Author/ Tu Gongzi – Han-Yi HAN YI

Updated on 2025/07/21

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Main article What are the Six Tea Families?

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What is orange tea?

Orange tea is a new tea-making method defined in Taiwan. It was officially named by the Tea and Beverage Crop Research and Extension Station of the Ministry of Agriculture in 2024, introducing a new type of tea-making process. Its name comes from the orange-red hue of the tea liquor, and it does not involve the addition of any citrus ingredients.

Orange tea is a blend of the long withering process of white tea, the rolling techniques of oolong tea, and the fermentation depth and stability of black tea. It is a product of the 2008...Red OolongThis was another achievement that represented innovative thinking in Taiwan's tea industry.

orange tea Brown tea

Lightly fermented 40~60%

The soup has a bright orange color. The tea soup is very strong and has a high honey content. Suitable for cold drinks, highly effervescent Floral and fruity notes, woody aroma, and fructose sweetness.

White Beauty snow beauty

In classic Chinese tea culture, tea leaves are divided into six categories according to the color of the tea soup, commonly known as the "Six Major Tea Systems". These six categories are "green, yellow, white, oolong, red, and black", which represent the most classic initial tea-making process.

The novel term "orange tea" was proposed, and the Tea and Beverage Crop Research and Extension Station of the Ministry of Agriculture applied for a patent, intending to promote it as the seventh category of tea-making processes to differentiate it from the most easily confused ones.New Craft White TeaMake distinctions.

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Flavor characteristics of orange tea

This orange tea, incorporating diverse and innovative processing techniques, boasts a richer and more mellow flavor than traditional white tea, while retaining its natural floral and fruity aromas and low astringency.

• AppearanceIt is made in the form of strips, tightly rolled, orange-brown in color, and a mixture of buds and leaves.
• FragranceIt has a distinct floral and fruity fragrance, sometimes with hints of mint, gardenia, and pine.
• flavourIt has a multi-layered sweetness with notes of ripe fruit and wood, and some hints of maple syrup or honey.
• flavoursIt has a sweet, smooth, and rich taste with low astringency and a long-lasting aftertaste.
• Tea SoupIts color is bright orange-red with high concentration, creating an eye-catching visual effect.

Orange tea emphasizes the diversity of local Taiwanese tea varieties and is tested using...Taiwan Tea 18 Ruby, andTaiwan Tea No. 19 Jade, andTaiwan Tea 23 Prayer,arrivecamellia sinensisAll strains showed good performance, and were published in the same year.Taiwan Tea 26 FengheIt has a strong patented technology for quick extraction and is currently the best combination of gameplay packages offered by the improved field.

It can be combined with machine harvesting to increase the yield. It is a medium-fermented tea suitable for commercial mass production. Although the orange tea process is not minimalist, it emphasizes the release of flavor and the space for application and blending, which shows the special characteristics of the Taiwan tea system.

Orange tea may not yet be fully defined, and its market perception may be somewhat unclear, but that's precisely why it deserves our attention. It's an extension of white tea and an evolution of oolong.

• 1. Save laborFully mechanized harvesting, heavy withering without stirring
  2. low carbonApproximately 501 TP3T of energy is reduced during roasting and drying.
  3. Diverse flavorsAir-drying and fermentation create a rich aroma, and the flavor can be slightly adjusted according to the tea leaves from different regions.
  4. It has become a new paradigm for tea making that takes into account "tea quality", "production efficiency" and "environmental sustainability".

tea	Fermentation Description	Definition of production process	Specialty products	Representative Commodities
orange tea	(approximately 40%)	Strip-shaped semi-fermented tea	Hand-picked tender shoots, gently kneaded, to compensate for short fermentation time	White Beauty, Snow Beauty, Camellia Orange Tea
orange tea	(approximately 601 TP3T)	Strip-shaped semi-fermented tea	Hand-picked tender shoots, kneaded heavily, to ensure sufficient fermentation time.	Jackson Ruby Orange Tea
orange tea	middle	Machine-cut tea pieces	Regardless of season or raw material grade	Orange tea for beverages

