Wither
Reduce moisture and soften the leaf while early aroma chemistry develops.
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Tea encyclopaedia · Processing
One tea plant. Six famous tea families.
Black, green, white, oolong, yellow and dark tea are not six different plants. Their identities emerge from the interaction of cultivar, harvest and — crucially — how the fresh leaf is processed.
The processing levers
The maker changes moisture, cell structure, oxygen exposure and heat.
Bruise / roll
Shape the leaf and break cell structures to expose compounds to oxygen.
Control oxidation
Encourage it, limit it, or stop it early depending on the tea family.
Apply heat
Steam, pan-fire, bake or roast to stop reactions and build flavour.
Dry & finish
Stabilise the tea, then sort, roast, scent, compress or age where appropriate.
Tea families
White tea
GentleUsually withered and dried with relatively little shaping. The simplicity of the sequence does not mean the chemistry stands still.
Examples
Silver needle, white peony
Green tea
Oxidation stopped earlyHeat is applied soon after harvest to deactivate enzymes. Steaming and pan-firing lead to different aroma and texture directions.
Examples
Sencha, gyokuro, Longjing
Yellow tea
Gentle sealed yellowingA rare family related to green tea production, with an additional controlled warm resting stage that softens some greener characters.
Examples
Junshan Yinzhen
Oolong
Partly oxidisedLeaves are deliberately bruised and oxidised to a chosen degree before heat-fixing, shaping and drying. The range runs from floral and green to dark and roasted.
Examples
Tieguanyin, Wuyi oolong, high-mountain oolong
Black tea
More fully oxidisedLeaves are withered, rolled or cut, then oxidation is encouraged before drying. In China this family is commonly called red tea because of the liquor colour.
Examples
Assam, Darjeeling black, Keemun, Ceylon
Dark tea
Post-processed by microbesA broad family in which microbial activity after the initial tea-making process becomes important. Some styles are compressed and aged.
Examples
Pu-erh, Liu Bao, hei cha
A useful language correction
Oxidation and fermentation are not interchangeable.
In black and oolong tea, the familiar browning process is driven mainly by plant enzymes reacting with oxygen after the cells are damaged. That is oxidation. True microbial fermentation becomes especially relevant in post-fermented or dark teas such as many pu-erh styles.
See the full leaf-to-cup journeyAnd herbal “tea”?
A different botanical route.
Chamomile flowers, peppermint leaves, rooibos, hibiscus and fruit blends are not made from Camellia sinensis. Their growing, drying and blending stories are worth covering separately rather than forcing them into the six tea families.
Taste the processing