China offers us such a multitude of teas that it seems difficult to give a precise figure. The Chinese tea institutes, official organizations of historical, botanical and cultural studies, give an estimate of their number amounting to several thousands. This impressive number includes a multitude of small local productions, the most famous “crus” being few. As several tea teachers told me, “a whole year is not enough to list all Chinese teas”, just as “a whole life is not enough to know all Chinese teas”. Some major universities in Beijing, Hangzhou and Shanghai have a specialized tea department.
Although they come from the same plant, named by botanists “camellia sinensis”, the diversity of varieties comes from both the terroir and their different manufacturing methods. These processes are linked to local agricultural traditions, as multiple as China is extensive. The North of the country does not offer the necessary climatic conditions for tea plantations. Instead, it is in the provinces south of the Yangtze River that they find sufficient heat and humidity to thrive. The mists of these regions, whose charm has always been praised by poets, provide the necessary humidity for the leaves and buds.