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The Secret of Young Master Tu

1. Flavor characteristics of orange tea
2. The history of orange tea
3. The emergence of Taiwanese orange tea
4. Why isn't it a new-process white tea?
5. Orange tea production process
6. Orange Tea Flavor Wheel
7. The Unsolved Problems of Orange Tea

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The history of orange tea

1903–1968::

Tea Improvement Stations, Branch Stations Established, and Tea Industry Research and Development Software Infrastructure

2020–2023::

Experimenting with orange tea processing techniques, including 50 development versions.

August 3, 2024::

Orange tea officially launched, tasting and media promotion.

2024–2025::

Local farmers' association promotion, competition participation, carbon emission and energy conservation advocacy, patent and trademark application.

Su Tsung-chen, director of the Tea Research and Extension Station, pointed out that orange tea is a new tea category that will be launched after a 16-year hiatus since red oolong in 2008. It will be launched on August 3, 2024, and will be officially announced as the seventh major tea category at the station's anniversary celebration.

The initial research and development objectives included: addressingLabor shortages, energy costs, and the need for market transformationBy combining machine harvesting, labor-saving methods, and low-carbon design, a new type of tea variety is created that is in line with industrial and environmental sustainability.

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The emergence of Taiwanese orange tea

The emergence of orange tea has been met with mixed reactions. Some see it as the government rehashing an old method, while others view it as an improvement made with modern considerations. Around 2020, the Tea Research and Extension Station determined that Taiwan's tea industry was facing industrial transformation and that its technology needed to evolve and move beyond traditional methods.The six traditional tea categoriesThe thinking behind this approach, which needs to meet sustainability requirements, involves systematic research and testing on how to enhance the flavor of machine-harvested tea leaves.

The transformation of the tea industry is not simply about the increased cost of premium tea. It also involves labor shortages, unstable quality at production sites, and the pressure of price competition in the global market. Therefore, it is necessary to propose a production process that is highly forgiving of errors, mechanization-friendly, has an appealing flavor, and is suitable for export or hand-shaken tea applications.

The background mentioned above is that the original tea research and improvement station's governing body has transformed into the Ministry of Agriculture's Tea and Beverage Crop Research and Improvement Station. Its strategic goals have diverged from simply promoting the refinement of tea products in the past. It has begun to take seriously the market value of tea used in the hand-shaken beverage industry and the raw tea leaves. According to Tea Master's research, when the governing body was developing orange tea, its main target customer group was the audience for mass-produced iced tea beverages.

Over four years of production and testing, the Tea Research and Extension Station experimented with more than 50 different versions of fermentation and drying parameters, and finally established an orange tea production method based on "heavy withering, no stirring, rapid sterilization and shade-drying fermentation".

Farm manager Su Zongzhen and his R&D team conducted numerous tastings and field experiments, performing suitability tests on tea leaves from different tea regions. From Taiwan Tea No. 18, 19, and 23 to Camellia varieties, they gradually established the correspondence between varieties and flavors. During this period, the focus was not only on process stability but also on aroma component analysis, dry matter extraction rate, energy consumption, and assessment of the carbon footprint of tea production. The aim was to ensure that orange tea was not just a flavor innovation but a type that could be incorporated into the long-term structure of Taiwan's tea industry.

On August 3, 2024, orange tea was officially launched and sampled at the Tea Research and Extension Station's annual meeting. This not only marked the birth of orange tea but also symbolized the official naming of a technology-driven tea category. The initial promotion was initiated by production areas such as Sanxia, Longtan, and Liugui, launching orange tea products such as "White Beauty" and "Snow Beauty," and further participating in regional evaluations and quality selections. Among them, Liugui Mountain Orange Tea received three stars in the International Taste Evaluation Institute (ITQI), becoming one of the representative products of Taiwanese mountain tea application.

