Terms

Forceful intensity: strong bitterness that resolves, thick body and powerful effect. The stock descriptor for Lao Banzhang tea.

The eight quality factors of Chinese tea evaluation: four for the dry leaf (shape, wholeness 整碎, cleanliness 净度, colour 色泽) and four for the infusion (aroma, liquor colour, taste, infused leaf). GB/T 23776 lists which factors apply to each category; scoring uses five factors (appearance, liquor colour, aroma, taste, infused leaf) weighted per category.

Aroma remaining at the bottom of the emptied drinking or aroma cup. It is a common way for drinkers to judge aroma depth, and a long-lasting cup-bottom aroma is valued in oolong and yancha.

Aroma descriptor traditionally associated with Liubao tea: Chinese Wikipedia gives Liubao's character as '红、浓、陈、醇' (red, thick, aged, mellow) 'with a special betel-nut aroma, getting better the longer it is stored' (特点“红、浓、陈、醇”，有特殊的槟榔香气，存放越久品质越佳). Sellers tie it to aged Liubao: a Liubao seller's article lists 'pure betel-nut aroma' with a medicinal note for dry-stored tea of five years and up, and Yunnan Sourcing calls its 2006 Yao Xiang Liubao 'a type of betel nut aroma' that appears with longer ageing. The word names a smell, the smell of the areca nut (English trade usage: 'betel nut'); the sources consulted do not mention any areca ingredient being added. Whether any single batch shows it is the seller's claim.

Musty, damp or cellar-like odour absorbed during humid or poorly ventilated storage. Mild cases fade with airing out; strong cases count as a defect and can shade into mould taste (霉味).

The bodily effect attributed to a tea — warmth, alertness, sweating, a 'heady' or relaxing feeling — valued especially in old-tree raw pu'er. Subjective and not measured.

Orange-yellow liquor: yellow with a reddish tinge, like a ripe orange, graded as light or deep (GB/T 14487-2017 2.3.13, English "orange"). Trade glossaries list it as an oolong liquor colour.

Stale odour: the unpleasant smell of tea that has lost its freshness in storage, described in GB/T 14487-2017 as having an oxidised-oil note. A fault in teas meant to be drunk fresh, such as green and yellow tea; the opposite of 陈香, the positive aged aroma of well-stored dark tea.

The settled, mellow aroma of well-aged dark tea, a standard descriptor in Chinese sensory evaluation for pu'er and dark teas. Distinct from storage odour or mustiness.

A smooth, rounded, well-integrated taste without harshness, often appearing in compounds like 醇厚 (mellow and thick) and 醇和 (mellow and gentle) in standard taste descriptors. It implies the tea is smooth and harmonious, not necessarily weak.

Mellow and gentle: moderate strength and soft in the mouth (GB/T 14487-2017 2.5.3 groups 醇 and 醇和, English "mellow"). The 1993 edition placed it between 醇正 and 平和 in stimulation and noted a slight sweetness.

Mellow and thick: smooth and comfortable on entry, rich in dissolved matter, with a lingering, slightly viscous finish (GB/T 14487-2017 2.5.7, English "mellow and thick"). The 1993 edition described it as brisk, sweet and thick with some stimulation.

The 'old-bush taste' attributed to Laocong Shuixian: woody, mossy, damp-forest or bamboo-leaf (粽叶) notes, with a smooth, rich body. A 2022 study in Chinese Agricultural Science Bulletin linked woody-type old-bush samples to aldehydes such as pentanal and hexanal. It is a connoisseur descriptor, not a standard term.

'Bush rhyme': the distinctive finish of an individual (usually old) dancong bush. The Chaozhou standards DB4451/T 1-2021 and T/CZTTBZ 002-2021 define Phoenix dancong as oolong with natural floral or fruit aroma plus 丛韵 and 蜜韵; Jiemian speaks of an obvious 老丛韵 in old almond-type bushes.

The fishy, earthy or musty smell and taste left in new ripe pu'er by pile fermentation. It fades with airing and some months to years of storage; persistent strong duiwei is a defect.

Fragrant and lasting: a rich, layered, elegant and persistent aroma (GB/T 14487-2017 2.4.6, English "fragrant and lasting"), It differs from 浓郁 ("strong and lasting"), which stresses intensity. In the Dancong scoring table of DB44/T 2816.5—2026, 馥郁 aroma marks the second (乙) grade, below 细锐 / 幽长 (fine, sharp and long).

Aroma smelled on the underside of the gaiwan lid right after pouring off. It is a quick, concentrated read of the tea's aroma and its development across infusions.

A gentle, lingering sweetness, distinct from 甜 (plain sweet taste). In tea the two are often combined as 甘甜. 甘 tends to describe a finish that develops, 甜 an immediate sweet taste.

The unbrewed leaf as examined before infusion. In standard evaluation (GB/T 14487) it is the first object assessed, for shape, colour, evenness and aroma. Distinct from 茶干 (dried tofu snack) despite similar characters.

The two halves of an evaluation. Dry evaluation (干评, in standards 干茶审评) judges the unbrewed leaf for shape, tenderness, colour, evenness and cleanliness on a matte black dry bench; wet evaluation (湿评, in standards 开汤审评) judges liquor colour, aroma, taste and infused leaf on a matte white wet bench. Teaching texts sum it up as dry for appearance, wet for inner quality.

A Chinese sensory-evaluation descriptor for a strong, scorched or pot-crust (锅巴) roast aroma from drying or roasting slightly hotter or longer than normal. It lies at the border of a fault, short of outright burnt (焦) notes, and is less desirable than an even 足火 roast aroma. One Wuyi roaster uses it for roasting so fierce the tea nears charring, so its severity varies by writer.

Aroma that clings to the inside of the emptied cup (挂杯香), taken as a sign of aromatic intensity and persistence. The term is also used loosely for liquor that coats the cup wall; context decides which sense is meant.

'Guanyin rhyme': the lingering, cultivar-specific aroma-and-aftertaste character claimed for genuine Tieguanyin, the Minnan counterpart of Wuyi rock rhyme. No standard defines it; the EU GI specification for Anxi Tieguanyin renders it 'YIN flavour' or 'Tieguanyin essence' and grades it from obvious to slight. Often shortened to 音韵.

Phoenix dancong aroma type with an osmanthus-blossom note. Jiemian (2017) traces it to an early-Qing mother tree on Wudong propagated as a group bush; T/CZTTBZ 002-2021 cites 娘伞仔 桂花香 as a naming example.

Aroma resembling fruit, common in Dancong oolong, aged white tea and certain black teas. Typical comparisons are stone fruit, citrus, lychee and dried fruit.

Toad-back (蛤蟆背色): small, raised, sand-grain whitish spots like frog skin on the back of oolong leaves, especially Wuyi rock tea; recorded as a dry-leaf colour descriptor for oolong.

The delicate, fresh aroma associated with downy buds, a key descriptor in the GB/T 22291-2017 sensory tables for white tea, where it weakens from the top grades downward; the related taste term is 毫味. Sun withering is credited by trade writers with preserving it.

Density or weight of the liquor in the mouth, the sense of fullness. Appears in descriptors such as 浓厚 (strong and thick) and 醇厚.

Lingering sensation and resonance in the throat after swallowing, a quality marker in pu'er and oolong tasting.

A silky, slippery texture of the liquor, gliding easily over the palate and throat. Often paired as 顺滑 or 柔滑.

One of the ten Phoenix dancong aroma types, named for gardenia (栀子). Jiemian's 2017 list puts seven strains in it, among them 宋种黄枝香, 宋种黄茶香, 单丛大白叶, 宋种二号 and 棕蓑挟; it is the largest group in the 2021 Chaozhou grading standard's table of named bushes.

Aroma resembling flowers, typical of lightly oxidised oolong and some green and black teas. Specific flowers (orchid 兰香, osmanthus 桂花香) are named when identifiable.

A sweet, often cooling sensation that rises in the mouth and throat after swallowing, frequently following initial bitterness. Valued as a sign of quality in raw pu'er.

Turbid: liquor with many suspended particles and poor transparency (GB/T 14487-2017 2.3.2, English "suspension"); a fault. To be distinguished from cream-down, the clouding of strong black tea as it cools, which Taiwanese glossaries treat as a sign of quality (凝乳).

The raw, dry, sometimes bitter 'fire' taste of freshly roasted yancha, also called 火气. It is expected to fade during resting (退火) over weeks to months; persistent huowei is a defect or a sign of over-roasting.

Roasted, toasty aroma from heat during manufacture or post-roasting. Pleasant when integrated; when harsh it is 火味 or 焦味 (scorched).

Phoenix dancong aroma type named for ginger-lily (姜花) blossom, often with a faint ginger-spice taste. The 2021 grading table lists 通天香, 姜母香 and village-named 姜花香 bushes under it; Babelcarp calls 通天香 and 姜母香 mother bushes of the type.

Cleanliness of the dry tea: how much tea-derived matter (stalk, seed, flakes) and non-tea matter (bamboo slivers, grit) it contains. Non-tea matter must be absent; the allowance for stalk and flakes depends on grade and category.

Infusing the weighed sample in the evaluation cup and decanting it into the bowl, which starts the wet part of an evaluation; 开汤审评 is the assessment of liquor colour, aroma, taste and infused leaf. In the general method the sample (usually 3 g) is covered with boiling water at about 1:50 and timed.

One of the basic tastes, distinct from the drying or puckering sensation of astringency (涩). Bitter-sensitive taste cells are distributed across the tongue, not confined to its back. In tasting notes, describe bitterness by its intensity, persistence and balance with the rest of the infusion, rather than treating its presence alone as a quality verdict.

A fresh, delicate floral aroma described as orchid-like, used in Chinese vendor and press descriptions of oolong teas, above all Anxi Tieguanyin and related Minnan cultivars. A Jiemian article on look-alike cultivars (reprinted from 茶语网, 2017-09-21) writes of Tieguanyin as '清香显兰花香' (a clean fragrance showing the orchid note), Benshan as '清香略带兰花香', Maoxie '兰花香不明显', Jin Guanyin '略显兰花香' and Huangjin Gui as having sweet floral notes (orchid, osmanthus). It is a family of notes rather than a measured compound. It is distinct from the dancong aroma types 芝兰香 and 蜜兰香. Scenting tea with flowers (窨制) is a different process.

Aroma that remains in a cooled cup or in spent leaf after it has cooled. It shows how persistent and clean the aroma is once the volatile top notes have gone, and is used especially for oolong and black tea.

Chestnut aroma, like cooked chestnut, strong and lasting; listed as a green-tea aroma in trade glossaries. GB/T 14487-2017 lists it as 板栗香 (bǎnlìxiāng, "chestnut aroma").

The classic look of well-made oolong leaf after brewing: a green-to-yellowish leaf body with reddish oxidized edges or spots, evidence that zuoqing bruised the margins while the centre stayed less oxidized. In heavily roasted yancha the effect is masked by roast colour.

A mouldy, mildewed smell or taste left by mould growth on tea that has been kept damp (霉变, méibiàn). Unlike storage odour (仓味), which fades with airing, a true mould taint persists after re-drying and through repeated infusions. It is a defect, not a sign of age.

Stuffy odour: a dull, muffled, unrefreshing smell (GB/T 14487-2017 2.4.31, English "dull odour"), typically from leaf kept hot and covered, for example oolong not spread to cool after roasting (the 1993 edition calls the roasting variant 闷火).

Phoenix dancong aroma type combining honey and orchid notes. Jiemian (2017) lists 宋种蜜兰香 (formerly called 番薯香, 'sweet-potato aroma'), 黄金叶 (白叶王) and 輋门.

Bright: liquor with high luminosity and strong reflection (GB/T 14487-2017 2.3.4, English "bright"); the 1993 edition said clean and transparent. Its opposite is 暗 (dull).

A honey-like aroma, notably in insect-bitten teas such as Oriental Beauty and some black teas. It is also used for a ripe sweetness in aged white tea and some Dancong oolongs.

'Honey rhyme': a honeyed sweetness in the finish, named with 丛韵 as a defining quality of Phoenix dancong in DB4451/T 1-2021 and T/CZTTBZ 002-2021; the naming standard says finished tea is named by its 'aroma, honey and rhyme' features.

Phoenix dancong aroma type with a jasmine note; Babelcarp describes it as a series of large-leaf dancong bushes. It is one of the ten types in the 2021 Chaozhou standards.

How young and tender the raw material is: the share of buds, the softness and fineness of the leaf, and downy hair on the buds. It is judged on the dry leaf and checked again on the infused leaf. Teaching texts call it the key appearance factor, because tender leaf holds more soluble matter and rolls into finer shapes.

Tender aroma: the fresh, fine aroma of young buds and leaves, listed among general aroma terms in GB/T 14487-2017; mostly applied to teas made from fine, bud-rich material.

Dark greenish brown: brown with a dark green or bluish cast, used for the dry leaf of oolong and also for some dark teas such as green brick (青砖). Wuyi rock-tea texts prefer a glossy 青褐 (青褐光润).

Green or grassy odour: the raw fresh-leaf smell that withering, fixing, oxidation or roasting should have removed (GB/T 14487-2017 2.4.34, English "grass odour"). In oolong it points to insufficient 做青 or fixing, or roasting that did not penetrate.

Green and astringent: astringency with a raw, grassy note (GB/T 14487-2017 2.5.25, English "grassy and astringent"). A fault linked to under-processed leaf, for example insufficient fixing or oxidation.

Clean fragrance: a fresh, pure, refreshing aroma that may not be high but is elegant and free of off-notes (GB/T 14487-2017 general aroma term, English "clean and refreshing"). Typical for green tea and lightly processed oolong.

Three-stage smelling of the infused leaf in the evaluation cup. Hot (cup about 75 °C) checks whether the aroma is normal and its type. Warm (about 45 °C) judges type and quality. Cold (near room temperature) judges persistence. Each sniff lasts 2–3 s and is repeated once or twice. The 2026 Guangdong Dancong standard uses about 80 °C and 50 °C for lid smelling.

Phoenix dancong aroma type with a cassia-bark note; the 2021 grading table lists bushes such as 山茄叶肉桂香 and 七星肉桂香 (过江龙).

A drying, puckering, tightening mouthfeel caused mainly by polyphenols binding to saliva proteins. Moderate astringency that resolves quickly is acceptable in young teas; persistent astringency is a fault.

