua dark tea](https://howtotea.me/teas/dark/anhua)

---

## Navigation

- Previous: [Tea Foundations](https://howtotea.me/index.md)
- Next: [Teaware](https://howtotea.me/teaware.md)
- Children:
  - [Green tea](https://howtotea.me/teas/green.md)
  - [White tea](https://howtotea.me/teas/white.md)
  - [Yellow tea](https://howtotea.me/teas/yellow.md)
  - [Oolong](https://howtotea.me/teas/oolong.md)
  - [Black tea](https://howtotea.me/teas/black.md)
  - [Dark tea](https://howtotea.me/teas/dark.md)