China

Wikipedia: China | Official Government Website: english.gov.cn 
Updated: Oct. 3, 2017 

About China

China, known in Chinese as Zhōngguó (中国), meaning "central country", is one of the most important tea-producing countries. The written history of tea consumption in China goes back longer than in any other country, thousands of years. In ancient China, tea was originally used as a medicine; over hundreds of years it slowly shifted towards being viewed first as a tonic, and then as a beverage as it is today.

China, together with India, is one of the two largest producers and consumers of tea. In 2007, China produced over 30% of the world's production of tea, almost 1.2 million tons of tea out of the world's almost 3.9 million tons. Most of the tea produced in China is consumed in China, although tea is also an important export good for China.

A myriad of styles of tea originated in China, which produces and consumes black, green, white, oolong, and pu-erh teas, as well as the less well-known yellow teas. Chinese teas are astoundingly diverse, as within each of these broad types of tea, there are countless different styles, both ancient and modern. China has also come to produce styles of tea that originated elsewhere, such as sencha, which originated in Japan.

Tea tends to be produced mostly in the provinces towards the south and east of China, where the climate is humid and ranges from tropical to subtropical, although teas are grown commercially as far west as Sichuan and Yunnan provinces, and as far north as Shandong province.

Tea-Producing Regions of China

Styles of Tea Produced in China

This is a selection, not an exhaustive listing, of the styles of tea most commonly produced in China.

Best Chinese Teas

The notion of the "best" Chinese teas is subjective, because different people have different tastes. We present the most often-rated and highest-rated teas produced in China, and allow you to draw your own conclusions.

Browse All Chinese Teas (1668)