Sand-green: a frog-skin green with a fine, sandy speckle and sheen on the dry leaf, regarded as the colour of good oolong. The 1993 edition of GB/T 14487 gives "sand green", like frog-skin green with lustre. Often combined, e.g. 砂绿润 or 砂绿蜜黄 (eel-skin colour).

'Mountain rhyme': the lingering, site-linked character prized in Phoenix dancong, above all from high, old bushes; it plays the role that rock rhyme plays for Wuyi and Guanyin rhyme for Tieguanyin. Trade writing uses it often (Jiemian's aroma-type guide credits it to the gardenia and osmanthus types), but no standard defines it; the 2021 Chaozhou standards use 丛韵, 蜜韵 and 韵味 instead.

Saliva welling up in the mouth after drinking, considered a positive quality marker paired with 回甘.

Formal sensory evaluation of tea (茶叶感官审评): trained assessors use sight, smell, taste and touch to judge appearance, liquor colour, aroma, taste and infused leaf under fixed conditions and then combine the results into one verdict (GB/T 23776-2018, clause 3.1). GB/T 14487-2017 supplies the vocabulary and GB/T 18797 the requirements for the evaluation room.

Clean, lively and refreshing feel that leaves the mouth clear. Usually seen as 鲜爽 or 爽口.

The aroma of smouldering pine wood, typical of smoked black tea of the Lapsang type (正山小种). Chinese Wikipedia says the tea is smoked over pine wood and has a very strong pine-smoke aroma (茶叶经松木熏制而成，有着非常浓烈的松烟香); English Wikipedia says it is smoke-dried over a pinewood fire; the German article quotes smoke from smouldering pine roots and a strong smoke taste; the Russian article speaks of a resinous pine smell and 'копчёный чай'. Not every Zhengshan Xiaozhong is smoked: English Wikipedia reports an unsmoked variety developed in Tong Mu Guan from the early 21st century, so the aroma is a style descriptor, not a mark of origin. The smoking step itself belongs to the process (熏制) and is not covered here. In evaluation language a smoky note is also an off-flavour in other teas; this entry does not cover the defect sense.

The tactile impression of the liquor (thickness, viscosity, smoothness, roughness) considered separately from its flavour. It is a hobbyist and trade term rather than a standard heading; the standard folds texture into 滋味.

The hue, brightness and clarity of the brewed liquor, one of the core evaluation factors. Typical descriptors are 明亮 (bright), 清澈 (clear) and 混浊 (turbid; GB/T 14487-2017 2.3.2 writes 混浊, everyday texts 浑浊).

The rolled, strip-like form of leaf in twisted teas, judged for tightness, thickness, weight and evenness. Descriptors include 紧结 (tight), 壮实 (sturdy) and 松 (loose). Not used for flat, pearled or compressed teas, which have their own shape terms.

The physical sensations a tea produces in the body (warmth in the back, sweating, relaxed limbs), described more concretely than 茶气.

The visual form of the dry leaf as one of the evaluation factors: shape, tightness, size, evenness, tip content and cleanliness. GB/T 14487 groups shape descriptors under the dry-tea-shape heading.

Black and lustrous ("black and oily") dry-leaf colour, GB/T 14487-2017 2.2.21, English equivalent "black bloom". It is the desired dry-leaf colour of good black tea and is also used in oolong vocabulary (e.g. the Guangdong Dancong terminology); 润 (gloss) is what makes it a positive term.

A fresh, brothy brightness associated with amino acids such as theanine, characteristic of good green tea. Often combined in 鲜爽 (fresh and brisk) in standard descriptors.

The smell of the tea as an evaluation factor, judged for type, purity, intensity and persistence in dry leaf, hot liquor, cooling cup and spent leaf. GB/T 14487 lists many aroma descriptors for general and category-specific use.

'Aroma type': for Phoenix dancong, the Chaozhou naming standard T/CZTTBZ 002-2021 defines it as the name given to finished tea from Phoenix Shuixian selections according to its natural floral or fruit aroma together with its 'honey' and 'rhyme' character, and lists ten main types (十大香型): 黄栀香, 芝兰香, 玉兰香, 蜜兰香, 杏仁香, 姜花香, 肉桂香, 桂花香, 夜来香, 茉莉香, plus others. DB4451/T 1-2021 gives the same ten. Each type groups many named bushes.

Fresh and brisk: lively, fresh and refreshing. GB/T 14487-2017 lists it among general aroma terms (2.4.3, "fresh and brisk"), and it is used just as much for taste, where a savoury freshness meets a clean, quick finish; typical praise for high-grade green tea and some black teas.

Phoenix dancong aroma type with an almond (apricot-kernel) note. Jiemian (2017) lists 杏仁香, 乌叶单丛 and 锯朵仔单丛, and gives 鸭屎香单丛 as the popular name of 乌叶单丛; T/CZTTBZ 002-2021 cites 锯朵仔 杏仁香 as a naming example.

A four-character formula describing ideal yancha: a firm, 'bony' mineral structure (rock bone) carrying floral aroma. It is the standard Chinese gloss for yanyun and appears in the national intangible-heritage description of Wuyi rock tea (Dahongpao) craft. Reportedly, GB/T 18745-2026 uses it to define yanyun.

The signature sensory quality claimed for good yancha: a dense, mineral-edged body and a long, mouth-coating aftertaste that persists over many infusions. It is attributed mainly to growing site (rocky, weathered Danxia soils) and secondarily to correct processing and roasting. GB/T 14487 lists it as the characteristic flavour of Wuyi rock tea, and the 2026 GI standard reportedly defines it for the first time in terms of 'yangu huaxiang'.

The infused leaves remaining after brewing, examined for tenderness, colour, uniformity, completeness and texture. They offer evidence about the harvested material and its processing, but visual inspection alone does not authenticate tree age, an old-tree claim or geographical origin.

Phoenix dancong aroma type named for the night-scented 夜来香 flower; Jiemian (2017) says the bush has over 300 years of cultivation, and the 2021 grading table lists 陂头夜来香 (陂头种).

Any foreign smell or taste that does not belong to tea, such as smoke, mould or chemicals. It is a defect in evaluation.

Phoenix dancong aroma type named for magnolia (玉兰) blossom; Jiemian (2017) gives 金玉兰单丛 as its representative bush.

Even: the upper, middle and lower fractions of the dry tea are consistent in thickness, length and size and in suitable proportion, with no missing middle grade (脱档). GB/T 14487-2017 lists it among general dry-leaf shape terms (2.1.8, English equivalent "even"); synonyms are 匀齐 and 匀称.

A lack of purity or uniformity. In GB/T 14487-2017 the bare word 杂 is an infused-leaf (叶底) descriptor: uneven in tenderness, size, thickness, breakage or colour (2.6.8). Muddled flavour is expressed with compounds such as 杂味 'mixed taste' (2.5.39), and impure aroma with 欠纯 'less pure' (2.4.25) or 异杂气.

Camphor-like aroma prized in some aged raw pu'er. Popular lore attributes it to camphor trees near the gardens; that is unproven and the note is more plausibly a product of ageing chemistry.

Wholeness versus breakage of the dry leaf. For unrefined maocha an intact, natural form is preferred; for refined tea it means how well the sieved fractions are proportioned. One of the eight factors; GB/T 23776-2018 dropped it for pressed tea.

Phoenix dancong aroma type named for orchid (芝兰). Bushes listed by Jiemian (2017) include 鸡笼刊, 八仙 (八仙过海) and 竹叶 (芝兰王); the 2021 grading table also lists 宋种芝兰香, said to take its prefix from the tree's age.

The taste of the liquor as an evaluation factor, covering strength, body, freshness, sweetness, bitterness, astringency and purity. In evaluation it is assessed by slurping the cooled liquor.

A decorative construction in which a clay vessel is clad in tin. Historical Yixing examples can combine the clay body and tin covering with jade or agate fittings. The metal exterior does not mean the vessel itself is made entirely of metal.

A small open dish for presenting and examining dry leaf before brewing, named for its lotus-leaf-like edge. Leaf is tipped from the dish into the pot or gaiwan, often with the help of a spoon (茶匙).

A small scoop, usually bamboo, for taking leaf from the caddy and measuring it into the vessel. Its curved shape also lets the host show the leaf to guests before brewing, much like a 茶荷.

A slender implement for clearing leaf from a teapot outlet; some tea settings also use it to move loose leaves. This accessory is distinct in function from the sturdier knife or awl used to separate compressed tea, even when retail names overlap.

In modern accessory sets, chá chí can mean a small implement that pushes leaves from a scoop into the brewing vessel. Its role overlaps with a leaf pusher; it is not a fixed-volume measuring unit. Check the shape and intended use.

A small decorative figure kept on a tea table or tray, sometimes moistened with tea. It is an optional object of enjoyment, not a vessel required to brew or serve tea. Its material and care needs vary.

A flat, pointed blade, usually stainless steel (bone or horn versions exist), pushed between the layers of a pressed cake, brick or tuo to prise off a portion with as little leaf breakage as possible. Retail names such as 普洱刀, 茶锥 and 撬刀 are used loosely for the same tool, including thicker awl-shaped versions.

A container for stored tea leaves, distinct from a holder for brewing tools. The name alone does not specify an airtight seal or a storage method suitable for every tea.

Polysemous term: in Taiwanese and much international usage it is a synonym of the fairness pitcher 公道杯; in mainland retail it also names large wooden or root-carved tea tables/trays with drainage. Disambiguate by context.

Tongs for handling small cups, especially during rinsing, and for removing spent leaves. An accessory whose shape and use vary with the tea setting.

A cloth used to wipe water from teaware and the brewing surface. Here the term describes Chinese tea preparation; it does not imply the particular folding or handling rules of Japanese tea ceremony.

A funnel placed at a small teapot opening to guide dry leaves into it. This sense of chálòu differs from a mesh strainer for tea liquor; check the object's function rather than the name alone.

A strainer placed over a receiving vessel to catch leaf fragments while tea is poured. It is distinct from the open funnel used to load dry leaves.

A sieve used to separate fine tea powder after grinding in historical powdered-tea preparation. It acts on dry powder, unlike a strainer used to catch leaf fragments in brewed tea.

The trough grinder of Tang and Song tea: a wheel on an axle rolled back and forth in a narrow trough to reduce roasted cake tea to powder before sieving. Tang troughs were rectangular and Song ones boat-shaped; wood, stone, ceramic and metal were used. Lu Yu specifies a wooden mill; Cai Xiang prefers silver or iron.

The small red-clay charcoal brazier of Chaozhou gongfu tea, also called 风炉 (wind stove) or 泥炉 (clay stove). It burns olive-pit charcoal (榄核炭) and is fanned with a palm-sized feather fan; the national heritage description of Chaozhou gongfu tea begins with lighting the clay stove and boiling water with olive charcoal.

A tray, often with a slatted top and drain reservoir or hose, on which brewing takes place and spilt or rinse water is collected. Made of wood, bamboo, stone or ceramic. A shallow bowl version is called 茶船 (tea boat).

A holder for small brewing tools. In the accessory set called the six gentlemen of tea, the holder itself counts as one piece. In this context it stores tools, not tea leaves.

A stand or saucer for a tea bowl or cup that keeps hot porcelain off the hand and catches drips; the saucer of a gaiwan is one. A Tang anecdote credits the daughter of Cui Ning in the Jianzhong era (780–783) with fixing the cup to a saucer with a wax, later lacquer, ring, but stands are older. Synonyms include 盏托, 茶船 and 茶舟; 杯托 is the usual retail word for small cup saucers.

A bowl used for warming or rinsing cups, or for collecting discarded water and leaves. Names such as cháxǐ and shuǐyú overlap in modern usage; identify whether a vessel holds clean water or waste in the particular setup.

A bamboo implement for mixing powdered tea with hot water. The Palace Museum's account of diancha includes both whisks and spoons. In Japanese tea practice the established name is chasen; the name does not imply that historical Chinese and modern Japanese tools or methods were identical.

A lidded bowl, usually porcelain, with a saucer. Used either to brew and decant tea or to drink from directly. The open bowl and adjustable lid help with observing leaves and controlling the pour.

An open pitcher into which the whole infusion is decanted so every cup gets equal strength and leaves stop steeping. Also called 茶海 and 匀杯; glass versions let colour be judged.

A support beneath a teapot that catches drips or overflow. It can be used in wet or dry tea settings. The National Palace Museum catalogues a nineteenth-century copper example in a portable sencha set; the object should not be described as an invention of modern dry brewing.

A ceramic tradition of Jianshui, Yunnan, distinct from Yixing zisha. Its documented craft includes incised decoration filled with contrasting clay and polishing without glaze. Tea vessels are among its products; the shared word zi does not establish identical clay, manufacture or brewing properties.

A black-glazed stoneware tea bowl from the Jian kilns at Shuiji, Jianyang (northern Fujian), made of iron-rich local clay from the late Five Dynasties or early Northern Song and at its height in the Song, when whisked tea was judged by its white froth against the dark glaze. Glaze effects include hare's fur (兔毫), oil spot (油滴), partridge (鹧鸪斑) and the rare yaobian (曜变). The firing craft became national intangible heritage in 2011.

Chaozhou name for the small brewing pot (冲罐) of gongfu tea, after the Yixing potter Hui Mengchen (惠孟臣), known for small pots. His dates are uncertain; Wikipedia cites a pot inscribed with a Tianqi 丁卯 date (1627) and alternatives in the Kangxi or Yongzheng reigns. The Taiwan writer Lian Heng's line 茗必武夷，壶必孟臣，杯必若深 made the name proverbial.

Decoration painted with prepared clay slip on a ceramic body, including Yixing ware. It is listed separately from engraving, coloured glaze and enamel decoration in the heritage description of Yixing craftsmanship; these techniques should not be treated as interchangeable names.

Small drinking cup in a gongfu set, usually with a white interior so liquor colour shows. Paired with the tall aroma cup in Taiwanese-style sets.

The tiny, thin white porcelain cups of the Chaozhou set, traditionally Jingdezhen blue-and-white ware, named after a Qing Jingdezhen potter called Ruochen. Chaozhou writers want cups small, shallow, thin and white; one description puts them at about half a ping-pong ball.

