The One Leaf to Rule Them All

15 Apr, 2026

I'm a huge tea lover and tea nerd. I am constantly sipping from a cup throughout the day and I have a full cabinet of different teas and tea accessories. Tea is delicious, and it's also a meowgical pawtion if you want it to, so let's explore the meowgical properties of this ancient plant friend.
Let me just be clear, before we start, that I'll be focusing on meowgic and won't be making any health claims about tea. There's no one food that will fix all your problems, and you don't need to justify liking what you like. Moreover, all tea varieties come from the same plant species, so there isn't one that is healthier than the others. I will also be focusing mostly on Chinese teas, because that's my particular rabbit hole, but I might write about other teas in the future. With that in mind, let's dive into it!

Strictly speaking, the word "tea" refers to an infusion of Camellia sinensis leaves. This plant is native to a relatively small area at the border between India and China, and it is believed that the people living there have been using the leaves in their cooking for millennia before finding out that infusing them made for a divine beverage. Fun fact: outside of South-East Asia, the word for "tea" in a language depends on the particular trade route from which the country obtained its tea. The English "tea", as well as the various European variations, come from the Malay word teh, because tea was imported by the Dutch via their East India Company, trading via ocean. "Cha", used for example in Chinese and Japanese, comes from the Cantonese language and "chai", most commonly associated with Indian tea, is actually the Persian pronunciation of the former. Regardless, all three words are actually just different pronunciations of the same root word, which probably reflects the small area of origin of the plant.

So, as I said, all types of tea come from just two varieties of the same species: C. sinensis var. sinensis, with small leaves, and C. sinensis var. assamica, with large leaves¹. So, how comes that there are so many types of tea? It depends on which leaves are picked and, most importantly, on how they are processed afterwards. This determines the prevalence of certain chemical compounds in the leaves, and thus the flavour once brewed. All tea types can be made with both sinensis and assamica, and which one is used is a matter of the region of origin.
And now, without further ado, here's a rundown of some of the most common types of tea and their meowgical properties². Just remember that tea has always been a precious commodity in every land, so all tea types are, as a general basis, associated with money, wealth and abundance.

White tea: this tea is made using only the buds, picked either right before they open or immediately after. If the closed buds are kept whole we call it "silver needles", after their shape and the silvery sheen of the fluff on the leaves. This tea is among the most expensive, exactly because the buds are a small percentage of the leaves on a plant and the narrow time window in which they need to be collected. White tea leaves are dried and then sold without any further processing.
Brew at 80 to 85 degrees Celsius for 3-4 minutes if brewing western-style³. You can use even warmer water if the buds are tightly closed, and in general this tea is very forgiving of temperature mistakes. The colour of the infusion is pale, hence the name, and the flavour is mild, sweet and herbaceous. Even if you're brewing it western-style, make sure you re-infuse it several time, to make the most out of these precious buds!
Meowgically speaking, this tea is associated with new beginnings, birth and renewal, youth, purification and cleansing. Perfect for springtime and for recovering after an illness. For silver needle in particular, since the hot water is causing the buds to unfurl, we also have a symbol of blooming out of your cocoon.

Green tea: the defining characteristic of green tea is that it is made with leaves that are dried immediately after harvesting, without letting them wilt or oxidize. Green tea can also be made with the tips, but in this case they are picked when they are fully open, though still young. Green tea infusion has a pale green colour, with a herbaceous taste that reminds me of freshly cut grass. It can also be very astringent, especially if brewed incorrectly; in fact, I disliked green tea and got nauseated when drinking it, until I discovered the gongfu cha method! The issue is that this tea is very fussy when it comes to brewing: if the temperature and timing are not exactly right, it will release a lot of bitter and unpleasant compounds. Temperature-wise, we are talking about 70-75 degrees Celsius or even less for some varieties. The infusion time is 2-3 minutes western-style.
Green tea is associated with fertility, abundance, mindfulness and healing.

Oolong: the name means "dark dragon", so you already know this tea is a powerful one. It is made of leaves that are wilted, bruised and let partially oxidize; how much they are oxidized will determine the flavour, and since oxidation varies from 8% to 85%, these teas exhibit the most diversity in flavour of all. Oolong is also one of the most prized in Chinese culture, which means that it's often produced with plants that are selected specifically for this tea, much like the grapevines for prized wines. After oxidizing, the leaves are typically wrapped into either long rods or compact beads, the "dragon pearls".
Brewing temperatures goes from 80 to 90 degrees Celsius, and steeping time can be anything from 1 to 5 minutes, according to preference. I tend to stick to the short time, especially with the darker ones, as you loose the floral hues if the taste gets too intense. The infusion is a full orange-reddish.
Because it is only partly oxidized, this tea corresponds with wisdom and balance, meditation, divination and deep connection. If you work with dragons, it also makes for a great offering to them.

Black tea: if you bruise the leaves and let them fully oxidize, you get black tea. This is probably the most common type in the West, and what most people think of when they think of tea. The purpose of the oxidation is to release tannins, and the purpose of the bruising is to enhance oxidation, so this tea packs a full punch in terms of flavour and bitterness. I'll be honest here, I almost never brew black tea western-style, but if I do, I never let it steep for more than two minutes, and that's already stretching it. Chinese people call this "red tea", because of the colour of the infusion, which is a deep red, almost black. In the West, however, red tea refers to rooibos, which is made from an African shrub that has nothing to do with camellias.
Black tea is used for strength, courage, expansion, warmth and for banishing apathy and feelings of lack of direction.

Dark tea: these are green teas that are left to ferment after drying. If they come from Yunnan they are called pu-erh and can be further classified into "raw" pu-erh and "ripe", or aged, pu-erh. The fermentation is produced by moulds and yeasts that are naturally present on the leaves, particularly the Aspergillus fungus. Lumps of this fungus are sometimes left on the final product and called "golden flowers". Once fully dried, pu-erh is typically compressed into cakes or bricks, from which you break off your portion before brewing.
This tea needs brewing at the highest temperatures: 90 to 99 degrees Celsius, as in, the water is almost to the point of fully boiling. It also needs to be rinsed several times before it is ready to drink. Raw pu-erh has more herbaceous and sweet tones, while ripe pu-erh has a layered and very complex flavour profile that depends on the conditions under which it was stored for the aging process. If you have never tasted this tea, I absolutely recommend using the gongfu method to avoid being overwhelmed, as it is quite the acquired taste.
Pu-erh's meowgical properties pertain to transformation, divination, banishing, wisdom and grounding.

Lapsang souchong: black tea that is smoke-dried over pinewood, originating from the Fujian province. Its flavour is smoky and resinous, and I like to describe it as Scotch without the alcohol; it has a similar colour to whisky's too. That's another acquired taste, but I would still recommend you to try it.
The meowgical correspondences are cleansing, sacredness, warding, hiding and obfuscating. It is also appreciated by dragons and fire spirits and deities. Speaking of cleansing, check out my recipe for a cleansing tea made from lapsang souchong!

That was barely scratching the surface of Chinese tea, and we haven't even mentioned teas from other countries! But fear not, I'll definitely come back to the topic sooner or later, because tea is one of my favourite things in the world. In the next installment I will teach you how to brew tea with the gongfu cha metod, I promise. Meanwhile, see if you change your mind about a tea you dislike by brewing it properly, or try to find some of the more unusual types I have described. Happy sipping!

#meowgic