Research and development extends beyond agricultural technology; the Tea Research and Extension Station is also simultaneously pursuing patent applications and trademark registrations for orange tea processing, establishing an intellectual property defense. According to publicly available data, the orange tea processing method can save approximately 50% more energy than traditional methods, and it shows higher levels of soluble solids, amino acids, sugars, and aromatic compounds compared to traditional white tea. These data lay the foundation for the commercial application and sustainability claims of orange tea.

Experimental analysis of tea plantations showed that orange tea performed well in the following indicators: Significantly superior to traditional white tea::

• Total soluble solids, amino acids, reducing sugars, polyphenols The content has increased significantly.
• Volatile aroma componentsThe floral and fruity aromas are significantly enhanced, and the taste is refreshing and smooth.

Although orange tea has a short history, it is a highly integrated achievement: it was born from scientific data support, responses from the production end, flavor demands from the consumer market, and the ambition of Taiwan's tea industry to innovate. The new processing method for orange tea is an experiment in positioning tea in Taiwan. The mass production of orange tea helps to blend and stabilize yield and quality.

• Ruby Orange Tea:

Like a non-astringent black tea, it has a fresh aroma, mint, cinnamon, and Chinese medicine notes, and is thick and astringent.

• Jade Orange Tea:

It smells of sugar, pine, and grass, somewhat like half a head of green grass.

• Qi Yun Orange Tea:

Sweet oranges, maple syrup, pine wood.

• Camellia Orange Tea:

Sun-dried tomatoes, cinnamon, maple syrup, jasmine, caramel, moss, with a smooth finish.

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Why not the new-process white tea?

However, a variant of the production method has emerged in the historical context of Taiwan. In the past, all of these types were classified as white tea, and the market even considered them to be a once-famous new process white tea. It gained fame in the 1950s due to its large sales volume in Taiwan and Hong Kong. In recent years, Taiwan launched orange tea in 2024, which has caused much confusion. However, there are many differences between the two, which need to be carefully distinguished.

Orange tea is often mistakenly considered an extension of modern white tea due to its long withering process and floral and fruity aromas. However, from the perspectives of processing logic, techniques, and flavor construction, orange tea and modern white tea actually belong to two different tea-making systems.

The core processes are fundamentally different

The new process for white tea originates from adjustments and improvements to the traditional white tea process. It enhances aroma and stability through "gentle rolling" and "high-temperature drying," but does not involve active roasting or fermentation control. Its goal is to increase the concentration of the tea soup and the consistency of the product while preserving the original charm of white tea.

In contrast, the core of orange tea's production process lies in "fixing" and "controlling fermentation," including:

• Clearly defined high-temperature sterilization steps: Stops enzyme activity and removes grassy smell
• Gentle kneadingDisrupts cell aroma release and establishes layers
• Air-drying aerobic fermentation: Developing floral and fruity aroma precursors through environmental regulation
• Segmented drying and bakingEnhance flavor retention and inhibit mutations.

This design, from beginning to end, is a tea-making method "aiming at moderate fermentation," rather than a variation of the new white tea processing technique.

Fermentation logic and flavor orientation are clearly different

project	New Craft White Tea	orange tea
Fermentation type	Micro-oxidation/Natural oxidation	Controlled aerobic fermentation
Fermentation level	15–30% (Uncontrollable)	40–60% (Controllable)
Killing process	No	(High temperature for a short time)
kneading degree	Gently knead (occasionally)	Structured kneading
Aroma	Ripe fruit, sweet and fragrant, lightly roasted	Gardenia, citrus, maple syrup, pine wood
Technical positioning	Adjustments to traditional white tea processing	A completely new type of design

Confusing with highly fermented white tea

In recent years, due to climate conditions and market demand, some so-called "Taiwan white tea" has actually undergone a higher degree of fermentation during the production process, sometimes even approaching semi-fermentation.

However, these teas often lack clear processing logic and stable quality management, and are merely products of natural oxidation.

