A Complete Guide to Dark Tea ‘Hei Cha’
Dark tea, also known as Hei Cha, is one of China’s major tea types. It gets its name from the dark appearance that develops during processing.
Growers produce it mainly in Sichuan, Yunnan, Hubei, Hunan, Shaanxi, Anhui, and other regions. This category includes Yunnan Pu’er tea, Hunan dark tea, Sichuan Tibetan tea, Guangxi Liubao tea, Hubei Qingzhuan tea, Shaanxi Fuzhuan tea, and Anhui Guxi tea.
Producers use withering, initial rolling, pile fermentation, re-rolling, and baking. They usually select coarse and mature leaves as the raw material.
The long fermentation process gives the leaves an oily black or black-brown color. This appearance explains the name “dark tea.”
Dark tea is also known as “border tea.” It has long served ethnic communities in China’s border regions.
Dark Tea Overview
| Tea Type | Origin or Region | Production Process | Characteristics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hunan Dark Tea | Anhua County, Hunan | Fixing, initial rolling, wet piling, re-rolling, and drying | Tightly rolled leaves, glossy black appearance, rich aroma, and orange-yellow liquor |
| Yunnan Pu’er Tea | Yunnan | Sun-dried large-leaf processing | Reddish-brown or deep chestnut color, red liquor, and a mellow, smooth, sweet taste |
| Tibetan Tea | Areas above 1,000 meters | Post-fermented processing | Kang brick, Jinjian, and Kangjian varieties with pure fragrances and red or yellow-red liquor |
| Hubei Qingzhuan Tea | Southern Hubei | Fresh-leaf processing | Several grades with tight, strip-shaped, or curled dark green leaves |
| Guangxi Liubao Tea | Wuzhou, Guangxi | Low-temperature fixing, rolling, and wet piling | Sticky appearance and a unique mellow fragrance |
| Shaanxi Fuzhuan Tea | Jingyang, Shaanxi | Similar to Anhua Fuzhuan production | Tight structure, black-brown color, abundant golden flowers, and clear reddish liquor |
| Anhui Guxi Dark Tea | Anhui | Semi-fermentation and compression | Dark finished leaves, slightly red liquor, and a fragrant but astringent taste |
Hunan Dark Tea
Hunan dark tea comes from Anhua County in Hunan. Producers first cultivated it in the Baohui Garden along the Zijiang River.
Production later spread to other areas along the river. These included Yaqueping, Huangshaping, Xizhou, Jiangnan, and Xiaoyan.
Jiangnan eventually became the main production center. Gaojiaxi and Majiaxi also gained a reputation for producing high-quality tea.
Production Process
The production process includes fixing, initial rolling, wet piling, re-rolling, and drying.
Hunan dark tea includes Sanjian, Sizhuan, and Hua Juan varieties.
The Sizhuan group includes black bricks, flower bricks, green bricks, and Fuzhuan bricks.
The Sanjian series includes Tianjian, Gongjian, and Shengjian.
The Hua Juan series includes Qianliang tea, Bailiang tea, and Shiliang tea.
Hunan dark tea has tightly rolled, straight, and round leaves. The tender leaves have a glossy black appearance.
The tea offers a rich and mellow aroma with a pine-smoke fragrance. Its taste is smooth without being coarse or astringent.
The liquor has an orange-yellow color. The brewed leaves have a yellow-brown appearance.
Tibetan Tea
Farmers harvest Tibetan tea from tea trees growing above 1,000 meters. Special post-fermentation processing gives the tea a dark brown color.
Characteristics
Kang brick tea has a rectangular shape, rounded corners, and a flat surface. It has a brown color and a pure fragrance.
The tea produces red-brown liquor with a strong taste. The brewed leaves have a slightly aged brown appearance.
Jinjian tea also has a rectangular shape. It is slightly tight, has no layering, and appears brown.
The tea offers a pure aroma, yellow-red liquor, and a mellow taste. Its brewed leaves have an aged dark brown appearance.
Kangjian tea is rectangular with rounded corners and a flat surface. It also has a brown appearance.
The tea provides a rich and pure fragrance. It produces translucent red liquor with a mellow and sweet taste. The brewed leaves have a slightly aged brown appearance.
Hubei Qingzhuan Dark Tea
Producers make Qingzhuan tea from fresh leaves harvested from high-mountain tea trees. Southern Hubei has produced this tea for more than 600 years.
Qingzhuan tea comes in several grades.
Grade 1 has tight strips, slightly white stems, and a dark green color.
Grade 2 has strip-shaped leaves with mainly red stems. Its dark green color may have a slight yellow hue.
Grade 3 has curled and wrinkled leaves with red stems. The leaves have a dark green color with flowers. Producers assess the tea stems by the new shoots from the current year.
Guangxi Liubao Tea
Liubao tea comes from Wuzhou in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Its production methods place it within the dark tea category.
Producers use low-temperature fixing, shaping during rolling, and wet piling.
The finished tea has a sticky appearance and a unique mellow fragrance. Its moderate processing classifies it as a post-fermented tea.
Shaanxi Fuzhuan Tea
Shaanxi Fuzhuan tea, especially Jingyang Fuzhuan tea, resembles the Fuzhuan varieties of Anhua dark tea.
It belongs to the Fuzhuan category and has a long production history.
The tea has a tight structure and an oily black-brown color. It also contains abundant golden flowers.
Shaanxi Fuzhuan tea offers a lasting and unique fragrance. It produces clear reddish liquor with a mellow, thick taste and a sweet aftertaste.
Anhui Guxi Dark Tea
Anhui Guxi dark tea is also known as “An tea.” Producers make it through semi-fermentation and compression.
The tea falls between red tea and green tea.
The finished product has a dark black appearance. It produces slightly red and thick liquor with a fragrant but astringent taste.
Sellers distribute it throughout Guangdong, Guangxi, and Hong Kong. They also export it to Southeast Asia. As a result, it has become known as “Sacred Tea.”
Pu’er Tea
Tea producers and experts have long debated whether Pu’er tea, also spelled Puerh, belongs to the Hei Cha category.
Pu’er undergoes fermentation, which supports its classification as a dark tea.
However, many Pu’er growers consider it a separate category. They point to its specific tea trees, leaf types, and production region.
Pu’er also grows only in Yunnan. Many people believe that these unique traits make it an independent tea category.
Alex
