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Chinese Tea Flavour Guide
This chart shows popular Chinese teas organized by basic flavour characteristics. The links to the right will take you to matching products for more information and pricing.
To see teas that exactly match your specific taste, you can Ask The Tea Wizard - it’s fun!
Have you ever had difficulty trying to describe the taste of something? Professionals use hundreds of terms to describe the flavours of tea. See this extensive listing at Chinese Tea Tasting Terms.
|
FLOWERY |
||
| Dragon Pearl Jasmine | Rich perfume fragrance and flowery taste | Finest White Tips Dragon Pearl Jasmine Green Tea |
| Tie Guan Yin (also called Gun Yam, Iron Buddha, Buddha of Mercy and Chinese Oolong) | Spring Pick: Flowery fragrance and sweet taste
Fall Pick: Light fragrance and complex flowery taste |
Premium Iron Buddha Emperor's Delight Oolong Tea (Tie Guan Yin) |
| Phoenix Flower Tea | Full and rich flowery taste and fragrance | Phoenix Oolong Tea Natural "Flower" Flavour (Dan Cong) |
| Taiwan Oolong (also called High Mountain Oolong) | A wonderful everyday tea - fresh, slightly fruity with a flowery fragrance and taste | Premium Taiwan High Mountain Oolong Tea |
| White Peony | Smooth, creamy and buttery green taste, slightly flowery | White Peony White Tea (Bai Mu Dan) |
| GREEN/GRASSY | ||
| Loong Jien (also called Dragon Well) | Very fresh green taste with slightly nutty overtones | Long Jing (Dragon Well) Green Tea |
| Pi Lo Chun | Smooth and rich green taste | White Tips Pi Lo Chun (Bi Lo Chun) Green Tea |
| Da Hong Pao (also called Big Red Robe and Cliff Tea) - Slightly Fermented | A rich and complex taste with green overtones | Iron Buddha Emperor's Delight Oolong Tea (Tie Guan Yin) |
| Young Green/Sheng Pu-erh Teas | Many have a distinct smoky character combined with earth and grass | Ask The Tea Wizard |
| FRUITY | ||
| Golden Tips Red | Unique fruity taste with a touch of peach | Golden Tips Red Tea (Dien Hong) |
| Taiwan Oolong (also called High Mountain Oolong) | A wonderful 'everyday' tea - fresh, slightly fruity with a flowery fragrance and taste | Taiwan Oolong (also called High Mountain Oolong) |
| Silver Needle | Very delicate, smooth and sweet flavor with fruity tones | Silver Needle White Tea (Bai Hao Yin Zhen) |
| NUTTY | ||
| Loong Jien (also called Dragon Well) | A very fresh green taste with slightly grassy and nutty overtones | Long Jing (Dragon Well) Green Tea |
| White Peony | Smooth, creamy and buttery green taste, slightly flowery | White Peony White Tea (Bai Mu Dan) |
| HONEY | ||
| Phoenix Honey Tea | Rich honey aroma and taste | Phoenix Oolong Tea Natural "Honey" Flavour (Dan Cong) |
| SMOKEY | ||
| Lapsang Souchong | Rich smoky taste | Premium Lapsang Sauchong Black Tea |
| Da Hong Pao (also called Big Red Robe and Cliff Tea) - Slightly Roasted | Light and complex smoky taste | Da Hong Pao (also called Wuyi Cliff Tea, Big Red Robe) |
| Aged Traditional Charcoal Roasted Oolong Tea |
Rich and complex smoky taste | 1990's Wu Yi Shui Xian (Charcoal Roasted) |
| 1990’s WuYi Shiu Xian Cliff Oolong Tea |
Roasted, full smoky taste | Iron Buddha Monkey Pick Oolong Tea (Tie Guan Yin) |
| Young Green/Sheng Pu-erh Teas | Many have a distinct smoky character combined with earth and grass | Ask The Tea Wizard |
| EARTHY | ||
| Pu-Erh Sheng (also called Bow Lay, Raw, Un-cooked, Green Health Tea
Pu-Erh Shou (also called Bow Lay, Cooked Tea) |
Comes in sheng/raw and shou/ripe varieties, either loose leaves or compressed. Has rich, smooth and earthy tastes with complex overtones ranging from plums to dates to chocolate. Pu-Erh is stored for many years and even decades in cool, dry cellars which has a further mellowing effect and adds smoothness and complexity. Sold like vintage wine and some “vintages” are very rare and expensive. |
Pu-Erh Tea Cake Red Dayi 7262 Menghai Tea Factory, 2003 (Black/Shou) 1990's Ancient Camphor Wild Tree Loose Leaf Pu-Erh Tea (Raw/Sheng) |
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Don't know which tea is right for you? Answer a few questions and the Online Wizard will show you all the Chinese teas that suit your taste.
