1. Introduction to dark tea: Dark tea is named because the appearance of the finished tea is black. One of the six major tea categories, it is a post-fermented tea. The main production areas are Sichuan, Yunnan, Hubei, Hunan, Shaanxi, Anhui and other places. The raw materials used in dark tea are relatively coarse and old, and are the main raw materials for pressed tea. The tea making process generally includes four processes: greening, rolling, stacking and drying. Dark tea is distributed by region and is mainly classified into Hunan dark tea (Fu tea), Sichuan Tibetan tea (Bian tea), Yunnan dark tea (Pu'er tea), Guangxi Liubao tea, Hubei old dark tea and Shaanxi dark tea (Fu tea), Anhui Guyi black tea.

2. Famous types of dark tea:

(1) Fu Brick

Shaanxi Fu tea comes from Jingyang, Xianyang, Shaanxi and has a history of nearly a thousand years. , she flourished in the Song Dynasty and flourished in the Ming and Qing Dynasties and the Republic of China. The tea body is tight, dark brown and oily in color, with lush golden flowers and overflowing fungus aroma. The tea soup is orange-red and translucent, and the taste is mellow and long. Suitable for people in alpine zones and high-fat diet areas. Especially for the nomadic people who live in desolate areas such as deserts, Gobis, and plateaus and eat beef, mutton, and cheese as their staple food, in the absence of vegetables and fruits, there is a saying in northwest China that "one day without tea will lead to stagnation, and three days without tea will lead to stagnation." "It's painful without tea" and "It's better to be without food for a day than to be without tea for a day".

Jingyang County is located in Xianyang City. Jingyang County is located in the middle of the Guanzhong Plain and the lower reaches of the Jinghe River. It borders Sanyuan and Gaoling counties to the east, Weicheng District of Xianyang City to the south, faces Liquan County across the Jinghe River to the west, and borders Chunhua and Sanyuan counties to the north by Beizhong Mountain and Saga Mountain. It is 44 kilometers from Jingyang County to Xi'an North Passenger Transport Station. The emergence of Fu tea was around 1368 AD (the first year of Hongwu, when Zhu Yuanzhang, the "Ming Taizu", established the Ming Dynasty). It was made by hand using black tea from Anhua, Hunan Province. Because the raw materials were sent to Jingyang for making, it was called "Jingyang". Brick"; Fu brick was called "Hucha" in the early days. Because it was processed in Futian, it was also called "Fucha". The origin of the name is that because its medicinal effect is similar to Smilax Poria, it is nicknamed "Fu Tea" or "Fu Brick" from "Fu Tea". Because it was made with official tea, 30% to 50% of brick tea had to be paid as tax in Lanzhou Prefecture in the early Qing Dynasty. This batch of tea was handed over to the government for sale, and was also called "official tea" and "fu tea". The remaining brick tea is sold by tea merchants in designated sales areas in accordance with government instructions, so it is called "attached tea". During the Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty, the sweet yellow leaves of Anhua black tea were trampled into large bags with bamboo baskets. The bags weighed 90 kilograms and were shipped to Jingyang, Shaanxi Province for pressing into bricks.

Fu brick tea pressing needs to go through raw material processing, steam retting, pressing and shaping, flowering and drying, finished product packaging and other processes. The pressing process is basically the same as that of black and flower bricks. The difference lies in the thickness of the brick shape. Because Fu bricks have a unique "flowering" process, in addition to requiring many conditions, an important condition is that the bricks must be moderately tight to facilitate the reproduction of microorganisms. Another difference between Fu bricks and black and flower bricks is that after the bricks exit the brick mold, they are not sent directly to the drying room for drying. Instead, in order to promote "blooming", the bricks are first wrapped with trademark paper and then sent to the drying room. Room drying. The drying speed does not require fast drying. The entire drying period should be more than twice as long as the double black and double roasting periods, in order to slowly "golden flowers" (that is, the production of coronoid fungi).

