Tea processing

I know very little, if not nothing, about the processing of tea. However, recently, someone (I can't remember who - I'm sorry!) linked an awesome flow chart on the process by which various types of teas are made. Two things that stood out to me from this chart: the fact that I'd never heard of yellow tea before, and the very noticeable differences in the processes of producing each type of tea. Of course, the latter shouldn't be a surprise - different types of tea taste distinctly different! I think I just attributed it moreso to the location from which the leaves were gathered and the oxidation process only. Anyway, on to the graph and its teachings!

At its simplest, the graph gives us six types of tea: black, oolong, yellow, green, white, and post-fermented (of which the most popular is puerh).

Black stands out in that it is the most oxidized.

Oolong is unique in that it is oxidized partially, but then kill-greened (the act of stopping the oxidation).

White tea, like black and oolong, is wilted, but then skips the oxidation process and is immediately kill-greened.

Green tea isn't wilted or oxidized at all.

Yellow is similar to green, but differs in that goes through a "moist heating" process after the kill-greening, giving the tea a distinct yellow tint.

Last but not least, the post-fermented tea differs from green tea in only the additional aging (quite often moist) that comes after drying.

Obviously, this is the sparknotes version from what the chart gives you, and what a more in-depth explanation could have. Even still, I find it fascinating, and plan to research more into this topic!