The small unglazed clay kettle of the Chaozhou gongfu set, heated over the charcoal stove; Chaozhou sources give a capacity of about four liang (两) of water. Also called 茶锅 and, elegantly, 玉书碨. 铫 originally meant a lidded pan with a handle for decoctions or water; the Ming author Gao Lian ranked porcelain and clay above copper and tin for tea kettles.

A vessel or appliance for heating brewing water, distinct from the pot in which leaves are steeped. Shadiao is a regional clay-kettle example; an electric kettle serves the water-heating role in many modern settings.

The standard white-porcelain evaluation set: a lidded cup in which the sample is infused, and a bowl into which the liquor is poured. In the GB/T 23776-2018 set the general cup is cylindrical, 150 mL, 66 mm high and 67 mm across, with three serrated pouring notches opposite the handle, and is paired with a 240 mL bowl (440 mL for unrefined tea). Oolong uses a 110 mL bell-shaped lidded cup with a 160 mL bowl. The porcelain must be neutral white (N ≥ 9.5 under GB/T 15608), and all pieces in a set must be identical.

In historical tea preparation, an ewer used to pour hot water for diancha. Its role differs from a pot in which loose leaves are steeped. Similar ewer forms could serve other uses, so shape alone does not establish a tea function.

Engraved decoration on ceramics, including calligraphy and pictorial subjects on Yixing ware. It is a decorative practice, not a clay type. An engraved name, poem or date should be read as an inscription rather than accepted automatically as proof of maker or age.

Chinese use of the Japanese name tenmoku for dark iron-glazed tea bowls of Song type and their glaze, after Mount Tianmu in Zhejiang, where Japanese monks met such bowls in temples. In Japan it covers Jian, Jizhou and Japanese-made bowls; three yaobian (曜變) tenmoku in Japan are National Treasures.

A tall, narrow cup into which tea is poured first and then transferred to the drinking cup, so the drinker can smell the aroma clinging to the empty cup. Associated with modern Taiwanese tea-art practice.

Shape classes of cloth-rolled oolong: semi-ball (loosely curled, as in older Dong Ding and Taiwan oolong) and ball (tight pellets, as in Taiwan Tieguanyin and today's high-mountain oolong). Japanese-era Taiwanese classification already divided 包種 into strip, semi-ball and ball types; TRES now uses 球形 in the class names 清香型球形烏龍茶 and 焙香型球形烏龍茶. A fully tight ball (全球形) spread to Anxi in recent decades.

Cloth-wrapped rolling: tightly wrapping leaf in cloth and pressing/rolling it repeatedly to form the curled or ball shapes of Anxi Tieguanyin and Taiwanese ball oolongs. It is not part of the yancha process, which keeps an open strip; included for contrast.

Tray-combining in white tea withering: partly withered leaf from two or more bamboo trays is merged into one, thicker layer so that it loses water more slowly and continues mild oxidation and loss of grassiness. The China Tea Society primer treats it as part of withering (22–25 °C); a 2023 study applied it at 65% or 70% weight loss.

Pan-firing, and the green tea class named after it. GB/T 14456.2-2018 (quoted in a Xiamen group standard) defines 炒青绿茶 as leaf fixed in a pan or hot drum, rolled, first baked and pan-dried, then screened and blended. It is China’s largest green tea type, with long (眉茶), round (珠茶) and flat (Longjing) shapes.

Lumps of leaf that stick together during pile fermentation and are sieved out before the loose leaf is graded. They are sold separately as loose nuggets, often aged as 'old tea heads' (老茶头), and brew thick and sweet.

The manufacturing stage that encourages the fungal growth associated with golden flowers in Fu tea. It names a process; jinhua names the visible golden-flower structures. The process is also used for loose Fu tea.

In Chinese tea usage a broad word covering both enzymatic oxidation (as in 'fully fermented' black tea) and true microbial fermentation (as in wodui). In pu'er contexts it usually refers to microbial post-fermentation; the ambiguity drives much mistranslation.

'Degree of fermentation' — in practice the degree of oxidation reached in zuoqing. Vendors quote it as a percentage (e.g. 30–60 % for yancha), but there is no standard measurement behind those numbers. It is often confused with roast level, which is a separate variable added afterwards.

Compound withering: combining or alternating sunlight (or natural) withering with indoor or heated withering. A Guangdong draft standard defines it as a short sun phase followed by a long indoor phase; the Fuding GI specification lists it among white tea withering options, and the Tanyang Gongfu heritage entry credits the switch from single to compound withering to that red tea.

Baked green tea: GB/T 14456.2-2018 defines 烘青绿茶 as pan- or drum-fixed, rolled and dried entirely by baking. Ordinary baked green tea is the usual base (茶坯) for scented teas; special grades such as Huangshan Maofeng have looser strands and visible down.

Post-fermentation: microbial transformations after the initial heat-fixation stage, associated with dark-tea production, including wet piling. The word is also used for changes during storage, but raw Pu Erh ageing should not be described as simply slow wet piling: oxidation and other reactions also contribute, and their relative importance depends on the conditions and remains incompletely established.

Sorting by hand or machine to remove stems, yellow or old leaves and foreign matter from maocha during refining. In yancha it is labour-intensive and is traditionally done before the main roasting, since stems and yellow leaves burn differently from the strip.

Withering with artificial heat (warm-air troughs, heaters). A trade account says white tea rooms at about 38–40 °C cut withering from about three days to one, at the cost of less internal transformation and uneven drying of leaf and stem; a Guangdong draft standard uses 25–35 °C inlet air when ambient temperature is below 20 °C or the leaf is wet.

Refining: the second phase of yancha manufacture that turns maocha into finished tea. It covers grading and sieving, sorting out stems and yellow leaves (拣剔), winnowing, blending (拼配), the main roasting (炖火), cooling and packing. In the yancha trade the roaster's skill in this phase is a major value driver.

The yellow speckles in Fu brick tea: reproductive bodies (cleistothecia) of the fungus Eurotium cristatum (冠突散囊菌), cultivated deliberately during 'flowering' (发花). Dense, even golden flowers are a quality sign in Fu tea. They are not wanted in pu'er, where similar-looking growth would be a storage defect.

Resting: the passive half of zuoqing and also the cooling-off after sun-withering, when leaf is spread thin on trays so moisture redistributes from stem to leaf and oxidation proceeds at the bruised edges. Also called 静置 or 摊青 depending on the stage.

First, partial drying pass that removes much of the moisture without reaching final dryness; after cooling it is followed by 足火, the finishing dry. A Guangdong draft yellow tea standard sets 毛火 at 100–110 °C in a thin layer until the leaf feels prickly, then 足火 at about 90 °C to below 6.5% moisture.

Sealed yellowing, the defining step of yellow tea: after kill-green and partial drying, the warm leaf is heaped or wrapped so that it yellows slowly in moist heat, giving yellow leaf and liquor and a mellow taste. A Guangdong draft standard distinguishes dry-blank and wet-blank methods with a first and second yellowing (e.g. 4–6 h at 40–50% moisture, then 20–40 h at 30–40%).

Degree of pile fermentation in ripe pu'er. Lightly fermented ripe keeps some brightness, astringency and ageing potential and can show raw-like notes; heavily fermented ripe is very dark, smooth and stable, with brittle, charcoal-like spent leaves when overdone.

Withering by exposing thinly spread leaf to sunlight. For white tea, trade accounts describe two to three days on bamboo trays in the sun, credited with keeping 毫香 but dependent on weather; in compound withering it is only a short opening phase (one Guangdong draft standard: 15–30 min in soft sun until 5–8% weight loss). In oolong the equivalent step is called 晒青.

Rolling the softened leaf by hand or machine to bruise cells, release juice to the surface and shape the leaf into strips. For pu'er it is followed by sun-drying.

Combined rolling and cutting of withered leaf for broken or granular black (红茶) tea. A Guangxi draft standard for CTC broken red tea passes leaf through a rotorvane and then a four-unit CTC machine (tooth gap 0.10–0.15 mm) that cuts, crushes and curls it; NY/T 780 lists cutting (切碎) as an optional red tea step.

Sieving in refining: maocha is passed through shaking, round and sorting sieves, often with winnowing (风选) and colour sorting, to separate pieces by size, length, tenderness and colour into graded sieve fractions that are later blended.

Drying rolled leaf in sunlight, the step that gives sun-dried crude tea its name. It is slower and cooler than oven drying and is required for leaf to qualify as pu'er raw material.

Sun-withering: spreading fresh leaf in thin layers on bamboo trays or cloth in sunlight for a short time, the outdoor half of yancha withering. On overcast days it is replaced by indoor warm-air withering (加温萎凋). The same characters also name sun-dried maocha in Yunnan (晒青毛茶), a different context.

Heating tea leaf to reduce the activity of its oxidising enzymes and soften it for rolling. The method, temperature and duration depend on the tea and equipment. The term alone does not establish how much enzyme activity remains, or prove a particular mechanism or rate of later Pu Erh ageing.

Withering indoors on racks of trays or in troughs, either with natural ventilation (室内自然萎凋) or helped by fans or heat. For white tea a trade account gives about 52–60 h for natural indoor withering, the method of Fuding export factories; the China Tea Society primer gives 20–25 °C, 60–80% relative humidity and 36–72 h in total.

Spreading fresh leaf thinly after delivery to shed surface water and grassy odour before kill-green, mainly in green and yellow tea; a Guangdong draft standard thins the layer or uses fans for wet leaf until shoots soften and smell clean. 摊晾 / 摊凉 also name spreading to cool, including between drying stages.

A finishing use of fresh flowers to brighten a scented tea’s fragrance. It is distinguished from the main scenting rounds; in the Wang Dachang process, the tea is not dried again after this step.

Withering: letting freshly picked leaf lose water and soften so it can be bruised without breaking. For yancha it is usually done in sun (晒青) and/or indoors with warm air, and the craft heritage text names 'compound withering' (复式萎凋) as a key step. The 2026 standard explainer cites withering temperatures of 35–39 °C.

The ripe pu'er process: crude leaf is wetted and heaped in large piles, covered and turned periodically for weeks, so that heat and microbial action darken and soften it. Developed industrially in Yunnan factories in the 1970s and spread through the province; Kunming Tea Factory set down the procedure later promoted province-wide. Duration and moisture determine the 'fermentation degree'.

Scenting: base tea (茶坯, usually baked green tea) is mixed with fresh, about-to-open blossoms so that it absorbs their fragrance, and the spent flowers are then removed; repeated scentings indicate higher grades. Jasmine tea made this way is classed as a reprocessed tea, and Fuzhou’s jasmine scenting technique became national intangible heritage in 2014.

Shaking: the active half of zuoqing, in which leaf is tossed in large bamboo sieves by hand or tumbled in a rotating drum (摇青机) to bruise the leaf edges. Duration, speed and force are adjusted to leaf tenderness, humidity and temperature, and typically increase from round to round.

Steam fixing, and the green tea class made that way: GB/T 14456.2-2018 defines 蒸青绿茶 as steam-fixed, first baked, rolled and dried, then drum-fired and screened. It keeps deep green leaf and pale green liquor; Enshi Yulu is the Chinese example, and Japanese green teas are mostly steamed.

Moisture migration during zuoqing: water moves from stems into leaves and out of the leaf surface, so leaves alternately go limp after shaking and perk up during rest (返阳/还阳). Good 'zoushui' is considered essential for aroma; the heritage text lists 'zoushui fanyang' as a key step. The same characters appear in 走水焙, the first roasting.

The defining oolong step: alternating rounds of shaking or tumbling (摇青) and resting (晾青) over many hours. Bruising the leaf edges triggers enzymatic oxidation at the margins while the leaf 'breathes out' moisture (走水), producing the 'green leaf with red edge' look and the aroma. The heritage text stresses 'judging the leaf' (看青做青) and 'judging the weather' (看天做青).

The imperial tea gardens and workshops of Jianzhou (modern Jian'ou, Fujian), the chief source of Song tribute tea. Picking for the court began under the Southern Tang; dragon-phoenix moulds were set up in 977. The Xuanhe Beiyuan gongcha lu (宣和北苑贡茶录) records its teas. It lies outside the Wuyi area; production shifted to Wuyi after the Ming ended cake tribute.

茶 (chá) is the Chinese word and character for tea: the plant, its prepared leaves and the drink, depending on context. The same written character serves different spoken languages. Its history connects the older spelling 荼, the vocabulary collected in the Tea Classic, and the trading networks through which tea, Tee, chá and чай travelled.

Lu Yu’s eighth-century treatise on tea, transmitted in three juan and ten chapters. It covers the plant, production implements, manufacture, preparing and drinking vessels, boiling, drinking, earlier records, producing regions, permissible omissions and displaying the text. Its detailed cake-tea prescriptions coexist with reports of other preparations. Read Tea classics for the received editions, chapter guide and historical limits.

Network of caravan routes carrying tea from Sichuan and Yunnan to Tibet and beyond. The name was coined in 1990 by six Yunnan University scholars (including Mu Jihong and Chen Baoya) after their expedition, and first used in print in a 1992 paper; the trade itself is much older. Sections were listed as national key cultural relics on 5 March 2013.

State-managed exchange of Chinese tea for horses (and other goods) with Tibetan, Mongol and other frontier peoples, from the Tang–Song to the Qing. The Song formalised it (in 1074 an official was sent to Sichuan to buy tea for horses); the Ming ran tea-horse offices in the northwest and Sichuan; the Qing abolished the tea-horse censor in 1668 and halted Gansu tea-horse exchange again in 1735.

Government office that bought tea and exchanged it for horses on the frontier. A Song agency dates from the 1074 reforms; the Ming set up tea-horse offices at Qinzhou, Taozhou, Hezhou and Yazhou after Hongwu 4 (1371) and issued gold tally plaques (金牌信符) to frontier chiefs.

Official permit sold to tea merchants stating the quantity and destination they may trade. Cai Jing's 1102 reform introduced short and long permits; under the Ming one permit covered 100 jin; the Qing generally kept 100 jin per 引, while Yunnan from 1735 counted 32 筒 to one 引. 引 thus names both the document and the quota unit.

A Ming-era Hangzhou way of drinking tea: a pinch of fine loose leaf is placed in a bowl or cup and boiling water poured over it. It is one name for the leaf-steeping that replaced powdered tea after the 1391 decree; Shen Defu credited the Hongwu policy with founding the practice of steeping buds in a pot.

