White
Withered and dried, nothing more.
In a teapot 3 g to 300 ml at 85°C, 4:00
The library
The six families
All tea is the leaf of one plant, Camellia sinensis. What makes a white, a green or a black is what happens to the leaf after it is picked.
Green
Heated soon after picking (pan-fired in China, steamed in Japan) so it never oxidises.
In a teapot 2.5 g to 300 ml at 75°C, 2:00
Yellow
Made as a green, then wrapped while warm to yellow gently ("sealed yellowing").
In a teapot 3 g to 300 ml at 80°C, 3:00
Oolong
Bruised and partly oxidised, anywhere from a green-leaning tenth to most of the way, often roasted.
In a teapot 3 g to 300 ml at 90°C, 3:00
Black
Rolled and oxidised fully. China calls it red tea, after the cup.
In a teapot 3 g to 300 ml at 98°C, 3:30
Dark
Fermented by microbes after it is made, and often pressed: pu-erh is the best known.
In a teapot 3 g to 300 ml at 98°C, 3:00
Tisane
Strictly not tea (no leaf of Camellia sinensis), and quite welcome all the same.
In a teapot 3 g to 300 ml at 100°C, 5:00
How the leaf is made
- Wither The leaf is spread out to wilt and soften, losing water.
- Fix Heat (a pan or steam) stops the leaf browning: at once for a green, after it has browned a little for an oolong.
- Bruise or roll Breaking the leaf’s cells lets air in and shapes it.
- Oxidise The broken leaf browns, as a cut apple does: a little for oolong, all the way for black.
- Yellow Wrapped warm for hours, the leaf yellows and mellows.
- Pile or age Microbes go to work, quickly in a damp heap or slowly over years.
- Dry Every tea ends here, sometimes with a roast for oolong.
Dots, left to right: white, green, yellow, oolong, black, dark.