Tea Knowledge: The True Story of Black Tea
Black Tea Origin
Black tea originated in the mid-Ming Dynasty (around the 16th century) in the Tongmuguan area of Wuyi Mountain, Fujian Province. The earliest variety is called Lapsang Souchong. In the 17th century, trade between China and European countries brought black tea to Britain, the Netherlands, and other nations, where it became deeply loved by Europeans, especially British royalty and nobility who favored it over other beverages.
In the 18th century, the British brought black tea cultivation techniques to their colony in India, prompting India and Sri Lanka to become major black tea producers. India is now the world's largest black tea producer. Today, black tea has become a global tea beverage, accounting for 70% of worldwide tea sales.
Differences Between Black Tea and Other Tea Types
First, the main difference lies in the fermentation process during production. Green tea is unfermented, oolong tea is semi-fermented, and black tea is fully fermented, resulting in significant differences in aroma and color.
Second, in terms of blending, green tea and oolong tea are generally consumed as single unblended varieties. Black tea, however, includes both single-origin varieties and blends of several teas to create new types, as well as blends mixed with various spices to form different flavors.
Third, there are differences in consumption methods. Green tea and oolong tea are mostly consumed plain, while black tea can be enjoyed plain or with additions such as sugar, milk, wine, jam, etc., offering diverse forms that appeal to a wide range of people.
Classification of Black Tea
Based on production techniques, black tea can be divided into three categories: Lapsang Souchong, Gongfu black tea, and broken black tea, mainly distinguished by leaf size and color.
1. Lapsang Souchong, produced only in the Wuyi Mountain area, has a unique longan and smoky flavor;
2. Gongfu black tea, the majority in China, is produced from East China to Yunnan;
3. Broken black tea, processed into fine tea granules, is mainly used for tea bags.
The World's Four Great Black Teas
Qimen (Keemun) black tea, Darjeeling black tea, Assam black tea, and Ceylon black tea—the world's four great black teas are all named after their places of origin. In addition, Yunnan black tea (Dianhong), Sichuan black tea (Chuanhong), Yichang black tea (Yihong), Zhejiang black tea (Yuehong), as well as Ilam and Kenyan black tea, are also famous varieties.
Blended Teas
Unlike other teas, black tea features another classification: blending. For example, British Earl Grey, Prince of Wales, German flavored black teas, and Russian black tea are all produced by mixing several teas or blending with spices. Another classification is based on consumption methods, such as milk tea, lemon black tea, bubble tea, fruit-flavored black tea, royal black tea, and so on.
Black Tea Culture
China has a long and profound tea culture. As a later branch of Chinese tea, black tea's cultural characteristics in China share many similarities with other tea cultures. In Britain, black tea culture has some differences, mainly influenced by blending techniques and consumption methods. The often-mentioned "afternoon tea" culture refers to the black tea culture that spread from Britain. Other countries such as India, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Germany, and Russia also have their own cultural characteristics.
Bone China, Born for Black Tea
With the rise of black tea, black tea teaware also developed a unique culture. Influenced by the British royal family, Britain improved upon Chinese porcelain techniques to create "bone china," which became the best teaware for drinking black tea.
Similarly, adapting to local conditions was Yixing in China. In Yixing, purple clay teapots were originally used to brew and drink Yixing black tea.
In Germany and Italy, where a wide variety of flavored black teas exist alongside their high level of glass craftsmanship, people prefer to use glass teaware for drinking black tea.
The Rise of Black Tea in Britain
In 1662, Princess Catherine of Spain married into the British royal family. Her dowry included a large amount of very precious black tea and sugar. She drank black tea with a large amount of sugar every day. Influenced by Catherine, this way of drinking tea began to become popular among the nobility, and black tea flourished from then on.
War Triggered by Black Tea
Later, dissatisfied with the Dutch East India Company's monopoly on all black tea trade, Britain launched a war against the Netherlands. Britain eventually won the war. From then on, Britain seized the Dutch black tea trade rights in Asia and began black tea trade based in Fujian, China, specifically Xiamen.
In 1689, Chinese black tea was shipped directly to Britain by sea. As soon as the tea was unloaded from the ships, the streets and alleys of London echoed with cries of vendors. Often, having black tea stored at home indicated the owner's status and position. Why did many noble families have the lady of the house brew tea? There were two reasons: first, it showed the host's hospitality, and second, it prevented some guests from "taking liberties"—this shows the great value placed on black tea.
The Boston Tea Party
In the latter half of the 18th century, black tea crossed the ocean to America and became deeply loved. At that time, Britain, which exercised colonial rule over America, coveted America as a huge emerging black tea consumer market. It specifically enacted a law imposing high taxes on black tea trade—the Stamp Act—and began enforcement in 1765. As soon as this act was promulgated, it was resisted by the American people and sparked a movement to boycott British goods.
Finally, although Britain was forced to cancel the act under pressure, it still maintained high tea taxes. This British approach further intensified the American anti-high-tax movement.
Ultimately, in 1773, the Boston Tea Party broke out. Some American youths attacked a British merchant ship docked in Boston Harbor and dumped 342 chests of black tea stored on the ship into the sea. Starting with the Boston Tea Party, various American ports followed suit with similar incidents, eventually leading to the outbreak of the American War of Independence.
Assam Black Tea
In 1823, a new page in black tea history was turned. British explorer Robert Bruce discovered wild tea trees in the Assam region of India. This is the present-day Assam black tea, a completely new variety different from Chinese black tea. In 1839, the brand-new Assam black tea was officially born.
Then, in 1845, the British discovered that Assam black tea leaves were larger and more suitable for mass production than Chinese black tea. They hybridized Assam black tea with Chinese black tea and artificially cultivated this new variety in Britain's colonies—India and Sri Lanka. From then on, British tea culture spread widely.