Basic Introduction to Changning Black Tea
Changning has been an important hub for the collection and distribution of goods along the ancient Tea Horse Road in western Yunnan since ancient times. In those days when mountains were high and roads distant, Changning became known to the outside world because of its tea. The tea trade promoted the development of transportation, market exchanges, and small industrial workshops. With frequent exchanges of goods with inland areas, Changning's economy rapidly developed, and the excellent culture of central Han regions gradually took root in Changning.
The people of Changning have loved their mountains and waters through generations, growing and processing tea. The “Changning Red” produced here is renowned both at home and abroad, and Changning is the only region registered and recognized as a “Thousand-Year-Old Tea Village.” Scattered throughout the region at elevations between 1,400 and 2,500 meters are numerous ancient tea trees, which attest to the history of tea development in Changning. A survey shows that there are over 36,900 mu (approximately 24,600 acres) of land distributed across the county with more than 154,000 tea trees over a hundred years old, yielding around 300 tons of ancient tree tea annually. Of these, 82,000 are cultivated types, and 72,000 are wild types; 31,000 have trunk circumferences exceeding 50 centimeters.
The unique geographical advantages and excellent ecological environment provide a favorable setting for tea cultivation. After many years of practical experience, high-quality tea varieties have been selected and planted, and a mature Tea processing technology has been developed, endowing Changning Black Tea with characteristics such as bright color and sweet, smooth taste. It has become an important part of Yunnan black tea. On June 19, 2015, the original General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection, and Quarantine approved geographical indication product protection for “Changning Black Tea,” covering the administrative areas of 10 towns in Changning County, Yunnan Province: Tiantian Town, Mangshui Town, Datianba Township, Kiejie Town, Gengga Township, Mengtong Town, Wenquan Township, Jifei Township, Wengdu Township, and Laojie Township.
Nutritional Value
According to the appraisal by the Chinese Academy of Sciences Tea Research Institute, Changning tea leaves are thick yet soft, with many downy buds. The water extractable content exceeds 45%, with amino acid content at 2.87%, Caffeine at 4.29%, and tea polyphenols at 32.31%, all higher than levels found in other tea-producing regions. Using this raw material to produce Changning black tea results in tea with a plump and tightly twisted appearance, rich sweet fragrance, making it a supreme quality among world black teas.
Product Characteristics
1. Sensory Characteristics: Lustrous with visible golden tips, plump and tightly twisted with many sharp ends, rich honey-like fragrance, mellow and sweet aftertaste, bright red liquor, tender leaves with many buds, uniformly red and bright.
2. Physicochemical Indicators: Water extractable content ≥ 38%.
3. Most of the raw materials for Changning black tea are spring tea, with a small portion being autumn tea. The production process follows traditional techniques, particularly mastering the fermentation technique that emphasizes freshness and briskness, resulting in a tea with a thick, smooth taste, light bitterness, long-lasting sweet aftertaste, and very distinct black tea characteristics.
Historical Folklore
Changning has a tea cultivation history of over 1,600 years. Historical records show that during the Ming Dynasty's Hongwu and Jingtai periods, the tea produced in Changning was offered as tribute to the imperial court. The Ming Jingtai “Yunnan Atlas and Gazetteer” records that “The fine tea produced on Mount Moutong (present-day Mengtong) is called Wandian tea, and the best is picked before the Grain Rain season,” providing the best testimony to this fact.
In 1938, the Shunning (now Fengqing) Experimental Tea Factory began producing “Yunnan Black,” and tea farmers in tea-growing areas bordering Fengqing in Changning gradually began to explore black tea production, but they did not achieve a breakthrough.
In 1953, Yang Dezhuo from Rightian (Mengting) started experimenting with black tea production, initiating Changning's exploration of tea processing techniques. Through successive generations' inheritance and improvement, Changning black tea gradually stood out among Yunnan's Pu'er teas, gaining fame and becoming the pride of Changning's teas, bearing the brand name.
In 1958, the Changning Black Tea Factory became a core enterprise in the production of “Yunnan Black.” A certificate awarded to “advanced units of socialist construction” personally signed by Premier Zhou Enlai arrived in this southwestern town from Beijing;
In 1962, a can of “Da Jinyin” black tea from a remote town in Yunnan made its way onto Chairman Mao's tea table, and several days later, a handwritten commendation letter from Comrade Deng Xiaoping was sent back to this proud tea town, which is Changning, and the tea favored by national leaders was grown in the misty highlands of Changning.
From the 1980s to the 1990s, Changning black tea was exported to more than 20 countries and regions, including the UK, the Soviet Union, and Poland.
In 2014, approximately 44,000 households with 200,000 people in Changning County were involved in tea cultivation. The tea plantation area reached 250,300 mu (approximately 166,800 acres), with 238,000 mu (approximately 158,667 acres) available for harvest. A total of 137,000 mu (approximately 91,333 acres) of tea gardens were certified as pollution-free, 13,000 mu (approximately 8,667 acres) as green food tea gardens, and 8,500 mu (approximately 5,667 acres) as organic tea gardens. There were 28 tea enterprises with QS certification. The income from tea for tea farmers reached an average of 3,100 yuan per person.
In 2025, Changning County had cumulatively built 62,433 mu (approximately 41,622 acres) of standardized tea gardens and completed the transformation of low-yielding tea gardens covering 41,097 mu (approximately 27,398 acres). A total of over 50 standardized tea factories were constructed, each with a production capacity of over 30 tons. A total of 155,000 mu (approximately 103,333 acres) of pollution-free tea gardens, 40,000 mu (approximately 26,667 acres) of Rainforest Alliance-certified tea gardens, 16,000 mu (approximately 10,667 acres) of green food tea gardens, and 3,750 mu (approximately 2,500 acres) of organic food tea gardens were established.
Awards and Honors for Changning Black Tea
Changning is the only region registered and recognized as a “Thousand-Year-Old Tea Village” in China, a “model county for highland characteristic agriculture” in the province, and a tea specialty county in the province's one-county-one-industry program;
It has received honors such as one of the top ten charming tea towns in China and one of the top 100 tea counties in the country, becoming the first tea export quality and safety demonstration zone in Yunnan;
In 1986, Changning County was named one of the first batches of national high-quality tea base counties;
On January 28, 2014, according to the recognition by the Trademark Office of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, “Changning Black Tea” won the status of a Chinese national geographical indication trademark.
On October 20, 2014, at the 2014 China Tea Economy Annual Conference held in Wuzhou, Guangxi, Changning County was named one of the top ten ecological tea-producing