This differs from orange tea, which has clearly defined and controlled processes for killing the green leaves, rolling, and air-drying fermentation. Orange tea is not an accidental result of natural evolution, but rather an innovative process designed based on heat treatment, biochemical reactions, and functional transformation.

❌ Different processing intentions: White tea pursues minimalism and naturalness, while orange tea emphasizes design and strict control.

❌ Different technical logic: White tea emphasizes "withering and drying," while orange tea emphasizes "heat-controlled fermentation."

❌ Differences in quality stability: Orange tea is adjustable and predictable; new-process white tea is highly variable.

❌ Different product positioning: Orange tea is a medium-fermented product that can be replicated and mass-produced.

Orange tea is a completely new type of tea, not an extension of white tea.

tea	Fermentation method	Fermentation level	Kill Jing?	Kneading?
plain tea	Natural oxidation	5–10%	❌	❌
New Craft White Tea	Partial oxidation	10–30%	❌	✅ (Light)
Yellow Tea	Killing cyanide + saturating yellow	10–20%	✅	✅
orange tea	Killing and air drying	40–60%	✅	✅ (Light to Medium)

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Orange tea production process

Orange tea is an innovative tea that highly integrates Taiwanese tea processing techniques with the needs of the modern tea industry. Unlike the minimalist process of white tea, orange tea uses a fusion process, which retains the long withering characteristics of white tea while integrating processes such as fixation, rolling, air drying, and segmented roasting, resulting in stability and adaptability.

After investigating the tea-making processes of the Tea Research and Extension Station and local tea farmers, the Tea Master team has compiled the following most representative standard tea-making steps:

➊ Picking (no grade restriction) →

➋ Re-wilt (indoor or outdoor) →

➌ Killing the Green (Necessary conditions→

➍ Gently knead (in practice, there are no restrictions) →

➎ Air-drying and fermentation (Necessary conditions→

➏ Segmented drying (temperature control is important)

Compared to the minimalist style of white tea, every step in the production process of orange tea is crucial, especially in controlling fermentation humidity, heat treatment intensity, and rolling uniformity, which have a significant impact on the final aroma and tea liquor performance.

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The white tea processing involves very little alteration to the tea leaves. Besides its color, "white" also implies unadorned beauty, representing a minimalist approach to processing.

I. Harvesting and Raw Material Conditions

Orange tea emphasizes machine-friendly cultivation, with upright growth and varieties with prominent buds having an advantage. Small-leaf varieties are the most common, such as Jin Xuan, Huang Gan, Qing Xin Gan Zi, and Feng He.

• Picking StandardsThe main leaves should be one bud and two to three leaves, and the buds and leaves should be intact and undamaged.
• Tea leaf conditionsThe moisture content should be moderate, and the leaves should not be too tender, so that they can withstand long-term withering and subsequent kneading.

II. Heavy withering (over 48 hours)

The soul of orange tea lies in "uninterrupted heavy withering," a withering process that lasts 36 to 60 hours, with an optimal withering rate of 45%. Similar to white tea but more extreme, it emphasizes the slow loss of moisture to enhance pectin conversion and the generation of aroma precursors.

• way (of life)Lay flat without stirring. It can be left to stand indoors, with temperature-controlled air conditioning, or wither naturally. Do not flip it when laying it in a thick layer.
• PurposeIt reduces the grassy taste, enhances the fruity and floral aromas, and softens the cell walls for easier kneading later.
• Key IndicatorsThe water loss rate reaches 40-50% (TP3T), the leaf margins are slightly curled, the color changes from yellow-green to orange, and it has a sweet aroma.

3. Blanching (removing greenness and fixing flavor)

Unlike white tea, which is "not processed," orange tea specifically emphasizes the use of...High-temperature short-time heating sterilizationIt quickly destroys enzyme activity and releases a pleasant fragrance.

• This step and its order are the most important.
• Short cooking time, high pan temperature (180–220 degrees Celsius, stir-fry for 2–3 minutes).
• Leaf temperature: approximately 80 degrees Celsius
• Tools: Drum sterilizer, hot air duct sterilizer
• Effects: Removes raw and off-flavors, fixes color and aroma, and creates a clean floral and fruity base.

