Chinese Tea

Of hundreds of varieties of Chinese tea, there are six major types. They are green tea, black tea, Oolong tea, white tea, scented tea, and tightly pressed tea lumps.
Green tea has the longest history and still ranks first in output and varieties today. People like its freshness and natural fragrance. Famous green tea includes longjin (Dragon Well) Tea from the west lake in Hangzhou, Maofeng Tea from Huangshan Mountain, Yinzhen Tea from Junshan Mountains and Yunwu Tea from Lushan Mountain.
Black tea also enjoys a good reputation both at home and abroad. Different from green tea, black tea is thoroughly fermented. In the fermentation, the tea leaves turn from green to black.
Oolong tea possesses the freshness of green tea and the fragrance of black. In recent years, it has become popular with more and more people for its properties in helping body building and dieting. The producing areas of oolong tea are scattered in Fujian, Guangdong and Taiwan. Because the tea grows on cliffs which people rarely reach, it is difficult to pick.. For this reason, oolong tea is considered the most precious.
White tea is as white as silver and its water its clear. The major producing areas are Fujian's Zhenghe and Fuding. Famous varieties include "silver needle" and White Peony.
Scented tea is a variety unique to China and smells of flowers. Sweet osmanthus, jasmine, rose orchid and plum flowers can all be used.
Another special tea is called tightly-pressed tea lumps. The black tea or green tea is pressed into brick, cake or ball shapes. The tea lump is convenient to store and transport and is suitable for minority people in border regions. The major producing areas of tea lumps are scattered in Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan, Yunnan and Gangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
In recent years, newly appeared bag Tea, instant tea, and medical tea have brightened the world of tea.
The ancestors of the Chinese people were the first to find tea as well as the first to find its medical and health preserving function.
According to modern scientific analysis, tea contains many mineral elements such as iron, manganese, aluminum, potassium, sodium calcium, phosphorus and magnesium. It also contains such organic compounds as phenol, alkaloid, sugar protein, amino acid, aromatic, pigment, vitamin and enzyme. They constitute the unique colour, smell and taste of tea and are good for people's health.
Water is very important for making tea because too many foreign substances in the water will spoil the tea. Spring water is ideal. Other good-quality water includes unpolluted snow water, water from flowing wells or from rivers far from habitation. Nowadays, more than 50 countries produce tea in the world, a sure sign of its popularity.