Green tea family

Green tea is the biggest family of Chinese teas, with more than 300 recorded.

Green teas can be divided into 4 sub-classes based on their drying methods.

Pan roasted dry green teas

As by the definition, these teas are pan roasted dry. The aroma is often a roasted aroma, described as pan fry or chestnut, yet refreshing.
The pan roasted dry green teas can be divided into four groups depending on the tea shapes:
• long
• round/pearl
• flat: Long-Jing (龙井) being the most famous.
• fine/tender: Bi Luo Chun (碧螺春), Xing-Yang Mao Jian (信阳毛尖) and Lu Shun Yun Wu (庐山云雾) being some of the most famous.

Baked dried green teas

Green teas that are oven baked dry. The aroma typically is not as potent as pan roasted green teas, shapes are not as tight, but tea leaves more complete with prominent back fur on the tip leaves.

Best known ones are: Liuan leaf (六安瓜片), Mao Feng (黄山毛峰) and Monkey King (猴魁).

Sun dried green teas

The green teas that are sun dried. A classic one being the Yunnan green.

Steamed and dried green teas

The green tea leaves are steamed until they are soft before drying. The technic was introduced to Japan during the Tang Dynasty and is still widely used there today, eg Matcha.