Chinese Tea | Types of Tea, Chinese Vocab + Phrases, and More!

Tea is loved around the world, from Ireland to Iran, and Morocco to Mauritania. As an Englishman myself, I’m also partial to a good old cuppa.

But why do we drink tea?

Where did tea-drinking culture originate?

Where did my ancestors steal it from during our quest for world domination?

That’s right.

China.

In this post we will be looking at all things tea in Mandarin Chinese!

A Brief History of Chinese Tea
Coloured Teas
Flower Teas
Tea Related Phrases
Other Tea Types
Other Tea Vocabulary

A Brief History of Chinese Tea

Shennong 神農 AKA ‘The Divine Farmer’ began the practice of drinking tea in 2732 B.C.

The origins of tea drinking in China date back to around 5000 years ago.

According to the history books, in 2732 B.C. legendary emperor Shennong (神農) was perched under a tree, when all of a sudden some tea leaves blew into his drinking water.

He enjoyed the smell and flavours so much, he decided to spread the practice as part of his discovery and advocation of Chinese medicine.

From the 4th century onwards, the popularity of tea really started to boom in China – people began to see it as a delicious beverage as well as effective medicine.

The tea growing industry exploded across the country and merchants became incredibly wealthy as they saw people from across the world fall in love with their produce.

Fast forward to the present day, and the global tea industry is worth over 200 billion dollars!

Coloured Teas

English	Chinese	Pinyin
Green Tea	绿茶	lǜchá
Red Tea	红茶	hóngchá
Yellow Tea	黄茶	Huáng chá
White Tea	白茶	Báichá
Oolong	乌龙茶	Wūlóng chá
Flower Tea	香片, 工艺茶, 开花茶	Xiāngpiàn, Gōngyì chá, Kāihuā chá
Puer Tea	普洱茶	Pǔ’ěr chá

Red Tea – 红茶 (hóngchá)

So in the UK, we call normal tea ‘black tea’. In China, they call it red tea. They have black tea in China, too, but it’s different from the UK black tea.

Red tea is more oxidised than oolong, yellow, white, and green teas, and is also generally stronger in flavour than other teas. All five types are made from leaves of the Camellia Sinensis. Some famous types of red tea are…

Keemun Black Tea	祁门红茶	Qí mén hóngchá
Lapsang Souchong	正山小种	zhèngshān xiǎo zhǒng
Yunnan Black Tea	滇红	Diānhóng
Sichuan Black Tea	川红	chuānhóng
Ninghong Black Tea	宁红	nínghóng
Fujian Black Tea	闽红	Mǐn hóng
Hunan Black Tea	湘红	Xiāng hóng
Yichang Black Tea	宜红	Yí hóng
Zhejiang Black Tea	越红	Yuè hóng
Red Plum Classic	九曲红梅	Jiǔ qū hóng méi

Green Tea – 绿茶 (lǜchá)

Green tea is made from unoxidized leaves and is one of the least processed types of tea. For this reason, it contains the most antioxidants and is often referred to as some sort of super tea/medicine.

Several varieties of green tea exist, which differ substantially based on the type of plant leaves used. The most popular are…

Xihu Longjing	西湖龙井	Xīhú lóngjǐng
Biluochun	碧螺春	Bìluóchūn
Huangshan Maofeng Tea	黄山毛峰	Huángshān Máofēng
Taiping Houkui Tea	太平猴魁	Tàipíng Hóukuí
Lu’an Melon Seed Tea	六安瓜片	Lù’ān Guāpiàn
Xinyang Maojian Tea	信阳毛尖	Xìnyáng Máojiān
Lushan Yunwu Tea	庐山云雾	Lúshān Yúnwù Chá
Nanjing Rain Flower Tea	南京雨花茶	Nánjīng Yǔ Huā Chá

Yellow Tea – 黄茶 (Huáng chá）

Much less common than most other types of teas, yellow tea is made in a similar to green tea but with an added step of encasingand steaming.

