DongXi: The colors of Chinese tea

Tea has its origin in China and is prepared from the leaves of the “tea plant” Camellia sinensis, which grows in tropical or subtropical climates. Tea was brought to Europe during the 16^th century and subsequently produced in large amounts by the British in India, from which the widely known black teas such as Darjeeling or Assam arose. Black tea was called “black” because of the color of the tea leaves after oxidization in the preparation process, but in contrast to the English name, black tea is called “red tea” (红茶 / hóngchá) in Chinese according to the color of the already brewed drink. Apart from “red tea”, there is also a type of tea that is called “black” in China (黑茶 / hēichá), but this is different from what is known as “black tea” in English. Based on how tea leaves are processed and on their resulting degree of oxidization and fermentation teas are categorized into different types such as for example Green tea (绿茶 / lǚchá), White tea (白茶 / báichá), Oolong tea (乌龙 / wūlóng), Yellow tea (黄茶 / huángchá) or Pu-er tea. Fermentation of tea leaves for so called “black” tea (黑茶 / hēichá) such as Pu’er tea can take place for several months to even years. Pu’er tea is usually compressed to shapes and becomes more valuable with age.