Tea Family

There are six categories of loose leaf tea. Green, white, yellow, blue, red, black. These colors are directly translated from Chinese, however in the west we say green, white, yellow, oolong, black, dark.

The six categories of tea are literally referred to as "The six big teas" of China, which is what is written at the top of this photo.

The differences between each of these teas can be thought of as different degrees of fermentation. For example, green tea is the least fermented of the six big teas whereas dark tea is the most fermented. These fermentation processes are different for each of the six big teas.

From bottom to top we have green, white, yellow, oolong, black, and dark teas. You can see the degree of fermentation for each on represented by a percentage. This percentage indicated how long the tea leaves have been left to ferment and each of the six teas fermentation process is slightly different.

The most interesting aspect amongst the six big teas is that each one has a different polyphenol profile, which is to say each one has a different health effect. One of the goals for Tea Bender is to thoroughly understand these different health effects and then drink tea in a scientific manner (as they say over here) depending on the ailment and situation.

Let me know what you think about the six big teas and also please comment.