China Black Tea
Hong cha, known as red tea in China (for the amber/ red colored tea liquor in the cup) and black tea in the West (for the dark color of the dried tea leaf), was the final type of tea to be developed by Chinese tea makers in the 16th century.
Historians debate whether it was a Fujian hong cha or a Fujian oolong from the Wu Yi Shan area that was the first non-green tea introduced to the European social elite by Dutch traders in the latter half of the 17th century. Advances in tea making at that time ultimately perfected the crafting of semi-oxidized tea (oolong) and soon afterwards, fully oxidized hong cha . Both of these teas joined the repertoire of other fine teas – green, Hei Cha, white and yellow teas – all of which continue to delight both Asian and Western tea drinkers.
In the 17th century, several hong cha such as Zheng Shan xiaozhong (souchong) and Zheng Shan congou (non-smokey) were being made. When the European traders were given one of these teas to consider…. they liked it. Practically, they discovered that hong cha held up better during the long sea voyage back to England than green tea, resulting in better tasting tea on arrival to port in London.
So a new style of tea drinking was born. English tea traders throughout the 17th to mid-19th centuries made history bringing their cargos of precious hong cha – ‘bohea’ as it was called then – to Europe. Despite the familiarity European tea drinkers had with green tea, black tea quickly became the preferred tea. Later, in the late 19th century when black teas from India and Sri Lanka became available to English tea drinkers, the most costly and prized English tea blends continued to feature a high proportion of finely crafted, rich and sweet Chinese black tea.
Today, despite the large quantity of tea that China produces each year, hong cha accounts for only 15% or so of China’s total tea production in an average year. While crop production of black tea in China is low, desirability of hong cha is very high among tea lovers worldwide. This demand is no surprise as Chinese hong cha is unique and delicious. All are naturally sweet – some are smooth and soft while others have a mature, rich style. Their flavors suggest chocolate, dark red fruits, woody aromatic spices such as cinnamon, caramel, malt, and a delightful characteristic that tea tasters refer to as “biscuit”. Some teas feature a touch of delicate smoke, or a flinty, brisk characteristic known as ‘winey’. Almost all have a sweet finish that leaves a pleasant aftertaste in the mouth.
Hong cha is made in several provinces of China – Anhui, Fujian, Guangdong, Sichuan, and Yunnan Provinces – and these teas are generally comprised of large, thick and substantial, dark brownish-black or grey-black, fragrant leaves. Sometimes the tea leaves are small in size and contain an abundance of sweet brown tip. Other times the leaf is pure dark black or chestnut brown in color.
As is true for all Chinese teas, various aspects of the local terroir (geography and climate, tea bush cultivar, age of the tea bushes, harvest time, oxidation level) contribute the essential differences to the unique regional styles of hong cha.
Hong cha is made to be drunk plain – as the Chinese drink them – and in China they are rarely blended together as each tea contributes distinctive taste profiles in the cup. To blend these teas would be to lose that uniqueness. Also, these teas rarely need milk and sugar – they are soft and mild and need no dilution.
We are smitten with hong cha and offer an extensive collection of both new harvest and ‘rested’ and aged selections from all the primary hong cha producing areas of China. We think that these teas are among the tastiest black teas made anywhere.
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2020
Bai Lin
Black Tea / Organic, EU-Compliant
Bai Lin
2020 Late Spring Pluck (June) -
2020
Bai Lin Gong-Fu Extra Tippy
Black Tea
Bai Lin Gong-Fu Extra-Tippy
2020 Spring Pluck (May) -
2020
Fuliang Black
Black Tea
Fuliang Black