A method of preparing powdered tea, prominent in Song tea culture: mix tea powder with a little hot water, add more water, and beat it with a whisk or spoon. The Palace Museum distinguishes this preparation from doucha, a contest, and chabaixi, forming pictures on the tea surface.

Tea contest. Historically, a Song-dynasty pastime of competing over whisked powdered tea, with Jianzhou in northern Fujian a famous centre; today the word is used for local tea competitions, including in Wuyishan, and overlaps with 茶王赛.

Tea sent to the imperial court as tribute. In the Tang the Guzhu tribute workshop in Huzhou is recorded as making 18,400 jin a year; in the Song, Beiyuan cakes dominated; in 1391 the Ming limited Fujian tribute to buds under four names; Qing tribute included pu'er from Yunnan.

Chinese strip-style black tea made with long, careful rolling and sorting, named after 工夫 'labour, skill'; regional examples are Qimen, Tanyang, Zhenghe and Bailin gongfu. English 'congou' derives from 工夫, possibly via Hokkien kang-hu, and in 19th-century trade also denoted a grade of large, mature leaf.

The six tea mountains of Qing-era Xishuangbanna east/north of the Lancang (Mekong): Youle (攸乐), Gedeng (革登), Yibang (倚邦), Mangzhi (莽枝), Manzhuan (蛮砖) and Mansa (曼撒/漫撒). Later Yiwu (易武) took over Mansa's role and is commonly listed in its place. They supplied tribute and the caravan trade.

A tea factory run by the state in the planned economy before the reform era, when pu'er production and export were centrally planned. The best-known cases are the four state pu'er factories (Kunming, Menghai, Xiaguan, Pu'er). An article reprinted on ipucha says that in 1975 the China National Tea Corporation assigned the numbers 1 to 4 to these four 'best state-run large factories' under the planned economy; a Sohu article (2016) says the state-run Pu'er factory was founded in April 1975 and gives 2004 restructurings for Xiaguan, Menghai and Pu'er (Kunming ceased operating in 1992 and was rebuilt around 2006). English Wikipedia dates the Menghai factory's full privatisation to 1996 and a purchase by Bowin in October 2004, so the dates of the ownership changes differ between sources. 国营 on a listing signals tea made in that era (see 号级茶, 印级茶, 七子级茶); it does not apply to today's corporations (Dayi, Xiaguan and others). The same term is used for state factories in other regions.

Pu'er from private trading houses whose names end in 号 ('firm'), such as 宋聘号 and 同庆号, from the late Qing up to the 1950s. Very scarce, documented poorly and much faked; the top of the antique market.

Red Mark: raw pu'er cakes of the 1940s–1950s state era, sold under the 中茶 eight-中 logo with the central 茶 printed in red, and attributed by auction houses to the Fohai/Menghai factory of Fan Hejun's era. It is the founding product of the 印级 (mark-era) category. Wrappers are hand-printed in traditional characters on hand-made paper; sub-types include early large-character Red Mark (早期大字紅印), a "one red dot" printing and unwrapped Red Mark.

Yellow Mark: state-era pu'er cakes whose 中茶 logo has a yellow 茶, later than Red, Green and Blue Mark; auction lots are dated to the early to mid 1970s, and a "Small Yellow Mark" (小黄印) is named. A Taiwan account links it to Menghai's Zou Bingliang.

To simmer tea; specifically the Tang method described in the Chajing's chapter on boiling: a tea cake is toasted and ground, salt is added at the first boil, the powder is dropped into a whirlpool at the second boil, reserved water is returned at the third, and the liquor is served with its foam (沫, 餑). It preceded Song whisked tea (diancha) and Ming steeping.

'Opening the mountain': the traditional start of spring picking in Wuyishan, an imperial-tea-garden rite usually set within the three days before Lixia (立夏, early May), in which pickers paid silent homage to the tea patriarch Yang Taibai and kept silent on the way to the gardens until the mountain guide (带山人) handed out cigarettes after the dew had dried. It is distinct from 喊山 ('calling the mountain'), the earlier rite on Jingzhe (惊蛰) presided over by the county magistrate, with shouts of 'the tea is sprouting'. Today producers stage 'spring-tea kaishan' ceremonies as cultural and promotional events.

'Wax tea', the premium pressed tea of Song Fujian (Jian'an/Jianzhou), named for the glossy surface of the cakes or the milky, wax-like liquor when whisked. Ouyang Xiu contrasts Fujian wax tea with the 'grass tea' (草茶) of Zhejiang; the Song History calls Beiyuan wax tea the finest.

Blue Mark: state-era pu'er with a blue 茶 in the 中茶 logo, dated by auction houses to about the 1950s and sold in sub-types such as grade A and grade B Blue Mark and Blue Mark iron cakes. Attribution is contested: L&H Auction (2021) calls it generally believed to be Xiaguan, while TeaDB lists Lanyin among 1950s–60s Menghai teas.

Tribute cakes stamped with dragon and phoenix designs made at Beiyuan in Jianzhou (Fujian). Moulds were introduced in Taiping Xingguo 2 (977); Ding Wei supervised and presented them in the Xianping era (998–1003); Cai Xiang created the smaller 小龙团 in the Qingli era (1041–1048), about twenty to a jin. Later refinements followed until the Hongwu emperor stopped them in 1391. Also written 龙团凤饼.

Green Mark: 1950s state-era pu'er cakes whose 中茶 logo has the central 茶 in green, attributed by L&H Auction to Menghai. It is treated as a sister of Red Mark; a former-factory account finds the difference between the two hard to pin down. Variants include Green Mark in large characters.

Collector era following the yinji teas, from about the 1970s, when state-factory wrappers carried '云南七子饼茶' and recipes acquired numerical codes such as 7542. Boundaries and dates are informal.

State monopoly of tea purchase and sale, and more broadly official control and taxation of tea. A tea tax began in 793; Wang Ya's attempted monopoly of 835 was dropped after his death; the Song made monopoly basic policy with 榷货务 offices and official tea sites, later replaced by merchant permits (茶引).

The licensed foreign-trade firms of Guangzhou and the riverside factory district where Western traders lived, also called the Thirteen Factories. Foreigners were allowed a quarter from 1686; the Cohong (公行) monopoly guild was formalised in 1760; the factories burned in December 1856. Tea, black and green, was among their main exports.

Pan-fired green tea from Songluo Mountain in Anhui, exported in the 18th century as 'Singlo'. Monks there are credited with the pan-firing technique that Wuyi tea makers adopted on the way to oolong.

Song-dynasty tea pressed in moulds into round cakes, above all the Beiyuan tribute cakes; Ouyang Xiu records eight dragon-phoenix cakes to a jin. Song fiscal texts divide tea into 片茶 (pressed) and 散茶 (loose). The 1391 Hongwu decree ended tribute cakes and ordered buds instead.

'Bohea', the English trade name that arose in the 17th-century Canton trade from the Hokkien pronunciation Bú-î of 武夷 (Wuyi). For a time it was a blanket English name for the more heavily oxidised teas, before 'black' and 'oolong' were told apart, and it was the bulk tea of the 18th century (the Boston Tea Party chests). Later it narrowed to mean black tea of the lowest quality. It is a historical trade term, not a synonym for modern yancha.

'Small kind': a leaf class, usually of Wuyi black tea, giving English 'souchong'. 正山小种 (Lapsang souchong, Tongmu) and 外山小种 are the classic types, described as the oldest black tea. In Indian-style grading 'souchong' survives as a leaf grade (e.g. PS).

'Bright spring', a grade of pan-fired green tea exported as 'Hyson' (and 'young Hyson') in the 18th–19th centuries. English 'hyson' is borrowed from 熙春. Babelcarp now rates it a medium grade.

The Qing 'Canton System' (1757–1842): Western ships could trade only at Guangzhou, through licensed hong merchants (十三行), until the Treaty of Nanking opened five ports. Tea was the main Western purchase, and Western demand for it drove the silver drain and the opium trade.

Pu'er from the state-run factories of roughly the 1950s to early 1970s, named after the colour of the 茶 character in the wrapper's logo: 红印 (Red Mark), 蓝印 (Blue Mark), 黄印 (Yellow Mark) and others. Factory names did not usually appear.

The Yuan-dynasty imperial tea garden at Wuyi, set up to oversee tribute tea production; it fell into disuse in the late Ming and a teahouse now stands on the site. The commonly quoted founding year 1302 (大德六年) could not be confirmed from an authoritative source in this research.

'Pearl tea', green tea rolled into small pellets, known in English as gunpowder tea; Pingshui in Zhejiang is the classic source. The English name is usually explained by the pellets' resemblance to gunpowder grains.

Compressed or brick tea made for ethnic-minority areas, chiefly Xinjiang, Tibet, Inner Mongolia, Qinghai, Gansu, Ningxia and Sichuan, and treated in policy as a daily necessity. A 2001 State Council circular (国办发〔2001〕49号) kept it under designated producers and wholesalers with a state reserve.

In Taiwan, tea entered in a judged contest run by a farmers' association (農會) or similar body; lots that place are repacked by the organiser in uniform, sealed packaging printed with the grade (特等, 頭等, then lower ranks down to 三梅 and 二梅) and returned to the farmer to sell. Lugu's contest, first held on 2 May 1976, draws about 6,000 entries a year; its winter 2025 round had 4,598 entries, of which 48.76 % did not place.

In the market sense, speculative trading or price-hyping of tea, buying to resell on rising quotes rather than to drink. It shares its written form with 炒茶 in processing (pan-firing of leaf), and only context separates them.

'Tea King' competition: an organized contest, often blind-judged, that ranks entries by category (Rougui, Shuixian, Dahongpao…) and awards titles such as 茶王 or 金奖. Winning lots fetch high prices, so award claims are a major marketing tool. Many competitions exist, from government-backed to company-run.

Aged yancha: rock tea kept for years, usually with periodic re-roasting to control moisture, valued for mellow, smooth and medicinal-woody notes. 老岩茶 (old rock tea) is used informally with the same meaning. The 2026 standard reportedly lets producers set their own shelf life, which accommodates aged yancha.

'Pure-strain', used in the market mainly in '纯种大红袍' to mean Dahongpao made from a clonal line propagated from the Jiulongke mother bushes (commonly Qidan or Beidou) rather than a blend. Jiemian reports that Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University genetic work matched Qidan to mother bushes no. 2 and no. 6. The phrase is marketing language, not a standard category.

The large printed slip packed inside, or fixed to the side of, a shipping case or bamboo basket of factory pu'er, giving the product name, export number, batch and quantity. It belongs to the case, not to a single cake, and is used as batch evidence in the collector market.

Brand of the Menghai Tea Factory (TAETEA group), the best-known pu'er producer, maker of 7542 and 7572. A brand, not a grade or region.

In the People's Republic of China, a product from a specific area whose quality, reputation or other characteristics depend essentially on the natural and human factors of that area and which has been approved to carry the geographic name. Chinese Wikipedia quotes the 2005 rules: 产自特定地域，所具有的质量、声誉或其他特性本质上取决于该产地的自然因素和人文因素，经审核批准以地理名称进行命名的产品. Under those rules the approving body was the AQSIQ (国家质量监督检验检疫总局); recent recognitions are announced by the State Intellectual Property Office (CNIPA). Example: CNIPA announcement No. 616 (published 2025-02-11) gave 冰岛老寨茶（冰岛正山茶） only a preliminary recognition (初步认定) with a two-month objection period; the area named is the natural village of Bingdao in the Bingdao village committee, Mengku township, Shuangjiang county. No final decision had been found at the time of writing. National standards for single teas carry the words in their titles: GB/T 22111-2008 地理标志产品 普洱茶 and GB/T 18745-2006 地理标志产品 武夷岩茶 (titles as listed on chinesestandard.net). One Sohu article reports that a new GB/T 18745-2026 《地理标志产品质量要求 武夷岩茶》 was issued on 2026-03-31 and applies from 2027-04-01; this rests on that single article. A GI protects a name and an area plus a product specification; it is not a quality grade and does not protect a style made outside the named area. The EU-China agreement on geographical indications lists Chinese teas such as 安吉白茶 (written 'Anji Bai Chaa (Anji Weißer Tee)' in the Commission's German release) for protection in the EU; a Chinese GI product is not the same register as an EU PDO/PGI.

Area of Guangzhou, a district until it was merged into Liwan District on 28 April 2005, home to China's largest tea wholesale market (over 220,000 m², reported to handle about 80% of the pu'er trade). Its traders and quote platforms set the secondary-market price of Dayi and other brand pu'er.

The secondary-market quotation for a brand production, published daily by Fangcun trading platforms and apps, usually per case or per 提 and charted like share prices. One platform updated at 6:30 pm daily; from about 2018 mini-programs such as 大益行情网 carried quotes for over a thousand cakes. A quote is a reference, not a transaction price.

A case of tongs as shipped by the factory, usually 12 tongs (84 cakes of 357 g), though counts vary by producer and size. Collectors and traditional storers buy and store by the jian.

A traditional East Asian unit of weight that Chinese-language tea sellers still use for wholesale and retail quotes ('per jin'). Its size depends on the system, so a price per jin cannot be compared across sellers without converting. Mainland China: the market jin (市斤) is 500 g and, since a State Council order of 25 June 1959, equals 10 liang (1 liang = 50 g); before that it was 16 liang. Taiwan: the taijin (台斤) is 600 g = 16 Taiwan liang of 37.5 g. Hong Kong: the jin (catty, 司馬斤) is defined in the Weights and Measures Ordinance as 0.60478982 kg, about 604.8 g = 16 liang. Japan: the kin (斤) is 600 g (160 momme) but is rarely used. A 公斤 (gōngjīn) is the kilogram and equals 2 mainland jin. Arithmetic from these figures: a Taiwanese 4-liang pack is 150 g, a mainland half-jin is 250 g.

Tea traded as a financial asset rather than a drink: brand cakes held unopened and traded on daily quotes, often forward on delivery slips with long and short positions. The term is tied to Dayi trading in Fangcun; collapses such as 仓颉号 (2021) and 昌世 (2023) led to regulatory and police action.