IV. Kneading (light kneading)

After a long period of wilting, the leaves become soft and suitable for gentle kneading, similar to the kneading of Baozhong (a type of edible seed). The purpose is to promote cell wall breaking and enhance aroma release.

• Kneading can be done by hand or with a kneading machine, but excessive kneading should be avoided to prevent the formation of off-flavors.
• Rolling time: varies from 5 to 15 minutes, depending on the tenderness of the tea leaves and the desired effect.
• Molding requirements: Ideally, the leaves should be shaped into strips, have a sticky, sugary aroma on the surface, and not break.

V. Air-drying and fermentation

This step is one of the biggest differences between orange tea and other semi-fermented teas. Natural fermentation in a shaded state for several hours to overnight greatly increases the margin for error.

• This step and its order are the most important.
• Space requirementsLow wind speed, avoid light, humidity 60–70% (TP3T), temperature control 20–28℃
• Duration of actionThe official recommendation is to wait 4–12 hours, depending on the climate and the condition of the tea leaves. However, after trying it himself, I think it is best to wait about 24 hours or more, and even up to 48 hours.
• TargetThe formation of theaflavins and floral and fruity aroma compounds makes the aroma more complex and the taste of the soup richer and smoother, transforming the aroma of green fruit into that of ripe fruit.

There's a big difference between covering it with a cloth or paper, or not covering it at all.

VI. Segmented drying (setting)

The drying process of orange tea plays two roles: flavor shaping and moisture control.

• Initial dryingFirst, dry at a high temperature of 100–120℃ for about 10 minutes until it is 70% dry to fix the aroma.
• Re-bakingLow temperature (60–80℃) slow drying for 10–20 minutes or more, and for wild teas, drying for three hours is even better, so that the moisture content is reduced to 5–61 TP3T.
• effectPreserve the honey aroma and fruity sweetness, avoid excessive dryness and loss of fragrance, and ultimately produce tightly rolled leaves with an orange-red color. Remove off-flavors and impurities - transform aroma - fruity aroma - honey aroma.

VII. Storage Conditions

• Moisture content controlled below 51 TP3T
• Keep away from light and dry to prevent odor absorption.
• It can be stored in an aluminum foil ziplock bag or a vacuum-sealed tea canister.
• It takes about six months to reach its peak flavor.

Although orange tea is not a traditional tea, it integrates and innovates multiple tea-making techniques. Its process no longer pursues minimalism, but rather is a flavor-designed tea-making method created to adapt to mechanized mass production and the flavor preferences of the consumer market. Therefore, precise control and stability must be ensured in every process to form a distinctive "orange tea style".

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Brewing orange tea

The exclusive three-stage brewing method for orange tea will be fully revealed, teaching you how to accurately control the water temperature and pouring force, allowing you to taste the rich layers of white tea, oolong tea, and black tea in a single cup.

Recommended Brewing Method｜Orange Tea｜The triple flavour of white, oolong and black tea in one cup!

✅ Enjoy three flavors in one cup of tea.

✅ High tolerance for error, consistent flavor.

✅ Perfect for making cold brew, iced tea, and hand-shaken drinks.

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Flavor spectrum classification of orange tea

Tea Flavour WheelAs a bridge for cross-industry communication launched by the Improvement and Development Center, orange tea has a lot of sweet, fruity and floral aromas, and a balanced flavor. The aroma of different varieties and grades of finished products does not vary too much, so it is suitable for blending. It is more distinguishable in special varieties such as camellia and ruby. However, especially when comparing hot and cold drinks, iced tea makes it easier to distinguish the characteristics and quality of orange tea.

