Oxidation Levels in True Tea
Oxidation levels in true tea, from Camellia sinensis, determine what category of tea you end up with. After harvest, tea leaves go to a factory for processing. There, workers wither and manipulate the leaves into the type of tea ordered—black, oolong, etc.
The type of tea determines how much oxidation happens in that particular batch. A process called “kill green” heats the tea to stop the oxidation in green tea, while black tea oxidizes to nearly or at 100%.
Some people confuse the terms oxidation and fermentation. All teas fall somewhere on the oxidation scale. However, the only fermented tea is puerh.