Chinese term for a long-established business or brand with inherited products or techniques. The official title 中华老字号 ('China Time-honored Brand') is conferred by the Ministry of Commerce. English Wikipedia gives the criteria as an enterprise that existed before 1956, with traditional products, techniques or services passed down through generations and wide recognition, says the current criteria were set in 2006 and that about 1,000 brands hold the title; Chinese Wikipedia says the first selection was made in 1991 by the then Ministry of Domestic Trade and that the Ministry of Commerce planned in 2006 to certify 1,000 brands. A Japanese guide gives about 1,129 certified shops and brands as of December 2015. A tea example on the English page is the Beijing teahouse Zhang Yiyuan (张一元). The word is also used loosely by sellers, so a claim should be checked against the Ministry's list. Not a quality grade.

A traditional unit of weight, one tenth of a mainland jin or one sixteenth of a Taiwanese, Hong Kong or Japanese jin, used for small tea quantities. Mainland market liang: 50 g (1 jin = 10 liang since the State Council order of 25 June 1959). Taiwan liang: 37.5 g. Hong Kong liang (司馬兩, the trade tael): 37.7994 g, which is one sixteenth of the legal catty of 0.60478982 kg; a different tael of 37.429 g (金衡両) is used for precious metals. Singapore: 37.799 g. Japan: the ryo (両) is about 37.5 g. The 1929 Nationalist market system used a liang of 31.25 g (1/16 of a 500 g jin). Arithmetic from the figures above: 4 Taiwan liang = 150 g, 4 Hong Kong trade liang = about 151 g, 4 mainland liang = 200 g. In product names the character appears in the Hunan roll 千两茶 (qianliang). Do not confuse with the numeral 两 'two' (liǎng) in counting phrases.

A large woven-bamboo basket used both as packing and as a pressing form for dark tea: Anhua 天尖 and other 三尖 grades were traditionally lightly pressed into baskets (轻压篓装), and 千两茶 is stamped inside a strip-bamboo basket (篾篓). Pu'er cases were also packed in bamboo baskets with the 大票 inside.

A factory recipe code, classically four digits: first two = year the recipe was set, third = average leaf grade, fourth = factory (1 Kunming, 2 Menghai, 3 Xiaguan, 4 the Pu'er Tea Factory 普洱茶厂; its location, Simao or the old Pu'er county seat, is not settled in the sources). Examples: 7542 (raw), 7572 (ripe). 唛 is a loan of English 'mark' via Cantonese trade usage.

The soft, fibrous wrapping paper of an individual pu'er cake. Despite the name it is traditionally a bark-fibre paper. A trade account dates hand-made paper to the 1970s, semi-hand-made paper to the 1980s and machine-made 棉纸 on Qizi wrappers from 1996; collectors also distinguish thick and thin wrappers of the 1980s.

A small paper ticket pressed into the cake's surface during compression, usually bearing the factory or brand mark, intended as an authenticity token.

A loose printed slip placed under the wrapper, often describing the factory and product. The larger 大票 (dàpiào) is a certificate packed with a tong or jian of cakes.

The price at which a brand, notably Dayi, allocates a new production to its authorised distributors and shops, as distinct from the secondary-market quote (行情价). Examples: 15,000 yuan per case for Dayi 2301 7542; 30,000 yuan per case for the 2017 轩辕号; 70,000 yuan per 提 for the 2021 仓颉号.

Production run number. Dayi used three digits (e.g. 701 = 2007, first batch) and later four (2201 = 2022, first batch); other factories often print a pressing date instead. Batches of the same recipe can differ markedly.

Tea sold under the name of a specific mountain or village (Lao Banzhang, Bingdao, Yiwu…) rather than a factory recipe. The origin name drives price, and premium names attract counterfeits.

The production date on a food label. GB 7718-2011 defines it as the date the food became the final product, including the date it was packed into its sales unit, and requires it with the shelf life, in year-month-day order and not added by sticker or overprint; tea is not among the foods exempt from a shelf life. GB 7718-2025 (released 16 March 2025, in force 16 March 2027) lets foods with a shelf life over six months omit the production date and show an expiry date instead.

The dried sheath of a bamboo shoot, used to wrap a 筒 of seven pu'er cakes, or a single brick, and tied with bamboo strips. Older stacks are sold "in original bamboo shell", which collectors value as evidence that the stack has stayed together.

A pack of seven cakes, the unit in which Dayi and others now ship and trade 357 g cakes. Trade quotes and allocations are often per 提: Dayi's 2301 7542 is packed 7 cakes per 提 and 6 提 per case (件), and the 2021 仓颉号 went to distributors at a per-提 price.

A bundle of cakes wrapped together, classically seven 357 g cakes in a bamboo-leaf wrap; smaller cakes come in bundles of five or ten.

A modern grouping of tea areas west/south of the Lancang, as a counterpart to the old six. Lists most often give Nannuo (南糯), Nanqiao (南峤), Mengsong (勐宋), Jingmai (景迈), Bulang (布朗) and Bada (巴达), but versions differ. It is a trade and promotional convention, not a historical designation.

The label item naming the product standard a food is made to, by code and number. GB 7718-2011 (clause 4.1.10) requires prepackaged food made and sold in mainland China to show the code and serial number of the standard it implements; where that standard defines quality grades, the grade must be shown too (4.1.11.4).

Brand and trademark of China Tea Co. (now part of COFCO), whose 'eight 中 around 茶' logo was printed on most state-factory pu'er wrappers in the planned-economy era. Today a commercial brand with its own pu'er line.

Faking age: making young tea or its packaging look and taste older than it is, for example by deliberate humid storage or by imitation wrappers. Jiemian dates the practice in pu'er to the mid-1990s, when collection value was recognised, and links it to the rise of a storage industry.

Minimally processed tea that is withered for a long time and then dried, without a kill-green or rolling step. Slight, slow oxidation occurs during withering; classic Fujian grades are Baihao Yinzhen, Bai Mudan, Gongmei and Shoumei.

'Semi-fermented', the conventional Chinese label for oolong in the 'degree of fermentation' scheme (green = unfermented, white = slightly, oolong = semi, black = fully fermented). Chemically the process is enzymatic oxidation by the leaf's own enzymes, not microbial fermentation; true microbial fermentation occurs in ripe pu'er and other dark teas. The label is entrenched in Chinese, German and Russian usage.

The most lightly oxidized Taiwanese oolong (zh.wikipedia gives about 7-13 %), left as open twisted strips with a floral aroma; TRES classes it as 清香型條形包種茶. Its classic origin is Wenshan Baozhong (文山包種茶) from Pinglin, Shiding, Xindian and Nangang. The name is traced to packing four taels of tea in two layers of paper. In the Japanese-era classification 包種 covered strip, semi-ball and ball teas, the last two being today's Taiwan oolong and Taiwan Tieguanyin.

Roasting in yancha processing dries the leaf and develops aroma and taste. GB/T 18745-2026 distinguishes initial drying from refining-stage roasting. Its roast ranges are process specifications; clause 10.1 does not require a roast-level label. This edition takes effect on 1 April 2027.

A Wuyi name used for the historic Jiulongke mother bushes, teas marketed as pure-cultivar Da Hong Pao, and blended products. A commercial name does not establish Qidan or Beidou's exact mother-bush pedigree. GB/T 18745-2026, term 3.3, defines the product category as yancha blended from semi-finished tea of multiple clonally propagated cultivars; this edition takes effect on 1 April 2027.

Oolong first made around Dongding hill in Lugu Township, Nantou, and now a style: medium-oxidized, cloth-ball rolled into tight balls and medium-roasted, which TRES classes as 焙香型球形烏龍茶 (roasted-aroma ball oolong). The technique has spread to Zhushan, Mingjian and other areas, so 'Dong Ding' on a label may mean the style rather than the place (region id dong-ding).

Heavily oxidized Taiwanese oolong made from leafhopper-bitten young shoots picked in summer (芒種 to 大暑, around the Dragon Boat Festival); after a heavy wither and tossing, the leaf is rested in a damp cloth after kill-green before rolling, giving mixed white, green, yellow, red and brown leaf and a honey, ripe-fruit aroma. TRES gives 60 % fermentation (growers report 75-85 %). Main areas are Beipu and Emei (Hsinchu), Toufen and Tongluo (Miaoli), Shiding (New Taipei) and Longtan (Taoyuan). TRES calls it 白毫烏龍 in technical use.

In oolong and black-tea manufacture, 发酵 (traditionally translated as “fermentation”) generally refers to enzymatic oxidation of leaf compounds. Distinguish this from microbial fermentation, a characteristic process of dark teas. Microorganisms can also be used to ferment other tea materials or beverages, so “only dark tea ferments” is too absolute. Translate the word according to the process being described.

A dark tea made with a fungal 'flowering' stage that develops the yellow structures called golden flowers. Fu tea is often pressed into bricks, but loose Fu tea also exists; the national heritage record for Xianyang explicitly describes both.

One of China's six basic tea classes: teas whose processing includes a microbial post-fermentation, typically by piling damp leaf, giving dark leaf and liquor. Main producing areas include Hunan (Anhua), Hubei, Sichuan, Guangxi and Yunnan. Ripe pu'er is a dark tea; whether raw pu'er belongs here is disputed.

Fully oxidised tea: the leaf is withered, rolled or cut to break cells, left to oxidise until coppery, then dried. Chinese names it after the red liquor, while Western trade calls it 'black tea' after the dark leaf; examples are Keemun, Dianhong and Lapsang Souchong.

A small category made like green tea but with an extra 'sealed yellowing' (闷黄) step in which warm, damp leaf is kept wrapped or piled so it undergoes slow non-enzymatic changes. The result is mellower and less grassy than green tea; examples include Junshan Yinzhen and Huoshan Huangya.

Raw pu'er that has aged long enough to show the darker colour, softened bitterness and aged aromas of transformation. There is no fixed age threshold; vendors use it for teas of roughly a decade or more, and a group-standard draft scores it as a separate category from young raw and ripe.

The standard Chinese system that sorts all basic (non-reprocessed) tea into six groups by processing, chiefly by how far and in what way the leaf is oxidised or otherwise transformed: green, yellow, white, oolong, red (Western 'black') and dark tea. It is codified in mainland standards such as GB/T 30766-2014 and GB/T 35825-2018, which add reprocessed teas as a separate seventh group outside the six.

A Guangxi dark tea associated with Liubao township in Cangwu county, Wuzhou. The Guangxi ordinance effective from 1 January 2026 defines it through suitable tea-leaf material, specified processing and ageing under national or local standards. Traditional and modern processing routes differ; modern refining can include wet-pile fermentation. Neither a fixed piling duration nor an areca-nut aroma should be assumed for every Liubao tea.

Tea made by applying heat fixation early in processing to limit enzymatic oxidation, followed by shaping and drying. Pan-heating and steaming are fixation methods; sun-drying is a drying method and should not be confused with fixation. Green-tea liquor and flavour vary with the leaf and manufacture, often showing green-to-yellow colours and fresh, vegetal or nutty notes.

Name element for a style of green tea made from downy buds and tender leaves whose tips resemble mountain peaks; the best known is 黄山毛峰 (Huangshan Maofeng, Anhui). English Wikipedia translates the full name as 'Yellow Mountain Fur Peak' and explains it as 'the small white hairs which cover the leaves and the shape of the processed leaves which resemble the peak of a mountain'. ja.wikipedia says the name comes from 白毫披身、芽尖似峰 and that the word 毛峰 is used specifically for Huangshan Maofeng (similar teas elsewhere, such as Xinyang and Duyun Maojian, are not called 毛峰). Other teas also use the element in their names (Keemun Mao Feng, for example, is a black tea); the origin identifies the tea.

Name element for a style of green tea made from tender, downy buds and young leaves, with a pointed shape; the full tea name carries an origin (信阳毛尖 Xinyang Maojian, 都匀毛尖 Duyun Maojian, 古丈毛尖 Guzhang Maojian). English Wikipedia's Xinyang Maojian article explains the name: 'mao' (毛) means 'tiny fuzz in cup when brewed' and 'jian' (尖) refers to 'the shape of the leaves: sharp, full young leaves'. By itself 'maojian' is a style label, not a protected name; it is different from 毛峰 (maofeng, 'fur peak').

Northern Fujian oolong: the group centred on Wuyishan and neighbouring Jian'ou/Jianyang, characterized by long twisted strips, heavier oxidation and roasting. Wuyi yancha is its flagship; non-GI teas like Minbei Shuixian also belong here.

Southern Fujian oolong, centred on Anxi (Tieguanyin), Huang Jin Gui, Yongchun Foshou and similar. These are typically cloth-rolled (包揉) into curled or ball shapes and today are often lightly oxidized and lightly roasted. Included as a contrast to Minbei/yancha.

'Rich-fragrance type': the roasted style of Minnan oolong, especially Anxi Tieguanyin, with dark glossy leaf, golden to orange liquor and roasted-grain or caramel notes; the EU GI specification calls it 'heavy flavor'. A third trade type, 陈香型, is tea stored at least five years. Taiwan's TRES uses 焙香型 ('roasted-aroma type', e.g. Dong Ding) for the corresponding class.

A Yunnan tea made from sun-dried green crude leaf of large-leaf Camellia sinensis var. assamica, sold either as naturally ageing raw tea or as pile-fermented ripe tea, loose or compressed. China's GI standard GB/T 22111-2008 ties the name to a defined production area in Yunnan and to sun-drying of the crude leaf. The name comes from the Qing-era Pu'er prefecture, a trading hub, not necessarily the growing area.

'Light-fragrance type': the lightly oxidized, lightly roasted or unroasted style of Minnan and Taiwanese oolong that keeps green leaf colour and a floral aroma. For Anxi Tieguanyin it is one of the trade types beside 浓香型 and 陈香型 (the EU GI specification calls it 'clean aroma'); in Taiwan TRES uses it in the class names 清香型條形包種茶 and 清香型球形烏龍茶.

Pu'er made from sun-dried crude leaf that is steamed and pressed (or left loose) without a pile-fermentation step. When young it is green-gold and often bitter-astringent; it changes slowly through oxidation and microbial activity over years of storage. Often shortened to 生普 (shēngpǔ).

Pu'er whose crude leaf has been pile-fermented (wodui): moistened and heaped so that heat and microbes rapidly darken it before sorting and pressing. The result brews dark red-brown, with low bitterness. The industrial process was developed in Yunnan state factories in the 1970s. Often shortened to 熟普 (shúpǔ).

Partially oxidised tea made by withering, repeated tossing or bruising of the leaf edges, a kill-green to halt oxidation, rolling and drying, often followed by roasting. Oxidation ranges widely, from light Taiwanese high-mountain teas to heavy Wuyi rock teas and Oriental Beauty. Mainland standards name the class 乌龙茶 with 青茶 as a synonym.

