绿茶 (lǜ chá) literally means 'green tea,' but in internet slang it describes a woman who projects an image of sweet innocence and helplessness while being calculating and manipulative underneath. It's short for the cruder 绿茶婊 (lǜ chá biǎo, 'green tea bitch'). The metaphor works because green tea is light, clean, and pure-looking — exactly the image a 绿茶 tries to project. Common behaviors include acting helpless around men, making self-deprecating comments that are actually fishing for compliments, and crying on cue.

The full term 绿茶婊 exploded in April 2013 during the 海天盛筵 (Hainan Rendez-Vous) scandal in Sanya — a luxury yacht event where young models were allegedly paid up to 600,000 RMB for companionship with wealthy attendees. Netizens coined the term to describe women who projected purity while allegedly being calculating underneath. Within weeks, the crude full form was shortened to just 绿茶 for everyday conversation. The term went so mainstream that by 2020, a related meme wave called 茶艺 (tea art) went viral on Douyin, where creators demonstrated 'green tea techniques' in ironic tutorials that racked up hundreds of millions of views.

Both describe women who hide their true nature behind an innocent facade, but the tactics differ. A 绿茶 feigns helplessness and sweetness, especially around men — the emphasis is on performing a particular kind of femininity to get what she wants. A 白莲花 (bái lián huā, 'white lotus') weaponizes moral purity and victimhood — she manipulates by making others feel guilty. The 白莲花 is generally considered more sophisticated and harder to detect. A 绿茶 might act helpless to attract a man's attention; a 白莲花 would make herself look like the victim so everyone turns against her rival. In C-dramas, the 白莲花 is often the more dangerous antagonist.

The term has been widely criticized as misogynistic. In 2013, women in Xi'an protested by holding signs reading '不是你的茶，不是你的婊' (not your tea, not your bitch). In 2015, a model successfully sued iQiyi for defamation after being called a 绿茶婊 in a video — a Beijing court awarded roughly 82,400 RMB in damages. China Women's News has argued the term is part of a broader pattern of language that demeans women in the self-media era. Despite the criticism, the term has only grown more entrenched in everyday vocabulary. It's now applied broadly — sometimes to describe genuine manipulation, sometimes as a lazy way to dismiss any woman who is both attractive and strategic.

茶艺 (cháyì) literally means 'tea art' — the traditional art of tea preparation. In slang, it refers to the act of performing green tea behavior: the manipulative display of innocence itself. Someone skilled at 茶艺 is essentially a master of the green tea playbook. The term went viral in 2020 on Douyin, where creators posted ironic tutorials demonstrating 'tea art techniques' — how to pose for selfies that look effortlessly innocent, how to phrase compliments that are actually power moves. A 茶艺大师 (tea art master) is the advanced form: someone who has elevated green tea behavior to a fine art.