This produces a far more mellow taste than is found in most green teas, and it also gives the leaves a slightly yellow colouring during the drying process. Hence, yellow tea. The three main varieties of Yellow tea are…

Jun Shan Yin Zhen	君山银针	Jūn shān yín zhēn
Meng Ding Huang Ya	蒙顶黄芽	Méng dǐng huáng yá
Mo Gan Huang Ya	莫干黃芽	Mò gàn huáng yá

White Tea – 白茶 (Báichá）

White tea is made from the youngest and most tender hand-picked leaf tips and buds, resulting in a fresh and delicate flavour and a snowy/silver coloured brew, hence the name White.

Due to the laborious and detail-oriented process, white tea is one of the most expensive teas produced. The most common types of Chinese white tea are…

Silver Needle	白毫银针	Báiháo yín zhēn
White Peony	白牡丹	Bái mǔdān
Gong Mei	贡眉	Gòng méi

Oolong Tea – 乌龙茶 (Wūlóng chá)

Oolong tea is a traditional Chinese tea made from the partially oxidised leaves of the Camellia Sinensis plant. It’s basically somewhere between green tea (no oxidation) and black tea (fully oxidised).

Apparently, Oolong only accounts for around 2% of all tea produced worldwide, so it’s not super popular. You’ll be hard-pressed to find it in most places in China.

Phoenix Tea	凤凰单欉	Fènghuáng dān cóng
Iron Goddess of Mercy	铁观音	Tiě guānyīn
Wuyi Tea	武夷茶	Wǔyí chá
High Mountain Oolong Tea	高山茶	gāoshān chá
Milk Oolong Tea	奶香乌龙	Nǎi xiāng wū lóng

Flower Tea – 香片 (Xiāngpiàn), 工艺茶 (Gōngyì chá), or 开花茶 (Kāihuā chá)

Now, these drinks technically aren’t tea, but everyone in China calls them flower tea.

Technically, I guess they’re more ‘herbal infusions’.

They usually consist of a bundle of dried tea leaves wrapped around one or more dried flowers. These are made by binding tea leaves and flowers together into a bulb, then setting them to dry.

Typically they are sourced from the Yunnan province and are usually served in glass cups so the flowering process can be seen. Different types of flower tea are…

Rose tea	玫瑰花茶	Méiguī huāchá
Chrysanthemum Tea	菊花茶	Júhuā chá
Jasmine Flower Tea	茉莉花茶	Mòlìhuā chá
Honeysuckle Tea	金银花茶	Jīnyínhuā chá
Osmanthus Tea	桂花茶	Guìhuā chá
Peach Flower Tea	桃花茶	Táohuā chá
Lavender Tea	薰衣草茶	Xūnyīcǎo chá
Lily Tea	百合花茶	Bǎihé huāchá
Magnolia Flower Tea	玉兰花茶	Yùlán huāchá

Puer Tea – 普洱茶 (Pǔ’ěr chá)

Pu’er tea is a variety of fermented tea traditionally produced in Yunnan Province, but these days you’ll find it all over.

As the tea ferments, it also continues to oxidise until the desired flavors are reached. This process produces tea known as 黑茶 hēichá (‘black tea’) (which is different from the English-language black tea which is, of course, ‘red tea’ in Chinese).

There are two main types of puer tea: raw – 生(shēng) and ripe – 熟 (shú).

Tea Related Phrases

Here’s how to ask for tea in a shop!

请给我来一杯绿茶。

Qǐng gěi wǒ lái yībēi lǜchá.

Please bring me a cup of green tea.

抱歉我们现在没有

Bàoqiàn wǒmen xiànzài méiyǒu

Sorry, we don’t have any right now.

这是什么样的茶馆？

Zhè shì shénme yàng de cháguǎn?

What kind of tea shop is this?

我们有红茶。你想要红茶吗？

Wǒmen yǒu hóngchá. Nǐ xiǎng yào hóngchá ma?

