| teas not allowed to oxidize | tea that is partially oxidized | teas that are fully oxidized (Chinese black tea is also fermented) | tea with a special oxidation process that yellows the leaf | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
白茶 |
緑茶 |
鳥龍茶／青茶 |
紅茶 |
黒茶 |
黄茶 |
| white tea | Chinese green tea (Japanese green tea slightly different and begins with steaming. Click here for details: historical process, modern process) |
Oolong tea* | red tea | Chinese black tea | yellow tea |
| tea leaf harvest | tea leaf harvest | tea leaf harvest | tea leaf harvest | tea leaf harvest | tea leaf harvest |
| 炒青 steaming the leaves, that is, placing them inside a hot container to quickly stop the oxidation process | 殺青 heat the leaves to stop the oxidation process, sometimes called "frying" the leaves and while sometimes still uses woks, more modern machines are also used | 萎凋 a withering* of the leaves by exposing them to sun then indoors using warm air | 萎凋 a withering* of the leaves by exposing them to sun then indoors using warm air | 殺青 heat the leaves to stop the oxidation process, sometimes called "frying" the leaves and while sometimes still uses woks, more modern machines are also used | 殺青 heat the leaves to stop the oxidation process, sometimes called "frying" the leaves and while sometimes still uses woks, more modern machines are also used |
| 乾燥 leaves are exposed to air to thoroughly dry them so they will not spoil (their final moisture content is about 3%) | 揉捻 leaves are rolled* into the twisted, narrow shapes that are the familiar look of loose tea, rolling breaks down cellular structure, allowing various chemicals of the leaf to contact one another and begin chemical reactions | 做青 a bruising of the edges of the leaves by hand or machine tossing to begin an oxidation process | 揉捻 leaves are rolled* into the twisted, narrow shapes that are the familiar look of loose tea, rolling breaks down cellular structure, allowing various chemicals of the leaf to contact one another and begin chemical reactions | 揉捻 leaves are rolled* into the twisted, narrow shapes that are the familiar look of loose tea, rolling breaks down cellular structure, allowing various chemicals of the leaf to contact one another and begin chemical reactions | 揉捻 leaves are rolled into the twisted, narrow shapes that are the familiar look of loose tea, rolling breaks down cellular structure, allowing various chemicals of the leaf to contact one another and begin chemical reactions |
| 乾燥 leaves are exposed to air to thoroughly dry them so they will not spoil (their final moisture content is about 3%) | 炒青 steaming the leaves, that is, placing them inside a hot container to quickly stop the oxidation process | 発酵 oxidation process (sometimes called fermentation process, a misnomer) | 渥堆 this is an oxidation process that is very complete, using moisture sometimes, hot or warm rooms, and considerable time. Some actual fermentation may occur. Some teas in this category spend years at this stage. (Oxidations are chemical changes caused by exposure to oxygen; fermentation is a bacterial event.) | 悶黄 uses an oxidizing process called "annealing yellow" where there is a gap between this stage and the one above, allowing a yellowing of the leaves first | |
| 揉捻 leaves are rolled into the twisted, narrow shapes that are the familiar look of loose tea, rolling breaks down cellular structure, allowing various chemicals of the leaf to contact one another and begin chemical reactions | 乾燥 leaves are exposed to air to thoroughly dry them so they will not spoil (their final moisture content is about 3%) | 烘焙 leaves are exposed to very hot air to thoroughly dry them so they will not spoil (their final moisture content is about 3%) | 乾燥 leaves are exposed to air to thoroughly dry them so they will not spoil (their final moisture content is about 3%) | ||
| 烘焙 leaves are exposed to very hot air to thoroughly dry them so they will not spoil (their final moisture content is about 3%) | |||||
*About withering (notes by a former student of this course who visited a tea farm in Taiwan, 2013). It says "exposing them to sun". The tea farmer said it depends on the sun and weather. If the sun is strong, they need to have some black yarn to cover the leaves to prevent burn out. On super hot days, the time of outside withering will be shorter. She said there is no one standard method because everyday is different weather and temperature, so they will rely on the experience of the master (師傅). She also said that when they start the tea making process, they need 2 days 1 night without sleeping, and so they always have two groups of tea workers taking turns.
*About rolling (notes by a former student of this course who visited a tea farm in Taiwan, 2013). In rolled step, maybe "allowing various chemicals of the leaf to contact one another and begin chemical reactions" can be mentioned with reaction with water and maybe sometimes with tea wares, too. The tea farmer was really paying attention to every detail of making tea and brewing them. She even got a fancy wood tea table (she was talking about that in the video I took).
*About oolong tea crafting steps (notes by a former student of this course who visited a tea farm in Taiwan, 2013). For the steps of oolong, I think the tea farm I visited uses heating instead of steaming for the kill green process. But, I remembered you will mentioned kill green used various methods. By the way, the tea workers called themselves "killer"...