The six traditional categories of Chinese tea are green, white, yellow, oolong, black, and dark tea, classified primarily according to processing rather than simply leaf color. Pu-erh is generally associated with dark tea, while Longjing belongs to green tea, Tieguanyin to oolong, and Dianhong to black tea.
Tea can taste better after several infusions because the leaves gradually hydrate and open, changing extraction and revealing different layers of aroma, flavor, sweetness, texture, and aftertaste.
This is particularly noticeable with Chinese oolong, black tea, white tea, and many pu-erh teas.
The first infusion tastes different because the dry leaves have not yet fully hydrated and opened, while the initial extraction removes a different balance of aromatic and soluble compounds than later infusions.
This is one of the most interesting aspects of Chinese tea brewing.
A good tea does not necessarily have one fixed flavor.
Its character can change dramatically from infusion to infusion.
The common advice that green tea must never see boiling water is just as oversimplified as the opposite claim that every Chinese tea should be brewed at 100°C.
Rinsing is common in some gongfu traditions, but it should not be treated as a mandatory rule for every tea.
For some teas, a brief rinse can prepare tightly compressed or rolled leaves and remove loose surface material. For others, especially delicate teas, throwing away the first infusion can mean discarding some of the most aromatic compounds.
White tea can taste bland because the leaf-to-water ratio is too low, the water is too cool, the infusion is too short, the tea is stale, or the tea's naturally delicate character is being mistaken for weak extraction.
White tea is often misunderstood because its reputation for delicacy can lead people to under-brew it.
