Black tea is made from the new buds and leaves of tea trees suitable for its production, through typical processes such as withering, rolling (cutting), fermentation, and drying. It is named for the predominant red hue of its dried leaves and the brewed tea soup.

Initially called "black tea" during its creation, black tea undergoes chemical reactions centered on the enzymatic oxidation of tea polyphenols during processing. This results in significant changes in the chemical composition of the fresh leaves, with tea polyphenols reduced by over 90% and new components like theaflavins and thearubigins produced. The aroma compounds increase from over 50 types in fresh leaves to more than 300 types. Part of the caffeine, catechins, and theaflavins form delicious-tasting complexes①, thus forming the quality characteristics of black tea: red leaves, red soup, and a sweet, mellow flavor.

Souchong Black Tea: It marked the beginning of the era of Chinese black tea, originating in the 16th century. The earliest was Souchong black tea invented in the Wuyi Mountain area. In 1610, the first batch of black tea shipped to Europe by Dutch merchants was Souchong black tea produced in Xingcun, Chong'an County, Fujian Province (now known as "Zhengshan Xiaozhong"). By the mid-18th century, it evolved from Souchong black tea into Congou black tea. Since the 1880s, Chinese black tea, especially Congou black tea, once dominated the international market. Souchong black tea is a specialty of Fujian Province, divided into Zhengshan Xiaozhong and Waishan Xiaozhong. Zhengshan Xiaozhong is produced in the Tongmuguan area of Xingcun Township, Chong'an County, also known as "Tongmuguan Xiaozhong" or "Xingcun" Xiaozhong. The Souchong black tea imitating the quality of Zhengshan, produced in places like Zhenghe, Tanyang, Gutian, Shaxian, and Yanshan in Jiangxi, is collectively called "Waishan Xiaozhong" or "Artificial Xiaozhong." Among Souchong black teas, only Zhengshan Xiaozhong has remained popular for centuries, mainly because it is produced in the high-altitude areas of Wuyi. The Xingcun and Tongmuguan areas in Chong'an County are located in the northern section of the Wuyi Mountains, at an altitude of 1000–1500 meters, with warm winters and cool summers, an average annual temperature of 18°C, and an annual rainfall of about 2000 mm. Between spring and summer, the area is shrouded in clouds and mist all day long. The tea garden soil is fertile, tea trees grow luxuriantly, the leaves are thick and tender, resulting in particularly excellent tea quality.

Congou Black Tea: This is a unique variety of black tea in China and a traditional export commodity. Currently, nineteen provinces in China produce tea (including trial planting areas like Xinjiang and Tibet), twelve of which have successively produced Congou black tea. China's Congou black tea has many categories and widespread production areas. Those named by region include Dianhong Congou, Qimen Congou, Fuliang Congou, Ninghong Congou, Xiangjiang Congou, Minhong Congou (including Tanyang Congou, Bailin Congou, Zhenghe Congou), Yuehong Congou, Taiwan Congou, Jiangsu Congou, and Yuehong Congou. They are also divided by variety into large-leaf Congou and small-leaf Congou. Large-leaf Congou tea is made from the fresh leaves of arbor or semi-arbor tea trees; small-leaf Congou tea is made from the fresh leaves of small-leaf bush-type tea trees.

Broken Black Tea: China's production of broken black tea started relatively late, beginning in the late 1950s. In recent years, production has continuously increased, and quality has steadily improved. The production methods for broken black tea are divided into traditional and non-traditional methods. Traditional Broken Black Tea: Produced using traditional rolling machines, it has a strong taste but lower yield. Non-traditional Broken Black Tea: Divided into rotor broken black tea (known abroad as Rotorvane broken black tea); C.T.C. black tea and L.T.P. (Laurie Tea Processor) broken black tea. For example, using a C.T.C. rolling and cutting machine to produce broken black tea completely changes the traditional rolling and cutting methods. The withered leaves pass through the gap between two stainless steel rollers in less than a second, achieving the purpose of cell destruction while crushing all the leaves into granular form. Fermentation is uniform and rapid, so timely drying is necessary to achieve the quality characteristics of a strong, brisk, and fresh taste. Broken black tea made with different mechanical equipment, despite significant differences in quality, shares overall quality characteristics and is divided into four styles. Leaf Tea: A style of traditional broken black tea, with tightly rolled, even strips, dark and moist color, fragrant aroma, bright red soup, mellow taste, and bright red leaves with many tender stems; Broken Tea: Externally, heavy, solid, and even granules, dark and moist or slightly brownish color, rich and fragrant aroma, bright red soup, strong, brisk, and fresh taste, evenly red leaves; Fanning: Externally, all are ear-shaped flakes or wrinkled flakes, dark brown color, relatively pure aroma, reddish soup, relatively strong and slightly astringent taste, evenly red leaves; Dust: Externally, all are sand-like dust, black or grayish-brown color, deep and dark soup, low aroma and coarse, astringent taste, dark red leaves. The main production areas for broken black tea are Yunnan, Guangdong, Hainan, and Guang... Black tea is the second largest tea category in China, with exports accounting for about 50% of China's total tea leaves production, serving customers in over 60 countries and regions. The largest sales volumes are to Egypt, Sudan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Pakistan, the United Kingdom and Ireland, Canada, Chile, Germany, the Netherlands, and Eastern European countries.

Names of various black teas: Qimen Congou; Huhong Congou; Dianhong Congou; Congou Black Tea; Ninghong Congou; Yihong Congou; Yuehong Congou; Chuanhong Congou; Zhenghe Congou; Minhong Congou; Tanyang Congou; Bailin Congou.