We have red tea. Would you like some red tea instead?

好的

Hǎo de

OK

给你。尽量不要把它倒在脸上。再见！

Gěi nǐ. Jǐnliàng bùyào bǎ tā dào zài liǎn shàng. Zàijiàn！

Here you are. Try not to pour it on your face. See you!

Other Tea Types

Chai Tea – 柴茶 (Chái chá)

‘Chai’ is actually the Hindi word for tea, which is actually derived from 茶 (chá). Across the rest of the world, however, it is its own special kind of tea.

Recipes for chai vary depending on where you go, but the traditional ingredients of a spiced tea blend usually include black (red) tea mixed with strong spices, like cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, ginger, and black peppercorns.

Dragon Well Tea – 龙井茶 (lóngjǐng chá)

A kind of pan-roasted green tea that originated in Longjing Village in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province. It is produced mostly by hand and renowned for its high quality, earning it the ‘China Famous Tea’ title.

I’ve seen this stuff given as a pretty expensive wedding gift in China on a couple of occasions.

It has a gentle and sweet flavour and a fresh aroma, depending on how strong it is.

Milk Tea – 奶茶 (Nǎi chá)

Although tea isn’t traditionally consumed with milk in China, it’s most definitely very popular these days as new-style teas have spread all across the country.

Boba/Bubble/Pearl milk tea – 珍珠奶茶 (zhēn zhū nǎi chá)

Absolutely dreadful stuff that looks and tastes like someone has laced my tea with sugar-coated frog spawn. However, loads of other people seem to love it.

Bubble tea originated in Taiwan in the early 1980s and it most commonly consists of tea accompanied by chewy tapioca balls, but it can be made with other toppings as well.

Oil Tea – 油茶 (yóuchá)

Oil tea is a distinctive flavour of Guilin, a delightful city in Guangxi province. It originates from ethnic people living in mountainous areas, who make and drink oil tea to freshen up and keep warm in winter.

Oil tea has a greenish-brown colour and a strong taste.

Check out the table below for more tea types you haven’t seen mentioned above!

Earl Grey	格雷伯爵茶	Géléi bójué chá
Chrysanthemum tea	菊花茶	Júhuā chá
Jasmine tea	茉莉花茶	Mòlìhuā chá
Scented tea	花茶	Huāchá
Chamomile tea	甘菊茶	Gān jú chá
Mint tea	薄荷茶	Bòhé chá
Jia Duo Bao (famous Chinese brand)	加多寶涼茶	Jiā duō bǎo liángchá
Honey Citron tea	蜂蜜柚子茶	fēng mì yòu zǐ chá
Lapsang Souchong	正山小种	zhèngshānxiǎozhǒng

Other Useful Tea-Related Vocabulary

Compressed Tea	紧压茶	jǐnyāchá
Uncompressed/Loose Tea	散茶	sǎnchá
Aroma	香气	xiāngqì
Teabags	茶包	chábāo
Creaming down	奶油	nǎiyóu
Blend	混合	hùnhé
Thick	厚的	hòu de
Strong	强的	qiáng de
Woody	木质的	mùzhí de
Hot Water	热水	rè shuǐ
Boiled Water	开水	kāi shuǐ
Cold Water	冷水	lěng shuǐ
Cup	杯子	bēizi
Spoon	勺子	sháozi
Saucer	茶托	chátuō
White Sugar	白糖	báitáng
Milk	牛奶	niúnǎi
Teapot	茶壶	cháhú
Cake	蛋糕	dàngāo
Biscuit	饼干	bǐnggān
Chocolate	巧克力	qiǎokèlì
to drink	喝	hē
to eat	吃	Chī

Hopefully this post has proven useful to you and you’re now able to use plenty of new language in real life tea-drinking, Mandarin-speaking environments.

If you’re looking for more Mandarin learning tips and resource recommendations then check out the links below.

再见！