oxidation or fermentation?

I have come here because i find more , best and trustworthy information about tea that even in books or tea houses in my country ( Argentina).

I have read a lot of books talking of tea, but i have gotten confused about a fact that they never explain too well:

I do know that every kind of tea ( black, white, green, red, oolong,etc) is achieved whit diferent methods but i have one global doubt:

i have read in many books that to get the dried black tea leaves they use the method of oxidation of leaves…but i have read in some book that is not oxidation but instead fermentation.

For what i know the only tea fermented is pu-erh ( red tea), that is achieved by microbiological fermentation ( someway alike to the procces to make yogurt).

i am wrong on this?


You see i read and read but i can”t get a trustwhorty answer about this, and, the thing is i”m making a project to teach about tea in a culinary institution. Is a project i am making to talk about tea: his history, what is it, what makes to the body, what is his place in the culture of china, japan and europe, degustation,etc.

The thing is i don”t beggin teaching to others till i know for shure how a fresh tea leaf is transformed in a black tea leaf.


As i already say, i know that every tea has diferent methods to obtain them, but the basic procces is what is confusing me.

Please excuse me if my question is dificult to understand, maybe i”m not explaining it properly, if that is the case i will explain as many times it is needed to make it understandable.

Also forgive my manners, i know english, but not  the ways and protocol to be polite to others. 

Well i will be waiting an answer so i can finally  erase my greatest doubt about tea  leaf obtaining.

May you all enjoy the tea from today.