A handful of green teas are household names in their own countries and recognized abroad; the rest are regional products sold within a few hundred kilometers of where they were made. Knowing the few famous ones is the entry point; understanding why they are famous is what lets you judge a less well-known tea on its own merits.

Why Some Green Teas Have Names and Others Do Not

China contributes the most famous individual names: Longjing (pan-fired, flat, chestnut-sweet), Biluochun (tight spiral, floral-fruity from the lake terroir), Huangshan Maofeng (slender leaf, fresh), and Taiping Houkui (long flat leaf, orchid aroma).

Dragon Well / Longjing is covered in the Longjing guide.

The Famous Chinese Greens

Japan has its own taxonomy by processing style: sencha (steamed, everyday), gyokuro (shade-grown, umami), kabusecha (partially shaded), tencha/ matcha (powdered).

Biluochun is covered in the Biluochun guide.

Japanese Greens by Processing Style

Korea produces Ujeon, Sejak, Jungjak and Daejak from the same bushes at different plucking times. Vietnam, Sri Lanka and India produce small amounts of steamed or pan-fired green tea in the Chinese and Japanese traditions.

Korean and Other Asian Greens

Grades: Premium, First, Second — and What They Mean

Longjing (Dragon Well)

From Zhejiang, pan-fired and pressed flat. The name covers a wide quality range, and the grade depends heavily on origin: the designated West Lake production zone is small, and leaf from outside it — though made the same way — sells for a fraction of the price. Genuine West Lake Longjing has a distinct toasted-bean and chestnut aroma and a smooth, sweet finish with very little astringency. Pre-Qingming material, picked before early April, is the most prized and the most frequently faked.

Biluochun (Green Snail Spring)

From the Dongting islands in Lake Tai, Jiangsu. Tiny, tightly coiled, down-covered leaf, traditionally grown among fruit trees, which gives it a pronounced floral aroma. It is among the most delicate Chinese green teas: brew it at 75–80 °C (167–176 °F) and expect it to give its best in the first two infusions.

Huangshan Maofeng

From the Huangshan range in Anhui, at higher elevation with persistent mist. Larger, more open leaf with a visible down, a gentle orchid aroma and a sweet, slightly apricot finish. More forgiving to brew than Biluochun and a good choice if you want something fragrant but not fragile.

Taiping Houkui

Also from Anhui, and visually unique: long, flat, unrolled leaves up to 8 cm, with a pronounced orchid aroma. Because the leaf is not rolled, it releases slowly and tolerates a taller glass and slightly hotter water than most Chinese green teas.

Japanese Named Teas

  • Sencha — the everyday standard; steamed, needle-shaped, grassy-sweet with a clean astringency.
  • Gyokuro — shade-grown for 20–30 days before picking; very high theanine, thick and sweet, brewed at 50–60 °C (122–140 °F).
  • Matcha — shade-grown, steamed, dried and stone-ground; you consume the whole leaf, so caffeine and catechin intake are much higher per serving.
  • Bancha and Hojicha — later-harvest or roasted leaf; lower caffeine, milder, and suitable for evening.

More named varieties are covered in our famous green tea varieties guide.

Practical Takeaway

Use this list as a tasting map, not as a buying list. Most green tea is regional and seasonal; the only reliable way to know what you have is to drink it. Green tea buying covers how to translate the names on a label into an actual purchase.