Oolong, one of China's six basic tea categories, defined by partial enzymatic oxidation induced by bruising (zuoqing) and then halted by fixing. 青茶 ('qingcha', blue-green tea) is the category name used in the six-category scheme, while 乌龙茶 is the common and trade name; both refer to the same class. Yancha is a Minbei (northern Fujian) oolong.

White tea with a light rolling step after withering, giving curled leaf and a darker, fuller liquor. The China Tea Society primer dates it to 1968 at the Fuding Bailin factory, made at the request of Hong Kong merchants and baked at about 120 °C; a Xiamen group standard (citing DB35/T 1076-2010) defines 新白茶 as population-cultivar shoots of one bud and one to three leaves, withered, lightly rolled, dried and sorted.

Short name for Wuyi rock tea (武夷岩茶), the roasted, strip-shaped oolong of Wuyishan in northern Fujian. Since 2006 the name is a geographical indication limited to the administrative area of Wuyishan City, so the term names both a style and a protected origin. Within the trade it is subdivided by cultivar (Dahongpao, Rougui, Shuixian, Mingcong, Qizhong) and informally by terroir class.

Products made by further processing one of the six basic teas, for example scenting with flowers (jasmine 花茶), compressing, bagging, grinding to powder or blending. GB/T 30766-2014 treats them as a class separate from the six basic categories.

The fine white hairs (trichomes) on young buds and on the underside of tender leaves. Abundant, intact down is a quality mark in white tea; GB/T 22291-2017 describes top-grade Baihao Yinzhen as plump needles with thick down, and the category name itself is linked to the visible down.

The prepared tea used as the base for scenting with flowers. In Fuzhou jasmine-tea manufacture this base is green tea. The term describes its role in further processing, not a fresh-leaf plucking grade.

Honorific, not a standard or grade, for a famous, huge or supposedly oldest tea tree of a village or mountain; its leaf is sold as 'tea-king' single-tree tea at very high prices. Sources disagree about individual trees. China Securities Journal reported in May 2017 that the Lao Banzhang '千年茶王树' had changed hands in early March at 320,000 yuan/kg, and quoted the Xishuangbanna Prefecture Tea Industry Association as saying that there is no expert-recognised (经专家认定) tea-king tree in the prefecture's ancient-tea areas and certainly none at Lao Banzhang. The Bangwei (Bangwai) 'transitional-type' tea-king tree is called nearly 1,000 years old (树龄近千年) by Jiemian in 2019 and more than 1,700 years old by People's Daily Online in 2016. No certifying body for the title was found, so every age and identity statement is a seller or press claim. Not the same as 茶王赛, the 'tea king' contests.

The spring harvest, roughly March to May in Yunnan, considered the best for pu'er because slow growth after the dry season gives concentrated leaf. The first spring picking is 头春 (tóuchūn); later spring rounds are 二春 etc.

Material from a single source, usually one village or mountain (sometimes one season and tree class), not blended with leaf from elsewhere. The opposite of 拼配.

Bud-only material. Baihao Yinzhen is made from single buds under GB/T 22291-2017; the China Tea Society primer notes buds may be plucked alone or stripped from one-bud-one-leaf shoots afterwards (抽针). A Guangdong draft standard requires over 95% single buds for bud-type yellow tea.

Tea made from the leaf of one individual tree, kept separate through processing. A collector product, usually from named old trees, produced in tiny quantities at very high prices.

Trade grade below gushu: trees that are tall and unpruned but younger, very roughly several decades old. Related 中小树 'medium and small trees' means younger trees again. The boundaries are informal and vary by seller.

The winter crop, the last regular harvest of the Taiwanese year after spring, summer and autumn tea; with spring tea it is the season prized for oolong, and Lugu runs a separate winter competition (the 2025 winter round was judged and awarded in January 2026). Shoots that sprout again afterwards give 冬片.

In Taiwan, tea picked from the new shoots that a bush puts out after the winter-tea harvest when the winter is mild; also called 冬片仔 or 六水/七水仔茶. TRES describes it as a mid- and low-elevation product with low bitterness and a clear, sweet liquor, distinct from the regular spring, summer, autumn and winter crops.

A shoot whose growing point has stopped, so that it ends in two top leaves around a dormant bud instead of an active bud. It is common in later flushes and in oolong material; one trade article calls it ideal oolong raw material, and grading tables count it separately (e.g. 同等嫩度对夹叶).

In botany a shrub: a woody plant with several stems from the base (the Chinese dictionary gloss at zdic is 丛生之木, 'wood growing in clumps'). For tea it is the usual cultivated form: Chinese Wikipedia lists 灌木型 among the tea-plant habits ('some cultivated tea plants') and notes that cultivated tea is pruned, so most bushes stand about 0.8-1.2 m high. English Wikipedia describes the Chinese plant as 'a small-leafed bush with multiple stems' and says tea plants grow into a tree if left undisturbed. In trade it is the counterpart of 乔木. It is not a quality category.

Autumn pu'er leaf (秋茶), picked roughly September–October, named after the rice-flowering season. Often aromatic and lighter in body than spring leaf, priced between spring and summer harvests.

Leaf from old, tall, seed-grown tea trees, usually in old forest gardens. There is no national legal threshold; the trade commonly means trees of about a century or more, and some group standards set such ages. Old-tree leaf commands large premiums, which makes the claim widely abused.

Leaf from plantation bushes that were abandoned and grew back untended for years, becoming taller and more tree-like. Often cited around Yiwu and other areas where plantations were left in the 1980s–90s. Status lies between taidi and older tree tea.

Open-face stage: a shoot that has formed a dormant bud with an opened top leaf, the maturity favoured for oolong (开面采). A Guangdong draft yancha standard sets 小开面 at a top-leaf area of 20–30% of the second leaf, 中开面 at 31–70% and 大开面 at 71–100%, and picks Shuixian at small to medium open face.

Unrefined crude tea as it leaves the primary processing step, before sorting, blending or compression. In pu'er it means sun-dried crude leaf; it may be sold loose as is, pressed into raw pu'er, or pile-fermented into ripe.

Blending: combining maocha of different cultivars, sites, grades or roast levels to achieve a consistent house style. It is part of refining and, per the 2026 standard explainer, is the defining method of the Dahongpao category; it is not adulteration.

In botany, a tree with one main trunk. In Chinese tea writing, 乔木 marks tea plants of tree habit, as opposed to the low, pruned bush (灌木). Chinese Wikipedia sorts tea plants into 乔木型 (tall trees, 15-30 m in tropical areas, 'mostly wild old tea trees'), 半乔木型 (for example Yunnan large-leaf) and 灌木型 (some cultivated tea plants); it gives no age or height threshold for the trade use. The word describes growth form, not age: it appears with 古树 and 大树 in listings but is not their synonym, and Chinese cultivar surveys combine form and leaf size (for example 乔木大叶品种). Vendors use it loosely ('old arbor', 'ancient arbor'): one pu'er seller writes 'old arbor trees (100-250 years old)' without defining it. No standard sets what counts as 'arbor' in trade.

The crude leaf that is the defined raw material of pu'er: fresh large leaf is pan-fired to stop enzymes, rolled, and dried in the sun rather than by oven or pan. Sun-drying at low temperature is thought to leave enzymes and microbes more able to drive later ageing. GB/T 22111 makes sun-dried crude leaf a condition of the pu'er name.

Loose market label for leaf from bushes or young trees that are less intensively managed than taidi: wider spacing, little or no pruning, few or no agrochemicals, sometimes intercropped. It has no standard definition and does not imply organic certification.

Leaf from densely planted, regularly pruned plantation bushes, typically on terraces, managed for yield. Much of it was planted from the 1970s–90s. It is the bulk material of everyday factory pu'er and is valued well below tree leaf.

Market term, used above all for Yunnan pu'er, for tea from the first picking of the spring harvest, sold in a higher price tier. It is not a regulated grade: no month or solar term defines it, and the opening of the season depends on altitude, tree and year. Path of Cha (a vendor blog) defines 头春 as 'the first batch of tea harvested at the beginning of the spring', says gardens higher up the mountain are picked later, and distinguishes it from 头采, a very limited first picking often used for trials. Chinese Wikipedia's pu'er article divides spring tea into three grades, 春尖, 春中 and 春尾; how 头春 maps onto 春尖 is not stated in any source consulted and should not be assumed. Chinese press price tables list '古树头春茶' separately from other pickings, but the two articles consulted disagree on the figures (2017: 4,000-8,000 yuan/kg for Lao Banzhang in one, 8,000-15,000 yuan/kg for ancient-tree 头春 in the other), so no price relation is stated here. Western vendors translate it 'first spring pick', 'spring 1st pick' or 'first spring flush'. 头春 is not 头采 and not 明前 (picked before Qingming, which falls between 4 and 6 April), although in practice the periods can overlap.

Fresh leaf: in GB/T 30766-2014 (term 2.1) the buds, leaves and tender stems picked from suitable Camellia sinensis cultivars as raw material for tea. Mainland standards use 鲜叶 throughout; Taiwan extension writing prefers 茶菁.

Cultivated tea plants that have been left to grow without pruning or management, effectively going wild. The term overlaps with huangdi and is used loosely by vendors as a middle tier between plantation and old-tree leaf.

Leaf from tea plants that were never cultivated, often of Camellia species or varieties other than C. sinensis var. assamica (e.g. C. taliensis). Such material falls outside the pu'er definition, can taste and act differently, and its safety as a food is not established in the way cultivated tea is.

Plucking standards naming the shoot by the bud and the number of leaves below it; finer standards are generally earlier and more expensive. In white tea, GB/T 22291-2017 defines Bai Mudan as one bud with one or two leaves; a Guangdong draft standard grades bud-and-leaf yellow tea (黄小茶) as over 95% one bud and one leaf.

Summer leaf picked during Yunnan's rainy season (roughly June–August); also called 夏茶. Rapid growth gives larger, thinner leaf that is generally cheaper and considered less suited to long ageing. Not to be confused with the solar term 雨水 in February.

A village, often of an ethnic minority, used as the finest common unit of origin in pu'er naming (e.g. 刮风寨 Guafengzhai, 老班章). It is part of many place names and is used on wrappers to signal a precise source.

Leaf fed on by the tea green leafhopper (小绿叶蝉; zh.wikipedia gives Jacobiasca formosana), whose feeding makes the plant release defensive volatiles; after processing these give the honey and ripe-fruit notes of Oriental Beauty and of Taiwanese honey-aroma black tea (蜜香紅茶). Growers leave the insects unchecked in summer to obtain such leaf.

Round, flat compressed tea, the classic pu'er format, usually with a dimple on the back. 357 g is the standard weight; 100–500 g and larger are common.

The cloth bag in which weighed maocha is steamed and then pressed into a cake. The bag is twisted closed under the cake, which leaves the knotted dimple on the back of stone-pressed cakes.

Tea pressed into a square or rectangular block. In pu'er it usually means a flat square tablet, smaller than a standard brick, often with characters moulded into the face; Babelcarp glosses it more broadly as a rectangular brick.

A dark-tea brick of Hunan (chiefly Anhua; Babelcarp also mentions Hubei) made from 黑毛茶 that is screened, blended, piled, steam-pressed and dried, covered by GB/T 9833.2-2013. With 花砖 (huāzhuān, flower brick) and 茯砖 it forms Anhua's "three bricks"; unlike 茯砖 it is not grown with golden flowers.

A mushroom- or heart-shaped compressed tea with a stem instead of a hollow, made by Xiaguan and others for the Tibetan market. Around 250 g. The shape was replaced by bricks for some decades and later revived. Note 紧压茶 is the broader category 'compressed tea'.

A large rounded compressed shape with pumpkin-like ribbing, made in sizes from 100 g to several kilograms. Associated with the Qing tribute pieces preserved in the Palace Museum, commonly called 金瓜贡茶.

Compressed white tea: under GB/T 31751-2015 loose white tea is sorted, blended, steam-pressed into shape and dried, giving pressed Baihao Yinzhen, Bai Mudan, Gongmei or Shoumei. Commonly sold as 白茶饼 (white tea cake); the China Tea Society primer dates white-tea pressing to 2006 and notes summer and autumn Shoumei as typical material.

Compressed tea: any tea steamed soft and pressed while warm into a fixed shape. The national series GB/T 9833 紧压茶 has nine parts (flower brick, black brick, Fu brick, Kang brick, tuocha, jincha, Jinjian, Mi brick and Qing brick). Most compressed tea is dark tea, but green, red and oolong teas can also be pressed.

A small hand-rolled ball of compressed pu'er, about 5–10 g, sized for one brewing. A modern convenience format, raw or ripe.

The largest standard huajuan log of Anhua dark tea: 1,000 old taels, given as 36.25 kg net, about 160 cm tall and 20 cm across, stamped into a bamboo-strip basket and bound with hoops, then dried outdoors for weeks (49 days in one account, 55 in the heritage listing). Its making is national intangible heritage (2008, Ⅷ-152), and sub-item of China's UNESCO-listed tea craft (2022).

A cake sold in stacks of seven (one 筒 tong); 'seven sons' is auspicious. The format goes back to Qing-era rules standardising round cakes; from the 1970s '云南七子饼茶' was printed on state-factory wrappers, so the name now means a standard ~357 g cake.

Uncompressed pu'er. In ripe pu'er, loose tea is sorted into grades by leaf size before sale or pressing; GB/T 22111 defines ripe loose tea and compressed tea as separate product types.

Traditional pressing with a heavy carved stone placed on the steamed leaf in a cloth bag, often stood or rocked on by the worker. It gives a looser, irregular cake with a knotted dimple on the back where the bag was tied.

Sales name for small, hard nuggets of ripe pu'er sold loose in bags or small packs. What the name covers is contested between sources. A Jiemian article (2017-12-09, by Zhang Yu, from 茶语网) says that in sales terms 茶化石 and 碎银子 are simply 老茶头 (the lumps that form during pile fermentation), a new name for presentation, and that the drinkable form is made by cutting, sieving and picking the lumps and then steaming, pressing and kneading them. A Taiwanese lifestyle article (Marie Claire Taiwan) instead describes 碎银子 as a premium ripe old-tree pu'er from spring buds, named for its resemblance to broken silver. Verdant Tea calls it 'Broken Silver' and 'not that different from Lao Cha Tou'. English Wikipedia's pu'er article lists 'nuggets (碎银子; Suiyinzi or fossilized tea 茶化石)'. The size, hardness, age and raw material vary by seller.

