A structured reference for Chinese loose-leaf tea

Each tea has one entry, whatever vendors call it. Search any spelling, translation or Chinese name and it resolves to the same place. Regions, cultivars, factories and recipes link to each other, and every entry shows how well its facts are sourced.

霜降Frost's Descent Season now A quiet time in the tea gardens. Next solar term: 立冬 Start of Winter, from about November 7

Explore the reference#

Teas129One entry per tea, whatever it is sold as. Regions130From province down to valley and village. Cultivars90The tea plants behind the names. Producers56Factories and makers, with their histories. Recipes55Pu'er mark numbers, decoded. Productions27Specific years and batches, tracked for good. Vendors140Where shops are, and where they ship. Listings2555Prices compared per 100 g, across regions. Terms404The vocabulary, in every language we publish. LearnThe six categories, the picking year, the crafts.

Understand the tea#

Guides

How to read a tea name

Find the place, plant and process in a tea name. Learn what each part tells you—and what it cannot prove.

The six categories and how they are made

Follow the processing behind the six tea categories. See why a tea’s name and its category can differ.

The essentials of brewing tea

Choose a starting point for leaf, water and time. Adjust each infusion to the tea, your vessel and your taste.

Tasting vocabulary and how to evaluate

Notice aroma, flavour and texture with more precision. Learn the vocabulary and make fairer comparisons.

Explore with the tools#

The picking yearFollow the seasons and picking windows.Tea mapExplore places and their connections.Decode a wrapper codeRead a recipe number and its limits.

Discover tea#

Choose a category to discover its range of teas.

Surprise me with a tea Browse all 129 teas Compare prices

Every entry cites its sources. See how we check