Fresh & grassy
Green tea
Often fresh, vegetal or gently nutty. A good place to begin if you enjoy a light, lively cup.
Look for Longjing or Taiping Houkui.
Try this: Let freshly boiled water cool a little, and begin with a short infusion.
The tea directory
Find a tea
you’ll look forward to.
All six main families begin with the tea plant. What happens to the leaves after picking helps shape the cup. Use flavour as your starting point, then explore.
Soft & delicate
White tea
Lightly processed leaves with flavours that can suggest hay, flowers or soft fruit. Leaf grade and age make a noticeable difference.
Look for Bai Mudan or Silver Needle.
Try this: Give the leaves room to open; adjust time before adding more leaf.
Mellow & rounded
Yellow tea
A less common tea family, with a yellowing stage during processing. Often a gentler, rounded alternative to brisk green teas.
Look for Junshan Yinzhen or Huoshan Huangya.
Try this: Begin gently and taste between infusions rather than relying on colour alone.
Floral to roasted
Oolong tea
A broad family of partially oxidised teas. Some are fragrant and floral; others are deeply roasted, fruity or mineral in character.
Explore Tieguanyin, Dancong or Wuyi rock teas.
Try this: A gaiwan and short repeated infusions make changes in aroma easy to notice.
Rich & malty
Black tea
Known as red tea in Chinese, this family often brings warming malt, fruit or honey notes. Taste varies with origin and processing.
Look for Keemun or Yunnan black tea.
Try this: Start with the seller’s instructions; reduce time if the finish becomes drying.
Earthy & complex
Dark tea
Post-fermented teas develop through microbial activity during production or ageing. This family includes ripe pu’er and Fu brick tea.
Explore Golden Flower tea or ripe pu’er.
Try this: Separate compressed leaf carefully, then try short infusions with hot water.