A very tightly pressed cake made with a metal mould and mechanical press, with a flat back and no dimple. Strongly associated with Xiaguan. Hard to break apart and slow to age compared with stone-pressed cakes.

Bowl-shaped compressed tea with a deep hollow underneath, 100 g and 250 g being classic sizes; mini tuos of a few grams are common. Associated above all with Xiaguan, whose tuocha making technique is listed as intangible cultural heritage. The origin of the name is disputed.

Pressing softened tea leaf into shapes such as cakes, bricks and bowls, commonly after steaming. Pressing density is a physical feature of the tea, not a reliable ageing clock: it does not by itself establish how quickly a particular tea will change or whether that change will improve it.

The standard compression method: weighed leaf is steamed briefly to soften it, then pressed in a mould or cloth bag and dried. Raw and ripe pu'er are both made this way.

Rectangular compressed tea; 250 g is the commonest pu'er brick size. Bricks are also the main format of many other dark teas (Fu, Hubei green brick, Sichuan Kang brick) and historically of border trade tea.

Benshan lüni is a Yixing clay name associated with greenish raw material, not a requirement that the fired pot be green. Yingge Ceramics Museum describes its use in surface decoration and blends. The name alone does not authenticate a particular mine or the composition of a finished pot.

A Yixing forming method associated with round vessels: a prepared clay slab is joined into a body and worked by paddling into the intended profile. Paishentong is a related term. A process label alone does not authenticate a seller’s claim of entirely hand-built manufacture.

Duanni is a Yixing clay name often associated with buff or yellow fired bodies. Accounts use several spellings, including 段泥, 緞泥 and 團泥. Yingge Ceramics Museum describes tuanni as a blend; that description should not be treated as a universal geological definition of every material marketed under these names.

A classic round Yixing teapot form whose knob, lid and body read as balls of decreasing size stacked on one another; the name follows the shape-based naming method. Cheng Shouzhen (程寿珍, 1858–1939) was known for it, and his 掇球壶 won awards at the Panama and Chicago expositions.

A classic teapot shape with a wide, flattened body and domed lid; also means 'antique style' generally. As a pot name it is a fixed shape term; elsewhere, 仿古 means 'antique-style' or 'reproduction', which matters when describing old pots.

A Yixing teapot form category built around geometric outlines, including round and angular bodies. The contrast is with naturalistic huahuo and regularly ribbed forms; it does not mean that every surface must be undecorated or that the clay is a particular colour.

Yixing forms that draw on plants, animals or other natural subjects, expressed through the vessel shape, sculptural parts or relief decoration. Hua here names a form tradition, not merely painted flowers and not a clay recipe.

Yixing vessels divided into a regular rhythm of ribs or lobes, often recalling melon segments or flower petals. The divisions can continue through the lid and body. This is a shaping system rather than a variety of clay; the related category name jinwenhuo is also used.

A finishing tool used to scrape, smooth and refine the surface of an unfired Yixing body; the name also occurs in descriptions of that finishing work. A smooth appearance is not, by itself, evidence of a particular clay source or brewing performance.

A classic triangular-profile teapot shape with straight spout and arched handle. Its wide base and low centre of gravity suit strip-shaped oolongs and pu'er; many sub-variants exist (e.g. 子冶石瓢).

A Chaozhou teapot thrown on the potter's wheel from local red clay (Fengxi, Chaozhou), made in about sixty steps from throwing and trimming to firing. The craft, 枫溪手拉朱泥壶制作技艺, entered the national intangible heritage list in 2014 (fourth batch).

A Yixing forming method especially associated with square or polygonal vessels: shaped clay panels are cut and joined to build the body. It differs from paddling a round body and from wheel throwing. The term describes construction, not the mineral identity or provenance of the clay.

A round, squat teapot shape with a short spout, named after the beauty Xi Shi. The name usually refers to the smooth, plump body and knob-like lid, and the shape is made in every Yixing clay.

Zhuni is a name used for red-firing Yixing clay. Its distinction from the wider name hongni depends on the material classification being used. The name alone does not establish ore reserves, age, firing shrinkage or suitability for a particular tea.

Zini is the purple-clay designation within Yixing zisha materials, commonly associated with brown or purple-brown fired bodies. Its mineral composition and particle structure can be studied, but porosity and performance depend on the prepared body and firing, not the name alone.

Zisha is a family of ceramic materials associated with Yixing, Jiangsu, and the ware made from them, commonly unglazed. It includes several named clay bodies, not just purple clay. Raw material, prepared body and fired vessel should be distinguished; a trade name or colour alone does not establish composition or provenance.

The indigenous seed-propagated tea population of Wuyishan, genetically mixed because each bush grows from seed. It is the ancestral pool from which many mingcong were selected and the raw material of Qizhong. 'Wuyi caicha' (武夷菜茶) is the full name.

'Single bush': picking and processing the leaf of one tree or one clonal line separately. It is the name of the Phoenix (Fenghuang, Chaozhou) oolong genre in Guangdong; in Wuyi the corresponding idea is expressed by mingcong and by single-cultivar tea. Included here mainly for contrast and to prevent cross-regional confusion.

Chinese label for the large-leaved group of tea plants. Chinese plant-science texts sort tea plant resources by leaf size into large-leaf, medium-leaf and small-leaf types (大叶, 中叶, 小叶); the one text consulted gives the three types without numeric limits, and no limits are given here. 大叶种 names a group, not one cultivar: 云南大叶种 (Yunnan large-leaf) is the group behind Yunnan pu'er, and named selections such as Menghai Daye or Fengqing Daye are cultivars or populations within it. Chinese Wikipedia defines pu'er as made from sun-dried maocha of 云南大叶茶 (Camellia sinensis var. assamica) from a defined area of Yunnan and gives 云南大叶种 as its example of the semi-tree habit (半乔木型); English Wikipedia calls the Yunnan plant 'the large leaf type of Chinese tea'. The text of the GB/T 22111-2008 GI standard was not consulted, so what it requires of the raw material is not stated here. A large-leaf label says nothing about tree age, altitude or quality.

A grade term, mostly for Shuixian, describing bushes older than ordinary garden plants but younger than 'laocong' — commonly placed around 30–60 years in vendor ladders (Shuixian → 高枞 → 老枞). It is unregulated and its thresholds vary by seller.

'Old bush': tea from long-established bushes, most often in 老枞水仙 (Laocong Shuixian). There is no binding age threshold; Chinese sources commonly cite 50+ years, and vendor claims range from about 15 to over 100 years. Old-bush Shuixian is associated with woody, mossy 'cong' character (枞味).

A named, selected Wuyi tea bush and, by extension, its propagated cultivar and tea. In GB/T 18745-2026, term 3.4 defines the product category as yancha made from a clonally propagated elite single plant or one cultivar, excluding Rougui and Shuixian. The edition takes effect on 1 April 2027. Mingcong is not a geographic tier.

The original bush from which a clonal cultivar was propagated. In Wuyi it refers above all to the mother Dahongpao bushes on the cliff at Jiulongke (九龙窠), now protected heritage plants whose harvest stopped in 2006 (some sources say 2007). Any modern 'mother-tree Dahongpao' offer is at best from cuttings.

Cultivar or variety. In yancha it names the clonal tea-plant variety a tea is made from (Rougui, Shuixian, Qidan, Huangguanyin…); '品种茶' means a single-cultivar tea as opposed to a blend, and '小品种' means minor cultivars.

A traditional yancha product category made from seed-grown Wuyi 'caicha' bushes rather than named clones. The 2026 standard reportedly states explicitly that it is made from sexually propagated Wuyi caicha, giving these landrace populations formal recognition. Historically the word also ranked teas above ordinary 'xiaozhong'.

A tea variety that is propagated by seed, so every plant is slightly different. A Hunan Federation of Supply and Marketing Cooperatives page (2023-08-29) defines 有性系品种 (also 有性繁殖系品种, 'popularly called 群体种') as a variety formed by long natural and artificial selection and propagated by seed. The counterpart is 无性系 (clonal cultivars). A 群体种 is cultivated, not a wild tree.

'Song stock': a prefix for Phoenix bushes said to date from, or be cloned from, trees selected in the Song dynasty, as in 宋种黄栀香 or 宋种芝兰香. The best known is the 宋茶 of 李仔坪, Wudong (about 1,150 m), also recorded as 宋种黄茶香, 团树叶 and 大丛茶 and renamed 东方红 during the Cultural Revolution; the 2021 grading table, quoting 邱陶瑞 (2009), gives it 600+ years and a peak spring yield of 8.9 kg of dry tea in 1963. Clones are called 宋种仔.

The numbering of cultivars released by TRES, written 臺茶N號 ('Taiwan Tea No. N'). Babelcarp dates the series to 1969 and notes that the first eleven never gained popular names. Key numbers: 12 金萱 (named 1981, line 2027, 臺農8號 × 硬枝紅心), 13 翠玉, 18 紅玉 (named 1999, a black-tea cultivar of Burmese large-leaf and Taiwan wild-tea parentage), 21 紅韻, 23 祁韻, 25 紫韻 (named 26 April 2021) and 26 豐鶴 (named 11 June 2024). Older cultivars such as 青心烏龍, 四季春 and 青心大冇 have no 臺茶 number.

The five most celebrated Wuyi mingcong: Dahongpao, Shuijingui, Tieluohan, Baijiguan and Bantianyao. An older grouping of four (四大名丛) omits Bantianyao. The grouping is traditional and promotional rather than defined in a standard.

A tea cultivar that is a clone: a plant selected from a good population and multiplied by cuttings (扦插) or layering (压条), so the bushes are alike. A Hunan Federation of Supply and Marketing Cooperatives page (2023-08-29) defines 无性系品种 as selected by agricultural scientists from a single plant of a good 群体种 and propagated by cutting or layering, with relatively uniform traits, and says that the proportion of clonal improved varieties reached 60.94 % in China at the end of 2017 (figure attributed to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs). Chinese breeding papers use 无性系茶树品种 for named clones (English keywords: 'clonal tea tree varieties'). The term describes propagation, not breeding by genetic modification.

A popular Phoenix dancong bush line, officially renamed 银花香 ('honeysuckle aroma') in May 2014. The usual story is that a farmer who planted it in yellow, chalky 'duck-dung soil' (鸭屎土) gave it an off-putting name so that neighbours would not covet it. zh.wikipedia places the mother bush at about 900 m in 坪坑头 village, transplanted in the 1920s from 李仔坪 on Wudong. Since 2016-18 it has been a staple of Chinese lemon-tea and milk-tea chains.

'True bush': in Taiwan, 正欉鐵觀音 is Tieguanyin made from the Tieguanyin cultivar itself (locally 紅心歪尾桃), mainly in Muzha (Taipei), as against Tieguanyin-style tea made from other cultivars such as 硬枝紅心 (Shimen), 金萱 or 四季春. Tieguanyin plants were brought from Anxi to Taiwan by 張迺妙 and 張迺乾 in 1895-96.

The woven bamboo basket in which oolong is baked over a charcoal pit, used in Wuyi yancha and in Taiwan, where Muzha Tieguanyin is traditionally finished in it after cloth-ball rolling.

The first drying of freshly rolled leaf, also called 毛火; it brings moisture down quickly and ends primary processing, yielding maocha. In traditional charcoal practice this is 走水焙. Some producer write-ups instead call the whole first refining roast 初焙.

Roasting in electric ovens or drying cabinets, which give precise, even temperature control at lower labour cost. It is widely used for first drying and for much commercial yancha; many producers combine electric roasting with a final charcoal round.

'Simmering fire': long, low-temperature roasting of sorted dry tea, lasting hours to over ten hours per round, so heat penetrates the leaf and aroma and taste transform. Also called 吃火 or 足火 in some accounts. It is where charcoal roasting is now mainly used, and it is regarded as decisive for depth and keeping quality.

'Reverting to green': deterioration in stored yancha that has absorbed moisture, giving raw, sour or green-astringent off-notes. Lighter roasts are more susceptible than medium-full or full roasts. The usual remedy is a gentle corrective re-roast (复焙).

Re-roasting. It has two uses: a further roasting round in normal refining, and a corrective roast to drive off absorbed moisture from tea that has turned 'green' (返青) or aged in damp storage, also called 复火 or 补火. Corrective re-roasting is done gently, since excess heat changes the tea further.

Moisture regain: tea re-absorbing humidity from the air after roasting or during storage, which softens it and can lead to 返青. It is a general Chinese word for moisture regain in materials, used here in a tea-storage sense.

The degree and quality of roasting a tea has received — how deeply the heat has 'entered' the leaf — and, by extension, the roaster's skill. Chinese writers distinguish heat that has truly penetrated (焙透) from mere surface heat. It is the umbrella over roast levels such as 轻火, 中火 and 足火.

Light roast. For Wuyi yancha, GB/T 18745-2026 specifies 4–8 h at 100–120 °C in clause 7.3.2.2.3. These are processing conditions, not a measurement of the finished tea's moisture or a universal storage-life prediction. The edition takes effect on 1 April 2027; its labelling clause does not require a roast-level declaration.

Charcoal roasting: roasting tea in bamboo baskets (焙笼) set over charcoal banked under ash in pits (焙窟), with temperature judged by hand. Practitioners describe 'open' and 'closed' ash-covering methods. Because charcoal is costly and labour-heavy, it is now mostly reserved for the slow refining roast (炖火), with initial drying done by machine.

Resting after roasting so the 'fire' recedes: the harsh fresh-roast character fades and the liquor thickens. Jiemian's source suggests about one to two months; heavier roasts often rest longer. Producers time releases around it, and vendors often call it 'resting'.

Medium roast: a mid-level roast that balances retained aroma with fruitier, more mature notes. One practitioner associates it with fruit aromas; another says aroma-led cultivars are often kept at medium roast at the cost of body.

'Water-driving roast': a fast, hot charcoal pass that strips moisture from rolled leaf (to around 8 % in one practitioner account) without yet shaping the final aroma. Traditionally done on wet leaf; today it is often replaced by a pass in a machine dryer.

