The tea atlas

Leaves, origins and the flavours that make one tea different from another.

Green and black loose tea leaves in separate dishes beside pale green and amber infusions

Green and black tea start with the same plant

The difference develops after picking. Follow what happens to the leaf, then compare the cups without treating colour as a measure of strength.

Silver buds and broad green-brown white tea leaves on a pale plate

The tea atlas

White tea is more than silver buds

Silver buds are only one expression of white tea. Leafier styles can have a fuller cup without leaving the category.

Green rolled oolong beside dark twisted roasted oolong leaves

The tea atlas

Oolong has its own range of flavours

Lightly floral and deeply roasted teas can both be oolong. Oxidation alone does not explain everything in the cup.

Slender yellow-green tea buds beside pale golden tea

The tea atlas

What makes yellow tea a separate category

Yellow tea is defined by a processing choice, not simply by a yellow infusion or an unfamiliar name.

Fresh tea shoots, withered leaves and dark processed tea arranged separately

The tea atlas

What oxidation changes in a tea leaf

Oxidation helps explain why tea changes colour and aroma. It is different from roasting and from microbial fermentation.

Fine dark green sencha needles beside pale yellow-green tea

The tea atlas

Sencha beyond the word grassy

Sencha can be brisk, savoury and sweet in the same cup. Grassy is only one possible description.

Dark gyokuro needles beside a tiny cup of pale jade tea

The tea atlas

Gyokuro and the taste of shade

Shade helps shape gyokuro's distinctive character, but its concentrated savouriness is not a flavour everyone expects from tea.

Fine green matcha powder on a spoon against a pale background

The tea atlas

Matcha is a suspended leaf, not a clear infusion

The powder stays in the bowl. That single difference explains much of matcha's texture and appearance.

Large olive-green bancha leaves on a bamboo scoop

The tea atlas

Bancha and the value of a larger leaf

Larger leaves can make an appealing everyday tea. Bancha is a broad name, not a synonym for poor quality.

Brown roasted hojicha leaves and stems beside copper-coloured tea

The tea atlas

Why hojicha looks brown but belongs with green tea

Hojicha's brown leaf and toasted aroma come from roasting. Its place in the green tea family can be surprising.

Toasted rice grains mixed with green tea leaves and a few popped white grains

The tea atlas

Genmaicha: what the rice brings

The toasted rice is not a decoration. It gives genmaicha a recognisable aroma and changes the balance of the cup.

Pale tea stems mixed with small dark green leaf pieces on a plate

The tea atlas

Kukicha puts the stems in the spotlight

Stems can be the point of a tea, not an unwanted extra. Kukicha makes that clear in both appearance and flavour.

Fine green kabusecha leaves beside light green tea in a low blue bowl

The tea atlas

Kabusecha between brightness and umami

Kabusecha can connect sencha's freshness with a more rounded savoury note. The shading description needs context.

Fine broken deep-steamed sencha beside a cloudy green infusion

The tea atlas

Fukamushi sencha and its cloudy green cup

A cloudy green cup and fine leaf particles can be part of the intended style of deeply steamed sencha.

Fresh spring tea shoots beside newly processed green shincha leaves

The tea atlas

Shincha is a seasonal description

Shincha points to a newly released harvest. It is not a separate plant or a guarantee that every packet tastes alike.

Flat dark green tencha flakes beside a separate dish of matcha powder

The tea atlas

Tencha before it becomes matcha

Before matcha becomes powder, it exists as a light, flaky leaf called tencha. Its shape reveals a different process from sencha.

Flat yellow-green Longjing leaves spread across a white tray

The tea atlas

Longjing and its flat leaf

Longjing's flattened leaf is distinctive, but the best introduction is the relationship between its shape, aroma and cup.

Dark olive gunpowder tea pellets beside unfurled wet tea leaves

The tea atlas

Gunpowder tea: small pellets, unfolding leaves

Gunpowder gets its name from its rolled shape. Those compact pellets change how a spoonful looks and opens.

Slender curved grey-green Chun Mee leaves on a tea scoop

The tea atlas

Chun Mee and the curved leaf

Chun Mee is named for a curved leaf shape. Its brisk green character deserves more attention than the translation alone.

Tiny curled silver-green Biluochun leaves in an ivory dish

The tea atlas

Biluochun: small curls and a soft aroma

Small curls and fine down make Biluochun visually distinctive. Origin and leaf material explain why packets can differ.

Green jasmine tea leaves with a jasmine blossom beside pale gold tea

The tea atlas

Jasmine tea is scented tea, not a flower infusion

Most familiar jasmine tea combines a tea base with floral scent. It is not simply dried jasmine flowers in hot water.

Pale green jasmine pearls on a spoon beside opened tea leaves

The tea atlas

What a jasmine pearl contains

Jasmine pearls combine scenting with a rolled leaf shape. Their slow opening is useful to watch, but not a quality test by itself.

Long downy Silver Needle tea buds against dark stone

The tea atlas

Silver Needle and the texture of buds

Silver Needle puts buds at the centre of the cup. Its fine appearance does not mean it needs to taste weak.

Silver buds among broad mottled green and brown Bai Mu Dan leaves

The tea atlas

White Peony: a leafier white tea

Bai Mu Dan combines buds and leaves. The mixed appearance is the beginning of its character, not a flaw to sort out.