2020 Spring Pluck (May, June) -
2020
Golden Monkey Extra-Tippy / Panyang Congou
Black Tea
Golden Monkey Extra-Tippy / Panyang Congou
2020 Spring Pluck (May) -
New Arrival
Golden Tips of Jiangsu / Yixing Hong Cha
Black Tea
Golden Tips of Jiangsu / Yixing Hong Cha
2019 Autumnal Pluck (Sept, Oct) -
2020
Jin Jun Mei
Black Tea
Jin Jun Mei (Beautiful Golden Eyebrows)
2020 Spring Pluck (early May) -
Jin Jun Mei Wild-Grown
Black Tea
Jin Jun Mei Wild-Grown (Beautifully Elegant Eyebrows)
2019 Spring Pluck (April) -
2020
Keemun Bi Lo Chun-Style
Black Tea
Keemun Bi Lo Chun-Style
2020 Pre-Qing Ming (end of March-April 5th) -
2020
Keemun Congou
Black Tea / Organic
Keemun Congou
2020 Spring Pluck (May) -
2020
Keemun Golden Keemun
Black Tea
Keemun Golden Keemun
2020 Spring Pluck (May) -
2020
Keemun Hao Ya ‘A’
Black Tea
Keemun Hao Ya ‘A’
Superfine Grade
2020 Spring Pluck (May/June) -
2020
Keemun Mao Feng Grade A++
Black Tea
Keemun Mao Feng Grade A++
2020 Spring Pluck (May) -
2020
Keemun Mao Feng Premium Grade
Black Tea
Keemun Mao Feng Premium Grade
2020 Spring Pluck (April) -
Keemun Spiral Buds
Black Tea
Keemun Spiral Buds
2019 Pre-Qing Ming (end of March-April 5th) -
Lapsang Souchong Mainland China
Smoked Black Tea (Highly Smoked)
Lapsang Souchong
Spring/Summer Pluck & Smoking
-Very Low Inventory, More is in Transit To Us Now- -
2020
Tianzi Shan Emperor Mountain Black
Black Tea / Organic
Tianzi Shan Emperor Mountain
2020 Spring Pluck (May) -
2020
Wai Shan Lao Shu / Wu Yi Bohea
Black Tea / Organic
Wai Shan Lao Shu / Wu Yi Bohea
2020 Spring Pluck (Late April) -
New Arrival
Ying De #9
Black Tea
Ying de #9
2019 Late Spring Pluck (May, June) -
2020
Yunnan Fancy Grade
Black Tea
Yunnan Fancy Grade
2020 Late Spring (June) -
New Arrival
Yunnan Feng Qing Black Marbles
Black Tea
Yunnan Feng Qing Black Marbles
2019 Late Spring (middle of May-June in Yunnan) -
New Arrival
Yunnan Feng Qing Old Tea Tree Black Gold
Black Tea
Yunnan Feng Qing Old Tea Tree Black Gold
2019 Spring (May) -
2020
Yunnan Golden Sprouting Buds
Black Tea
Golden Sprouting Buds
2020 Spring Pluck (April to early-May) -
Yunnan Imperial Dian Hong
Black Tea
Yunnan Imperial Dian Hong
2019 Spring Pluck (May/June) -
2020
Yunnan Jingdong Wuliang Golden Threads
Black Tea
Jingdong Wuliang Golden Threads
2020 Spring Pluck (April to early-May) -
Aged & Rested
Yunnan JingMai Wild Arbor Tea
Black Tea
Yunnan JingMai Wild Arbor Tea
2018 Spring (May/June) -
2020
Yunnan Jumbo Golden Buds
Black Tea
Yunnan Jumbo Golden Buds
2020 Spring Pluck (May – June)
– Low Inventory – -
Yunnan Menghai Old-Growth Black
Black Tea
Yunnan Menghai Old-Growth Black
2019 Late Spring (June) -
new arrival
Yunnan Ning’er County Golden Simao
Black Tea
Yunnan Ning’er County Golden Simao
2019 Spring Pluck (mid-March to early-April) -
New Arrival
Yunnan Old-Style Purple Varietal Ye Sheng Tea
Black Tea
Yunnan Old-Style Purple Varietal Ye Sheng Tea
2019 Spring Pluck (April – May) -
Yunnan Sweet Tips of Simao
Black Tea
Yunnan Sweet Tips of Simao
2019 Spring Pluck (March) -
2020
Yunnan Tippy Golden
Black Tea
Yunnan Tippy Golden
2020 Spring (May) -
Aged & Rested
Yunnan Wa Tribal Wild Arbor Tea
Black Tea / Organic
Yunnan Wa Tribal Wild Arbor Tea
2018 Spring Pluck (May, June) -
2020
Yunnan Yi Mei Ren
Black Tea
Yunnan Yi Mei Ren
2020 Pre-Qing Ming (end of March – April 5th) -
New Arrival
Yunnan Yi Wu Mountain Wild Arbor
Black Tea
Yunnan Yi Wu Mountain Wild Arbor
2020 Spring Pluck (April to early-May) -
Zao Bei Jian / Imperial Sichuan
Black Tea
Zao Bei Jian / Imperial Sichuan
Tippy Golden
2019 Spring Pluck (May, June) -
Zheng Shan Xiao Zhong #1
Smoked Black Tea/Organic
Zheng Shan Xiao Zhong #1 Lightly Smoked Tea
The Original & Authentic Smoked Chinese Tea
Spring/Summer Pluck & Smoking -
Fenghuang Dan Cong Black
Black Tea / EU-compliant / Organic
Fenghuang Dan Cong Black Tea
2017 Late Spring Pluck (May, June) -
Yunnan AiLao Shan
Black Tea
Yunnan AiLao Shan
2018 Spring Pluck (March, April) -
Aged & Rested
Yunnan Da Xue Shan
Black Tea
Yunnan Da Xue Shan
2018 Spring Pluck (May, June)