Full roast: a thorough, long low-temperature roast that brings woody, ripe, sometimes cocoa-like notes and good storage stability. 足 means 'sufficient', not 'excessive'. It is distinct from 高火, a sensory fault term for over-roasting; the word also names a roasting stage in some producer accounts.

The general act of brewing tea by pouring hot water onto leaf and letting it infuse. It covers water temperature, leaf amount, timing and vessel choice.

Pouring the brewed tea from a pot or gaiwan into a pitcher or cups, separating the liquid from the leaves and ending that steep.

Judging when the boiling water has reached the right stage for tea. Cai Xiang (茶录, 1049–1054) called it the hardest part of the work: water not yet ready leaves the froth floating, and overcooked water makes the tea sink.

Opening a pot means preparing a new teapot for first use. Practices vary; the term does not prescribe one boiling or soaking ritual. Follow the maker’s care instructions and remove loose dust with clean water. Such preparation is not proof of food-contact safety or a verified treatment for unknown contamination.

Leaving tea to steep for a long time in a covered vessel, or letting leaf sit hot in a closed gaiwan. Used deliberately for some aged teas, but in quality talk it often means overstewed, giving a dull 'stewed' taste.

A tea's ability to give many good infusions before fading. High longevity is valued as a sign of leaf quality and is a common evaluation point for oolong and pu'er.

How many infusions a session yields or which infusion is being described (第三泡 = third infusion). 泡 is the classifier for an infusion in gongfu brewing.

Lu Yu's three stages of boiling in 茶经·五之煮: first, small bubbles like fish eyes with a faint sound (鱼目); second, bubbles along the rim like a welling spring with strings of pearls; third, the water surges in rolling waves (腾波鼓浪). Water boiled beyond the third stage is called old and unfit. Song writers judged water by fish-eye and crab-eye (蟹眼) bubbles.

The weight of dry leaf used for one brewing session, usually stated in grams or as a leaf-to-water ratio. Gongfu brewing commonly uses roughly 1 g per 15–20 ml, far more than Western brewing.

A first quick infusion that is discarded, intended to remove dust, pre-warm and open up the leaf. 洗茶 ('wash') is the colloquial term; 醒茶 ('awaken') and 润茶 ('moisten') are preferred by some because they avoid implying the tea is dirty. 醒茶 is also used for airing aged tea before brewing.

Seasoning a pot is the practice of using and caring for an unglazed teapot over time, often with attention to patina or dedication to one tea style. A flavour improvement is not guaranteed. Our practical advice is to remove leaves and residue after use and let the interior and lid dry fully before storage.

The time the water stays on the leaf before pouring off, i.e. steeping time within a gongfu infusion. Longer 坐杯 extracts more body and bitterness.

The intermediate terroir class: Wuyishan tea grown near but outside the core ravines, typically on broader hills with deeper soils at the edge of or just beyond the scenic area. It is credited with some, but weaker, rock character. Like zhengyan, it is a trade label rather than a surveyed boundary.

In Taiwan, tea (above all lightly oxidized, ball-rolled oolong) from gardens at 1,000 m or more, the threshold used in the Tea and Beverage Research Station's (TRES) 2024 teaching material; main areas are Fuxing (Taoyuan), Jianshi and Wufeng (Hsinchu), Heping/Lishan (Taichung), Nantou, Yunlin and Chiayi (Alishan). TRES files it under its flavour-wheel class 清香型球形烏龍茶. It is an elevation class contrasted with lowland tea (平地茶), not a single origin.

Old tea trees growing within forest cover, managed by villagers over centuries. UNESCO inscribed the 'Cultural Landscape of Old Tea Forests of the Jingmai Mountain in Pu'er' (Russian: «Культурный ландшафт древних чайных лесов горы Цзинмай в Пуэре»; property 1665, 2023) and describes it as 'a tea production area of old tea groves, tea plantations, forests, and traditional villages'. Chinese Wikipedia calls the site 'a typical representative of artificially cultivated ancient tea forests' (人工栽培古茶林的典型代表) and 'the best preserved, oldest and largest artificially cultivated ancient tea garden in the world' (人工栽培型古茶园), so the trees are cultivated, not wild. The UNESCO English text does not give tree ages. 古茶林 is a place or land-use label; it does not by itself prove the age of the tea in a given product.

Generic Wuyi term for the narrow gullies and stream ravines between the rock faces, where shade, moisture and stony soils combine; '坑涧茶' denotes tea from such ravines. 坑 (keng) and 涧 (jian) also form parts of place names such as Niulankeng and Liuxiangjian. Related landform words are 窠 (ke, a hollow) and 岩 (yan, a rock face).

In Yunnan tea naming, 老寨 is read as the 'old village' of a village cluster; 'X老寨' on a listing names tea claimed from that historical core village (Bingdao Laozhai, Ban Po Lao Zhai and so on). The sources consulted do not define the word; Path of Cha glosses 'Bingdao Lao Zhai (冰岛老寨 - Bingdao Old Village)' as the oldest and most legendary of the Bingdao villages, and the definition here is inferred from that usage. A China News Weekly report (2021) lists the five hamlets of the Bingdao village committee as 冰岛、糯伍、地界、南迫、坝歪 (冰岛五寨), reports 63 resident households in 冰岛老寨 and speaks of the move of the 'core area' 冰岛老寨. CNIPA announcement No. 616 of 2025-02-11 gave '冰岛老寨茶（冰岛正山茶）' a preliminary GI-product recognition (no final decision found) with the area limited to the natural village of Bingdao. 'Old' refers to the settlement, not to the trees' age, and many unrelated villages are named Laozhai.

Collective name for the most prized valleys in the Wuyi core. The usual list is Niulankeng, Huiyuankeng and Daoshuikeng (the keng) plus Liuxiangjian and Wuyuanjian (the jian); some lists substitute or add Dakengkou. Names from this group are heavily used, and over-used, on labels.

In yancha trade talk, the specific growing site of a tea — a named rock, gully or slope — understood as the main determinant of quality and price. Phrases such as '山场好' (good site) or '山场茶' are standard in Chinese marketing. It is broadly equivalent to 'site' or 'lieu-dit' in wine.

Tea from outside the classic Wuyi rock area — in older usage outside old Chong'an county, in modern usage often any Wuyishan-City or nearby land beyond the scenic area and its fringe, including higher 'ecological' gardens. Waishan teas may legally be Wuyi yancha if grown within Wuyishan City, but are not credited with full yanyun. The full form is 外山茶.

'Proper mountain': a claim of authentic core origin. It is best known in 正山小种 (Lapsang souchong), where it denotes the Tongmu area of the Wuyi nature reserve. In yancha writing it occasionally appears as a broader counterpart to waishan; TeaDB notes it can cover non-rock teas, unlike zhengyan.

The core terroir class of Wuyi rock tea: tea grown inside the rocky heart of the Wuyishan scenic area, among cliffs and ravines with stony, weathered soils. Traditionally it meant the valleys along the Nine-Bend Stream (九曲溪); today it is often equated loosely with the roughly 70 km² scenic area. It is a trade category, not a legally mapped zone in the 2006 GI standard.

Wuyishan tea grown on the flat alluvial land along the rivers and streams (Chongyang, Huangbai and Jiuqu streams) rather than on rocky slopes. 洲 means a sandbar or river flat, and the name marks it as the lowest of the classic Wuyi terroir tiers inside the GI area. Such tea is generally sold without zhengyan or banyan claims.

Storage of tea in underground or below-grade rooms, usually in bulk and in a warm, humid climate, so that conditions are damper than an ordinary dry store. It blurs the usual line between dry (干仓) and wet (湿仓) storage. Converted air-raid shelters in Zhaoqing, Guangdong, are a documented example of underground pu'er storage.

Storage without added humidity, keeping tea well away from mould risk, often associated with Kunming or with dry storage in otherwise humid cities. Tea ages more slowly and keeps brighter character. The term is relative and usually paired with a place.

Hong Kong storage, the first major pu'er ageing hub. Traditionally meant warm, humid ground-level warehouses with large stocks rotated and then aired in drier rooms; also used for dry storage in Hong Kong's humid climate.

Storage in Guangdong (Guangzhou, Dongguan and elsewhere), naturally hot and humid, which became the largest pu'er storage region. Tea ages faster than in Kunming. Ranges from humid traditional to controlled 'dry' warehouses.

Storage in Kunming, a dry, cool highland city; the archetype of slow dry storage. Teas keep brighter, sharper character longer. Some collectors find it too dry to age tea well.

Putting tea into (usually humid, traditional) storage; by extension, the deliberate humid-storage phase. The trade sees this as the stage of most rapid change.

Storage in high humidity, sometimes deliberately added, to accelerate ageing; associated with traditional Hong Kong and Guangdong warehouses. It darkens tea quickly and can leave musty storage odour; overdone it causes mould. 'Wet' and 'traditional' storage are often lumped together but are not identical.

Moving humid-stored tea to drier conditions to air out, so that storage odour dissipates and the tea settles. Analogous to the airing of new ripe pu'er. Teas sold as 'well aired' (退仓干净) have had this treatment.

Storage in the ambient conditions of a place without added humidity or climate control, in contrast to wet storage and to climate-controlled 科技仓. Its meaning depends entirely on location.

GB/T 22291-2017 product name for white tea from one bud with one or two leaves of Dabai or Shuixian cultivars, withered, dried and sorted; graded 特级 to 三级. The Fuding GI specification allows one bud with up to three leaves. (Tea entity: bai-mudan.)

The official quality grades defined in the yancha GI standard, assigned per product category by sensory criteria (appearance, aroma, liquor, taste, leaf base). 特级 is the top grade. The 2026 revision reportedly sharpens descriptors, e.g. requiring a long-lasting cassia-bark aroma for top-grade Rougui.

GB/T 22291-2017 product name for white tea made from tender shoots of seed-propagated population (群体种) cultivars, graded 特级 to 三级. The China Tea Society primer gives one bud with two to three leaves as its picking standard. (Tea entity: gong-mei.)

Top market grade of ripe loose pu'er, made of the smallest, bud-rich leaf sieved out after piling. It is a trade name, not a grade in GB/T 22111, and is widely applied to modest tea.

A grade within a particular tea grading scheme, such as special grade and numbered grades for loose ripe Pu-erh. Grades should be compared within the scheme they belong to; they are not a universal ranking across different teas.

GB/T 22291-2017 product name for white tea from tender shoots or leaves of Dabai, Shuixian or population cultivars, graded 一级 and 二级 only; the coarsest of the four. The China Tea Society primer describes it as one to three leaves, possibly with a dormant bud (驻芽). Much Shoumei is pressed into cakes. (Tea entity: shou-mei.)

Name element for teas made from straight, downy single buds that look like needles. In white tea it is the bud-only top product 白毫银针 (GB/T 22291-2017: single buds of Dabai or Shuixian cultivars, withered, dried and sorted); the same word appears in the yellow tea 君山银针 and in some green teas, so it does not identify a category.

A context-dependent term for the art, methods or cultivated practice of tea drinking, which can include preparation and etiquette. It should not automatically be equated with one standardized Chinese ceremony or with Japanese chado. Distinguish 茶道 chádào from 茶刀 chádāo, the tea knife: unaccented chadao conceals the different tones and characters.

The skills and art of preparing and appreciating tea. The Taiwan Ministry of Education dictionary defines it through brewing and tasting. In context it may include a demonstrated service, but the word alone does not specify one universal ceremony or a single historical lineage.

Offering tea to others. In a documented Taiwanese custom, residents place free tea by homes or roads for travellers and pilgrims. This local use of the term does not prescribe one universal tea ceremony.

Trade descriptions for pu’er storage conditions. Dry storage is relatively less humid; wet storage uses more humid conditions, sometimes deliberately maintained. Conditions vary between cellars and warehouses, so the label alone does not specify temperature, humidity or handling.

A way of brewing with a small pot or gaiwan, a high leaf-to-water ratio and many short infusions, originating in Chaozhou and southern Fujian. 工夫 means painstaking skill; 功夫 is a widespread variant, often criticised as a later confusion with the martial-arts word. Chaozhou gongfu tea art was listed as national intangible heritage in 2008.

China's national occupation of professional tea taster. The national occupational skill standard (revised and issued on 9 March 2020 by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security with the All-China Federation of Supply and Marketing Cooperatives and others) has five levels, from junior tea taster (level 5) to senior tea-tasting master (level 1). The 2022 Occupational Classification Dictionary renamed the occupation 评茶师 and added the work type 茶叶拼配师 (tea blender, code 6-02-06-11-001 in the draft standard).

Literally drinking tea. In the Guangdong and Hong Kong social-dining context, it means enjoying tea, dim sum and conversation together. The social practice is broader than the dishes alone.

The slow ageing of pu'er (and other dark teas) during storage, combining oxidation, microbial activity and loss of volatile compounds, which darkens the tea and softens bitterness.

White tea kept deliberately for years to mellow. GB/T 22291-2017 added a clause that white tea can be stored long-term; popular accounts describe fading aroma, reddening liquor and a softer taste with age. No age threshold could be verified from a readable standard: a group standard (T/CSTEA 00021-2021) exists but its text could not be opened, Xinhua cites 10–20 years as an example, and a Taiwan magazine excerpt treats five to six years as already "old".

Trade term for tea that has been stored for years and is sold for its ageing, most often sheng pu'er but also oolong, white tea, Liubao and other dark tea. There is no fixed age threshold. Moychay (a tea merchant) writes that 'there is no strict borderline where lao begins', that some teas may be aged for as little as three years, and that serious collectors usually reserve the word for teas of a decade or more; a Taiwanese tea shop's article says old tea usually means more than ten years but has no definitive definition; a Liubao seller's article uses 老茶 for dry-stored tea of five years and up and again for fifteen years and up; Xinhua gives 10 to 20 years as an example for 老白茶; a Russian tea club calls oolong 'mature' after 15 years. A listing's age must therefore be read from the harvest or pressing year, not from the word 老茶. The word is also tied to fakery: a Jiemian article of 2018 says wet-storing tea to fake aged tea became very profitable. 老茶 is not 老树茶 (tea from old trees, 古树) and not 老茶头 (lao cha tou, 'old tea heads': lumps formed in pile fermentation, see 茶头).

Collector term for the change in a tea's aroma, taste and colour over storage time, judged as a trajectory ('transforming well/poorly'). Broader and more evaluative than 陈化.