What are the four major Chinese black teas?

China has a long history of tea culture. When it comes to types of tea, even people who don't drink tea can name a few. Black tea is a fully fermented tea. After being produced through a special process, the brewed tea has a rosy color, sweet taste, and is loved by many people. Black tea is the second largest type of tea in China, with quite a wide variety. So, what are the four major Chinese black teas? Let’s take a closer look below.

1. Keemun Black Tea   Keemun black tea is referred to as Qihong. The raw materials for the tea are made from the local medium-leaf and medium-growing tea trees called "Qimen tea" (also known as Qimen tea). It is a famous historical tea in China and a famous black tea boutique. It was created by Anhui tea farmers during the reign of Emperor Guangxu, but the earliest historical record can be traced back to Lu Yu's The Classic of Tea in the Tang Dynasty. It is produced in Qimen, Dongzhi, Guichi (now Chizhou City), Shitai, Yixian in Anhui Province, and Fuliang in Jiangxi Province. “Qimen black tea is the best among all black teas and enjoys a high reputation. It is the favorite drink of the Queen of England and the royal family. It is known for its high fragrance and is called “the best among all black teas” and “the Queen of Black Tea”. The raw tea leaves of Qihong are very tender and rich in water-soluble substances. After processing, the appearance of Qihong is uniform and tight, the color is dark and moist, and the tea soup after brewing is very bright red. It is best to drink Qimen black tea in spring.

3. Jin Jun Mei Tea Jin Jun Mei Tea, a branch of Lapsang Souchong black tea, originated in Tongmu Village, Wuyishan City, Fujian Province. This new variety of black tea was developed in 2005 by a team led by Jiang Yuanxun, the 24th generation inheritor of Zhengshan Xiaozhong black tea, based on traditional craftsmanship through innovative integration. The reason why Jin Jun Mei is so precious is that it is handmade by tea makers throughout the entire process. Every 500g of Jin Jun Mei requires tens of thousands of fresh tea buds, which are picked from the high-mountain original ecological small-species fresh tea buds in the Wuyishan Nature Reserve. It is then completed through a series of complex processing steps such as withering, shaking, fermentation, and rolling. Jin Jun Mei is a rare treasure among teas. It has a small and compact shape, with golden tea fluff and tea hair. The tea soup is golden in color and tastes sweet and refreshing.

4. Zhengshan Xiaozhong Zhengshan Xiaozhong, also known as Lapushan Xiaozhong, belongs to the black tea category. Together with the artificial Xiaozhong, it is collectively called Xiaozhong black tea. It was first created in Tongmu District, Chong'an County, Fujian Province (in 1989, Chong'an County was abolished and established as a city and renamed Wuyishan City). It is the earliest black tea in the world, also known as the ancestor of black tea. It has a history of more than 400 years. It was created by chance by local tea farmers deep in Wuyi Mountain in Fujian in the middle and late Ming Dynasty. Later, Gongfu black tea was developed based on Zhengshan Xiaozhong. Historically, this tea was distributed in Xingcun, so it is also called Xingcun Xiaozhong. After the Opium War, imperialism invaded and competition in the domestic and foreign tea markets became fierce, leading to a dispute between Zhengshan tea and foreign tea. Zhengshan tea means orthodoxy, hence the name. The tea is smoked with pine needles or pine wood and has a very strong aroma. Because of the smoking process, the tea leaves are gray-black, but the tea soup is dark amber. The origin of Zhengshan Xiaozhong is Wuyishan City, Fujian Province, and it is protected by the origin.