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China is one of the most important tea-producing countries. The written history of tea consumption in China goes back longer than in any other country, thousands of years. In ancient China, tea was originally used as a medicine; over hundreds of years it slowly shifted towards being viewed first as a tonic, and then as a beverage as it is today.
China, together with India, is one of the two largest producers and consumers of tea. In 2007, China produced over 30% of the world's production of tea, almost 1.2 million tons of tea out of the world's almost 3.9 million tons. Most of the tea produced in China is consumed in China.
A myriad of styles of tea originated in China, which produces and consumes black, green, white, and oolong teas, as well as the rare and less well-known yellow teas. Many famous styles of all of these types of teas originated in China.
Sub-Regions of China:
Most common styles of tea produced in China:
This list represents the number of individual teas listed on RateTea.net and is not an adequate indicator of the quantity of these styles produced in China.