Tea drinkers use the following methods to classify tea:

By Seasons:

Spring Tea - Moderate spring temperatures, abundant rainfall, coupled with six months of recuperation during winter, making spring tea fertile in leaves, light green in color, soft in the leaf texture. Spring teas have plenty of amino acids and the corresponding total nitrogen and multiple vitamin, making spring tea not only full of freshness in taste and aroma but also full of nutrition.

Summer Tea - The hot weather results in the rapid growth in tea shoots, decreasing tea contents that can be dissolved in the water, particularly the amino acids and total nitrogen reduction, hence making the tea flavor and aroma stronger than the Spring Tea. The bitter taste in the anthocyanins, caffeine, tea polyphenol content stronger than Spring Tea, is the reason Summer Teas taste bitter than the Spring counterpart, also deep in color.

Autumn Tea - Temperature condition in autumn ranges between the spring's and the summer's. After continuous growth through spring and summer, mineral extraction decrease, shoot buds containing material relative reduction in leaf size, leaves vary in size and are yellowish, taste and aroma become milder.

Winter Tea - In the cooler climate, shoot buds grow slower, minerals and other ingredients gradually accumulated, taste and aroma become stronger.

By Colors:

There are six different types of tea in terms of color:

Green Tea

Red Tea

Qing Cha Tea - (literally "blue-green tea", color between green and black, Oolong tea is particularly one of them)

White Tea

Yellow Tea

Black Tea

By Altitude:

Alpine Tea - the tea production areas are at least 1000 meter above sea level. The moutains's mild climate, soil quality and other natural condiction (e.g. high humidity) are the best conditions for quality tea.

Plains Tea - smaller size leaves, dull color, less taste and aroma than the Alphine Tea.

Alpine tea is better than the Plains Tea in quality.

By Fermentation:

Not fermented Tea: for example - Green Tea

Semi-Fermented Tea: for example - Oolong Tea

Full-Fermented Tea: for example -Red Tea

Degree of fermentation is not absolute:

Red Tea - 95% fermentation

Yellow Tea - 85% fermentation

Black Tea - 80% fermentation

Oolong Tea - 60% to 70% fermentation

White Tea - 5% to 10% fermentation

Green Tea - 0% fermentation

By Manufacturing Processes:

Coarse Tea and Refined Tea

By Scented Flowers:

Scented Tea and Unscented Tea