Colour
The freshly harvested leaf, cha qing (literally ‘tea emerald’), may vary according to the season of harvesting, to the bush variety, and to the features of the area of cultivation. These differences, however, are not that significant. What most affects the changes in the tea leaf are the combinations of methods and types of treatment, unique for each group. Therefore, the most frequently used classification is by degree of fermentation , which also reflects similar effects on the human body within each group.
All Chinese teas are divided into 6 groups by degree of fermentation (from light to dark ones).