• Gardenia
• Longan flowers
• osmanthus flowers
• pomelo flower
• jasmine
• Magnolia
• orchid
• wild ginger flower
• roses
• Orange blossom
• Guava
• peach
• Mandarin orange (Citrus reticulata)
• banana
• Lemon
• Green Apple
• pear
• cantaloupe
• pineapple
• bergamot
• litchi or lychee fruit (Litchi chinensis Sonn.)
• Dried kumquats
• prune
• Dried peaches
• Dried Longan
• Dried tomatoes
• unrefined sugar
• maple sugar
• Maltose
• granulated sugar
• honey
• fructose sweetness
• cream or butter (meaning varies regionally)
• cow's milk
• milky
• lactic acid
• Roasted chestnuts
• Hazelnuts
• The rice smells good
• Stir-fried wheat
• Genmai
• Sweet aroma of grains
• sweet potato leaves
• Chamomile
• grass
• liquorice
• rosemary
• Ginseng
• field mint
• fennel
• Chinese herbal medicine
• Ripe fruit aroma
• Ripe plum fragrance
• caramel
• Baking aroma
• Smoked incense
• Caramelized
• Rich Grains
• tobacco
• camphor wood
• pine wood
• wet wood
• coriander
• ginger
• black pepper
• (fig.) loyal and dependable person (old)
• Woody scent
• Brewing aroma

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The Unsolved Mysteries of Orange Tea

Tu Gongzi believes that some concepts are not yet defined, so he has compiled them here for now.

1. Q1: What is the essential difference between orange tea and "new process white tea"?
2. Q2: Is the overall process time too long? What are the key time points?
3. Q3: Is it too simplistic to use only one version of the current orange tea production process?
4. Q4: Which demographic is Orange Tea positioned for? Is it a premium tea? Or a beverage tea?
5. Q5: Are space and equipment limitations detrimental to small-scale farmers? Should we pursue a high-quality, specialized approach?
6. Q6: How exactly is orange tea "environmentally friendly"? What is the basis for this claim?
7. Q7: Does orange tea emphasize "honey aroma"?
8. Q8: Why is it also applicable to Formosa seed? Are there any special adjustments?

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Open to all: Learn about orange tea through lectures

Taiwanese Orange Tea Review: I heard it took 16 years, but it can be traced back to a full half-century.

The new tea category, "Taiwan Orange Tea," is the first new tea production process launched by the tea plantation in 2008 (the 2008 edition) in 16 years. This process uses machine-harvested tea leaves as raw materials, employing a long withering process and resting without stirring to replace the time-consuming and labor-intensive tea leaf stirring process, thus saving labor. It is supplemented by a low degree of roasting and kneading, and after controlling the fermentation of the tea leaves in the shade to achieve stable quality, it is dried in an oven, which reduces the use of energy. The resulting new tea has a unique floral and fruity aroma and a refreshing and mellow taste.

1. Green Heart Oolong Orange Tea
2. Taiwan Tea 6 Orange Tea
3. Taiwan Tea 8 Orange Tea
4. Yellow tangerine tea
5. Ruby Orange Tea
6. Green Heart Orange Tea
7. Jin Xuan Orange Tea
8. 2028 Orange Tea
9. Four seasons spring orange tea
10. Baoshan Mountain Tea Orange Tea
11. Liuguishan Tea Orange Tea
12. New process white tea, benchmarked against White Peony.
13. New process white tea, benchmarked against Shoumei.
14. New process white tea, benchmarked against Gongmei.

► Course Objectives:

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Further reading in the complete series:

• [Tea Variety Database] Comprehensive Compilation of Tea Tree Varieties
• What are the Six Tea Families?
• [A Must-Read for Beginners] 108 Questions About Tea, Answered by Professional Tea Masters
• Tea Blending. How to make base tea and strong tea.
• How to make tea? It turns out that experts also use the lazy man's method of making tea in the office.

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The series of tea courses kicked off with instructor HAN-YI arranging a series of experiential tea courses in professional fields, from understanding tea leaves, choosing utensils, brewing methods, analysing and adjusting, and staff skills, and so on.

Welcome to write to us: hanyi2016tea@hanyitea.tw