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A five-tea path to walk you across the major tea families. Drink them in this order, with the brewing parameters listed, and you'll have tasted a green, a white, an oolong, a red (Western "black"), and a ripe puer — enough to know which family you want to chase next.
You don't need special teaware to begin: a 100–150 ml mug or a glass jar works for the first three teas. A gaiwan or small Yixing pot helps with tieguanyin and ripe puer. The where-to-buy panel under each tea points to selected vendor listings; pick whichever ships to you.
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1
Longjing (Dragon Well)
Lóng Jǐng · 龙井 · green · pan-fired
Longjing is a pan-fired green tea from the hills around West Lake in Hangzhou. Its flat, jade-green blade and distinctive chestnut sweetness made it one of the imperial tribute teas, and remain its signature today.
Brewing: 3.0g / 100ml · 80°C
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2
Bai Mu Dan (White Peony)
Bái Mǔ Dān · 白牡丹 · white · bai-mu-dan
Bai Mu Dan — White Peony — is a Fujian white tea picked as bud-and-two- young-leaves and minimally processed (sun-withering plus gentle drying). Fuller than Silver Needle but still delicate; ages into something close to a savoury sheng pu-erh after …
Brewing: 4.0g / 100ml · 85°C
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3
Tieguanyin (Iron Goddess of Mercy)
Tiě Guān Yīn · 铁观音 · oolong · anxi
Tieguanyin from Anxi is the most famous southern Fujian oolong. Modern "green Tieguanyin" is lightly oxidised and lightly roasted, foregrounding its signature orchid-and-cream aroma; traditional styles are heavier-oxidised and charcoal-roasted.
Brewing: 7.0g / 100ml · 95°C · rinse first
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4
Dianhong (Yunnan Red)
Diān Hóng · 滇红 · red · gongfu
Dianhong — "Yunnan Red" — is made from the same large-leaf Camellia sinensis var. assamica that produces pu-erh. The result is a notably thick, malty, honey-rich red, often with significant golden buds in the leaf.
Brewing: 5.0g / 100ml · 95°C · rinse first
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5
Menghai 7572 Shu (recipe)
Mèng Hǎi 7572 · 勐海7572 · dark · puerh-shu
Menghai 7572 is the Menghai Tea Factory's flagship shu (ripe pu-erh) recipe, also from 1975 — distinguished from 7542 sheng by the wet-pile fermentation step that converts the leaf into ripe pu-erh's earthy, cocoa-tinged profile. Reliably consistent and a classic …
Brewing: 7.0g / 100ml · 100°C · rinse first
What's next
Once you've tasted all five, follow the family that surprised you. The tea index lets you filter by category and region; the brewing handbook covers gongfu, Western, grandpa, and cold-brew styles in detail.
Still deciding what to brew next? Answer four quick taste questions and the tea quiz will point you toward a few styles to explore.