The Ultimate Tea Bucketlist (Classics)
When you start to get serious about drinking and learning about tea, you’ll notice that names of certain specific types of tea keep popping up. It gets to the point where it seems like eeeeveryone has had this tea at some point! It’s a timeless tea that is available at many vendors at different price points and at different levels of quality. I’m going to compile a list of such teas for every category so that those of us who would like to can go down the list and make sure we’ve tried everything at least once! Since I have very very little knowledge of the classics, I know that it is best if the actual information is provided by all of you. :) This will be lots of fun!
Feel free to chime in on any mistakes made in spelling, English/traditional translation, or if one or the other was left out. (Some teas will have multiple spellings but we’ll just list one). Also, if you see something on the list that technically probably isn’t really a “classic” you can say so and we’ll see what everyone thinks.
Comment and let me know what needs to be on the list!
White Tea
Bai Hao Yin Zhen (Silver Needle)
Bai MuDan (White Peony)
Green Tea
Anji Bai Cha
Bancha
Bi Luo Chun (Spring Snail)
Chun Mee
Ding Gu Da Fang (Valley Peak)
Genmaicha
Gunpowder
Gyokuro
Hojicha
Houkui
Huang Shan Mao Feng (Yellow Mountain Fur Peak)
Jasmine
Jin Shan
Kukicha
Liu An (Melon Seed)
Long Jing (Dragonwell)
Lung Ching
Maojian
Matcha
Meijiawu Lung Ching
Moroccan Mint
Sencha
Tian Mu Qing Ding (Heavenly Blue Peak)
Weishan Mao Feng
Oolong Tea
Ali Shan
Bai Ji Guan (White Cockscomb)
Dancong
Da Hong Pao (Big Red Robe)
Da Yu Ling
Dong Ding
Dongfang Meiren (Oriental Beauty)
Huang Jin Gui (Golden Turtle)
Milk
Li Shan
Osmanthus
Pouchong
Rou Gui
Si Ji Chun (Four Seasons)
Tie Guan Yin (Iron Goddess of Mercy)
Tie Luo Han (Iron Arhat)
Black Tea
Assam
Bailin Gongfu
Black Dragon Pearl
Ceylon
Darjeeling
Dian Hong Jin Ya – Yunnan (Golden Bud)
Earl Grey
English Breakfast
Irish Breakfast
Jin Hou (Golden Monkey)
Jin Jun Mei
Jin Kong Que (Golden Peacock)
Kangra
Kenya
Lapsong Souchong
Masala Chai
Nepal
Nilgiri
Qi Men (Keemun)
Ripe Puerh Tea (Shou)
Menghai v93
Nuo Mi xiang (Sticky Rice)
Yellow Tea
Mount Jun Silver Needle
Herbal Tisane
Chamomile
Green Rooibos
Guayusa
Hibiscus
Honeybush
Lavender
Lemonbalm
Peppermint
Rooibos
Spearmint
Tulsi
Yerba Mate
NOTE: This list is in it’s very beginning stages and is by noooo means exhaustive. I need you for that!
What a great idea!
Blacks: Darjeeling, Dian Hong (Yunnan), Keemun, Nilgiri, Bailin Gongfu, Kangra, Nepal, Kenya.
Yellow tea: Mount Jun Silver Needle
Green: Kukicha
Purple varietal
Thai tea
Yeah I wasn’t sure about that either. I think the purple teas I’ve had have been greens, but I suppose it (and really any of the different teas defined by their growing regions) can be processed in any number of ways.
I wasn’t sure about Thai either, as the Thai tea mix I have is made with green tea, but you’d never guess it from the strength and the taste, and I know Thai tea gets made with black tea sometimes.
Maybe Green Rooibos? It’s getting pretty popular.
I thought about green rooibos but I’m not sure it’s been popular long enough to be deemed a "classic. "
I hope she’s right! I tend to like it quite a bit more than red in many applications.
Nice list!
I’d like to suggest Rou Gui and Dancong under oolong. I’m more of a fan of the roasted oolongs, as you can probably tell. =P
It’s a little difficult to come up with “must-try” lists for sheng and shu, I think, given how storage and year of production can affect them, but I think the Menghai v93 is regarded as a standard/classic “daily drinker” shu.
Also, I think Keemun may have been misplaced. It’s under green tea at the moment, but I’m pretty sure it’s a black tea. =)
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