Broad bronze-brown Shou Mei leaves beside amber white tea

The tea atlas

Shou Mei and the fuller side of white tea

Shou Mei's broad, rustic leaves can make a rewarding white tea. Appearance grades should not replace your preference.

Green rolled Tieguanyin and darker roasted Tieguanyin in separate dishes

The tea atlas

Tieguanyin comes in more than one roast

Tieguanyin may be fresh and floral or deeper and roasted. Ask about the style before expecting a familiar cup.

Long dark Wuyi oolong leaves beside amber tea on grey stone

The tea atlas

Rock oolong: roast, leaf and place

Rock tea is a family of Wuyi oolongs. Roast is part of the story, but the name does not promise a literal taste of stone.

Long dark Dancong strips beside a pale gold tasting cup

The tea atlas

Dancong and its fragrant names

Dancong names often point towards fragrance. Honey, orchid and other words describe tea character rather than added ingredients.

Rolled brown-green Dong Ding leaves beside honey-coloured tea

The tea atlas

Dong Ding and the balance of roasting

Dong Ding is closely associated with Taiwanese oolong and roasting, but the roast level is worth asking about.

Long loosely twisted green Baozhong leaves on a pale dish

The tea atlas

Baozhong: a lightly oxidised oolong

Baozhong shows the lighter side of oolong, with loosely twisted leaves and fragrance that can feel close to green tea.

Brown, reddish and silver-tipped Oriental Beauty leaves beside golden-orange tea

The tea atlas

Oriental Beauty and its multicoloured leaves

The mixed colours of Oriental Beauty belong to a distinctive Taiwanese oolong. Honey-like aroma does not mean added honey.

Plain rolled Jin Xuan leaves beside a clear golden infusion without milk

The tea atlas

Jin Xuan and the meaning of milky

Jin Xuan can have a naturally creamy impression. Milk oolong on a label still deserves an ingredient check.

Dark Assam leaves with golden tips beside copper-brown tea

The tea atlas

Assam: what a malty cup means

Malt is a useful clue to Assam, provided it does not become a rule for every tea from this large region.

Green-brown first flush Darjeeling leaves beside pale golden tea

The tea atlas

Why first flush Darjeeling can look green

Pale liquor and greenish leaves do not disqualify a first flush Darjeeling from being a black tea.

Dark second flush Darjeeling leaves with golden tips and amber tea

The tea atlas

Second flush Darjeeling and muscatel

Muscatel describes a grape-like impression, not added wine and not a promise made by every summer harvest.

Three grades of Sri Lankan black tea in dishes beside amber tea

The tea atlas

Ceylon is an origin, not one flavour

Sri Lanka's black teas range from delicate and fragrant to dark and substantial; Ceylon does not name one blend.

Wiry Nilgiri black tea leaves beside orange-gold tea

The tea atlas

Nilgiri and a clear, fragrant black tea

Nilgiri belongs to southern India and often offers a fragrant, bright alternative to a heavy black-tea profile.

Fine twisted Keemun leaves with reddish tea in a small cup

The tea atlas

Keemun and its quiet aromatic depth

Keemun's fine dark leaf can give a quietly fragrant cup rather than the forceful strength its colour suggests.

Golden and black curled Dian Hong buds on a charcoal-coloured plate

The tea atlas

Dian Hong: golden tips in a black tea

Golden buds make Dian Hong visually distinctive, but their colour is only the beginning of the description.

Dark Lapsang tea beside a cup and a small piece of pine wood

The tea atlas

Lapsang Souchong with and without smoke

The name Lapsang Souchong covers smoked and unsmoked expressions, so the smoke level needs its own description.

Black tea leaves with a bergamot fruit and a strip of peel

The tea atlas

Earl Grey gets its signature from bergamot

Bergamot gives Earl Grey its recognisable citrus fragrance, while the tea beneath it still shapes the cup.

Robust broken black tea beside a breakfast cup and a milk jug

The tea atlas

Breakfast tea is a blend with a purpose

Breakfast blends combine black teas to achieve a dependable cup, but the name does not prescribe one recipe.

Black tea beside separate cardamom pods, ginger, cinnamon and cloves

The tea atlas

Masala chai: tea and spices have different jobs

Tea supplies the backbone of masala chai; the spices create several separate layers of aroma.

Loose young raw pu-erh leaves beside a cake and pale amber tea

The tea atlas

Young sheng pu-erh is not the same as ripe pu-erh

Young sheng can be bright and forceful. It should not be judged against the dark profile of pile-fermented shou.

Dark ripe pu-erh leaves, a cake and reddish-brown tea

The tea atlas

Shou pu-erh and a dark, earthy cup

Shou's dark colour comes with a distinct processing history. Earthy can be inviting, but it should not excuse every off smell.

A round tea cake, rectangular tea brick and small tea nest

The tea atlas

A tea cake describes a shape, not a single tea

Cakes, bricks and nests tell you how tea is formed. They do not identify its processing category by themselves.

Roasted hojicha and smoked black tea arranged separately with their cups

The tea atlas

Smoke and roast are different tea flavours

Toasted warmth and smoke can overlap in everyday language, but they describe different influences on a tea.