Types of Teas

Green Teas

Gunpowder: Bold, slightly smokey Chinese tea made up of tightly rolled pellet-like leaves that resemble grains of gunpowder

Dragon Well (Longjing): Pan-roasted tea from China’s Zhejiang Province praised for its high quality and sweet, rounded flavor

Chun Mee: Chinese tea with leaves rolled into an eyebrow shape (the literal translation is “Precious Eyebrow”) known for its dusty coloring, vegetal notes, and fruity plum-like tartnes

Sencha: Extremely popular, bright green whole-leaf Japanese tea with many different subvarieties based on season harvested, growing method, and brewing style

Matcha: Often highly caffeinated Japanese tea leaves ground into a fine powder and meant to be dissolved in liquid rather than steeped

White Teas

Silver Needle (Bai Hao Yinzhen): Prized delicate, woodsy, and aromatic golden tea made from small silver buds and mainly produced in China’s Fujian Province

White Peony (Bai Mudan): Full-bodied, floral, and pale green-hued tea made from the buds and top two leaves of a young plant shoot

Tribute Eyebrow (Gong Mei): Mid-grade white tea grown in China’s Guangxi and Fujian Provinces and known for its bold, fruity flavors

Long Life Eyebrow (Shou Mei): Strong golden yellow tea from China’s Guangxi and Fujian Provinces made from the low-quality leaves left over from previous harvests

White tea blends: A vast array of infusions, tinctures, and blends with many different fruits and herbs, often for medicinal purposes

Black Teas & Black Tea Blends

Lapsang souchong: Chinese tea smoke-dried over pinewood to create a sharply smoky, woodsy flavor and aroma

Assam: Full-bodied, earthy, and malty tea from the northeast Indian state of Assam

Darjeeling: Grown in West Bengal, India and known for its light body, floral aroma, and tannic spiciness

Ceylon: Honey-colored or reddish-brown tea with light and floral or rich and full-bodied characteristics depending on growth altitude

Earl Grey: A mix of Chinese-grown black tea and fragrant bergamot oil named after former British Prime Minister Charles Grey

English Breakfast: Traditionally made from a combination of Assam, Ceylon, and Kenyan-grown black teas and known for its bitterness, brown color, and robust yet rounded flavor

Irish Breakfast: Strong black tea blend generally dominated by Assam leaves and sharing a similar profile with English Breakfast

Masala Chai: Bold black tea from India usually made from a type of Assam that’s been cured into a dissolvable powder then mixed with a number of warming spices like cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, anise, fennel, nutmeg, and cloves, in addition to sweeteners and often served with milk

Oolong Teas

Iron Goddess of Mercy (Ti Kuan Yin or Tie Guan Yin): Very popular Chinese tea grown in the Fujian Province’s mountainous Anxi region and beloved for its refreshing qualities, honeyed flavor, and orchid-like aroma

Red Robe Tea (Da Hong Pao): Heavily-oxidized, dark orange-hued tea from China’s Wuyi Mountains with intense smoke and caramel notes and a markedly high price tag

Phoenix (Dan Chong or Dan Cong): Flavorful, full-bodied tea harvested from a single bush grown in China’s Guangdong Province with different characteristics depending on the batch’s origin plant

Milk Oolong (Nai Xiang): Creamy, and easy-drinking Taiwanese tea first created in 1980

Pouchong: Very airy and floral Chinese or Taiwanese tea made from pale unrolled leaves

Herbal Teas

Chamomile: Herbal infusion made from several different species of a daisy-like plant in the Asteraceae family and thought to treat stomach aches, inflammation, and insomnia

Chrysanthemum: Very aromatic mix of dried chrysanthemum petals often served with Chinese Dim Sum

Hibiscus: Brightly-colored, tart infusion made from the hibiscus plant, often blended with rosehip and served either hot or cold

Kava: Powdery tincture made from a root native to the South Pacific islands used for relaxation and other neurological purposes, including as a natural alternative to synthetic antidepressant and antianxiety medications

Rooibos (Red Bush): Earthy, bright, and caffeine-free infusion made from a ruddy, red-colored South African plant loaded with antioxidants