Tea is the number one beverage in China, and more and more people are starting to drink it. While drinking tea doesn’t require any bsaic knowledge, you can drink it however you like, life needs some formality and the tea culture is rich and diverse, with many different types of tea, many people don’t know what type of tea to choose.
Next, I’ll introduce four types of tea. If you don’t know what to drink, choose from these options. They are delicious and healthy, suitable for most people. Let’s take a look!
Tea contains a variety of substances that are beneficial to the human body, including tea polyphenols, caffeine, tea polysaccharides, and others. Some of the more common beneficial substances include rough fibers, gums, chlorophyll, vitamin A, B-complex vitamins, vitamin P, vitamin C, and small amounts of amino acids, as well as various minerals. Drinking tea regularly can help promote human health and reduce the risk of certain diseases.
1.Xinyang Maojian
Xinyang Maojian, one of China’s top ten teas, has always been loved by tea lovers. Xinyang Maojian has a unique style of “fine, round, bright, straight, many white hairs, high fragrance, strong taste, green soup”. It has various nutritional values such as quenching thirst, clearing the mind, brightening the eyes, invigorating the mind, and removing grease and food. The Xinyang Maojian brand has been ranked among the top three of China’s tea regional public brand value for many years.
The color, fragrance, taste, and shape of Xinyang Maojian tea all have unique individual characteristics. Its color is vibrant, clean, and free of impurities. Its fragrance is refined, fresh, and its taste is fresh, mellow, and sweet. Its appearance is even, fresh green, and shiny with visible white hairs. Its shape is fine, round, smooth, straight, and with many white hairs. Its color is bright green, and after brewing, its fragrance is high and lasting, its taste is thick and mellow, and it has a sweet aftertaste. The soup color is bright and clear. High-quality Xinyang Maojian has a tender green, yellow green, or bright soup color, with a fragrance that is refreshing and invigorating. Low-quality Xinyang Maojian has a deep green or yellow soup color, or is cloudy and dark, and is not suitable for brewing or has no tea fragrance.
The “Mingqian tea” is tea that is picked and processed before the Qingming Festival (April 5th on the Gregorian calendar). It is made from the tender young shoots that emerge in the spring. The tea during this period is young and has a faint fragrance. Because of its slow growth rate, it is almost 100% tender buds, and is the highest grade of tea from the Xinyang Maojian tea variety.
2.Longjing Tea
Whether you drink tea or not, you may have heard of the name Longjing tea from West Lake. Because it is so famous, its status in the green tea world is similar to that of Maotai in the wine world. Longjing tea from West Lake is one of China’s ten most famous teas, with a long history of cultivation and production, dating back more than 1,200 years. When Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty traveled south, he personally inscribed the names of 18 Longjing tea trees, which greatly increased its fame. In the green tea world, Longjing tea from West Lake is undoubtedly the “king”. Green tea is also the largest type of tea produced and consumed in China, so if you are just starting to learn about tea, Longjing tea from West Lake is definitely something you cannot miss.
Premium West Lake Longjing Tea before Qingming Festival, has a slender, smooth, straight shape, a tender green and lustrous color, and a fragrant, fresh, and high-pitched aroma when brewed. Its taste is fresh, sweet, and mellow, and its leaf bottom is delicate and shaped like a flower. It is a rare treasure among green teas.
3.Keemun Black Tea
Green tea is the most widely consumed type of tea in China, but when we look globally, it only ranks second. Globally, black tea is the undisputed king, with the highest production and consumption.
China is the origin of black tea, of course, and it has many fine varieties. One of the best is Keemun Black Tea Black Tea. If you want to learn how to drink tea, you can’t do without it.
The production of Keemun Black Tea dates back to more than 100 years ago. It has been loved by consumers at home and abroad, In the past, it was mainly exported. At the end of the Keemun Black Tea, more than 90% of China’s black tea exports came from QiMen. In Western countries, from royalty to ordinary families, drinking Keemun Black Tea was considered a great honor. Therefore, Keemun Black Tea tea is known as the “Queen of Black Tea.”
As a fully fermented tea, black tea has a dark, shiny, oily appearance, a fragrance that resembles flowers, honey, and fruit, a bright red and clear tea soup, a fresh and rich taste, a low level of stimulation, a mild tea nature, and is suitable for most people, making it the perfect choice for beginners.
4.Tie Guan Yin Tea
Tie Guanyin is a type of Oolong tea, belonging to the South Fujian Oolong tea and is one of the top ten famous teas in China. Among all Oolong teas, Tie Guanyin is one of the easiest for beginners to accept because of its elegant fragrance, natural orchid fragrance, pure and rich taste that lingers, high re-infusion rate, and the reputation of “seven infusions with lingering fragrance”.
Real Tieguanyin tea is of superior quality and is an ideal choice for beginners who are just starting to learn tea.
Since Taiwan introduced new production techniques, Tie Guanyin has been divided into traditional and new production methods, and after being made, it can be further divided into three types: Qingxiang, Nongxiang, and Chenxiang.
For beginners, it is recommended to drink lightly fragrant Tie Kuan Yin tea, as its taste and flavor are easier to accept. Heavy fragrant and aged Tie Kuan Yin tea, besides being easily accepted by locals, may be difficult for out-of-town novice tea lovers to fully accept at first. Drinking tea requires a process, and once one gets used to its taste, flavor, and fragrance, they can try it again.
In summary, new tea lovers should choose tea that they like and suits them. Otherwise, they may easily give up and never want to drink tea again. Among all the tea varieties, green tea, black tea, and oolong tea are the most approachable and easy to drink, so why not give them a try