The reason for the outstanding efficacy of Fu tea is that there is a kind of golden flower fungus (Fructus coronoides), which makes the brick tea full of dense yellow "golden flowers". The lusher the "golden flower", the better the quality, and the greater its regulating effect on digestion and physiology. The northwest herdsmen who mainly eat meat would rather go without food for three days than go without tea for one day. This shows the importance of Fu tea in their lives. It is an indisputable fact that Fu tea can eliminate stagnation and relieve greasiness, lower blood lipids and blood, and balance physiology. The "golden flowers" of Fu tea are clearly visible at a glance. The function of Fu tea golden flower fungus cannot be replaced by other teas. Fu tea contains a variety of amino acids, vitamins and trace elements necessary for the human body. The raw materials of Fu tea itself have an inhibitory effect on human rotavirus and can effectively block the formation of carcinogenic nitroso compounds in the human body; it contains a high content of lipolytic enzymes to other teas.

(2) Flower tiles

"Flower tiles" were historically called "Huamuan". Because a roll of tea weighs 1,000 taels on the old scale, it is also called "Qianliang tea".

In the past, the processing method of Hanamaki was to use high-quality black tea from Gaojiaxi and Majiaxi in Anhua as raw materials, and hammer it into a long tube basket, forming a cylindrical shape with a height of 147 cm and a diameter of 20 cm. , fine workmanship and excellent quality. In 1958, "Hanamaki" was transformed into a rectangular brick tea. The dimensions are 35×18×3.5 cm. There are patterns on the front side, the color of the brick surface is dark brown, the internal aroma is pure, the taste is rich and slightly astringent, the soup is red and yellow, the bottom of the leaves is old and tender, and the net weight of each brick is 2 kg. At present, there are several specifications such as 1kg and 2kg. Although the shape of the tiles is different from the flower roll, the inner quality is basically similar. It has become a new variety of dark tea, replacing the historical scented tea, and has been appreciated and welcomed by the sales area. The name "huazhuan" comes from, firstly, the brick shape was changed from a roll, and secondly, there are patterns on the four sides of the brick surface to show the difference from other bricks, hence the name "huazhuan". The manufacturing process of flower brick tea is basically the same as that of black brick tea. The raw material components of pressed tiles are mostly third-grade black tea and a small amount of downgraded second-grade black tea. The total stem content does not exceed 15. After the Maocha enters the factory, it must go through processes such as screening, crushing, and stacking to make qualified semi-finished products, which will then be autoclaved, baked, and packaged. The process is the same as that of black brick tea.

(3) Black bricks

Anhua dark tea has a long history. Historically, the main commodities transported along the "Silk Road" across Eurasia were silk, porcelain, and tea. Anhua dark tea was continuously transported to the northwest frontier through the ancient Silk Road, and was also sold to Russia, the United Kingdom and other countries.

Hunan Anhua dark tea is mainly produced in Anhua. Hunan dark tea is made from fresh leaves that have been harvested through five processes including greening, initial kneading, stacking, re-kneading and drying. Hunan black tea is rolled into a loach shape, with oily black color, orange-yellow soup color, yellow-brown leaf bottom, and mellow aroma, with the aroma of pine smoke. Black tea is called Tianjian after being steamed and put into baskets. The bricks that are steam-pressed are black bricks, flower tiles or Fu bricks. Hunan Anhua dark tea is a traditional craft product that was discontinued in the 1950s. It is hailed by the authoritative Taiwan Tea Book as "a classic of tea culture, a concentration of tea history, and the best of teas."

Black brick tea is named because it uses black tea as raw material, has a dark color, and the finished product is shaped like bricks. Its raw materials are selected from high-quality black tea produced by tea factories in Anhua, Taojiang, Yiyang, Hanshou, Ningxiang and other counties. During production, the raw materials are first sieved and shaped, air-sorted and purified, and blended in proportion; during machine pressing, they are first steamed and sterilized by high temperature, then high-pressure shaping, inspection and trimming, slow drying, and packaging into finished brick tea.

Each piece weighs 2 kilograms and is in the shape of a rectangular brick, 35 centimeters long, 18.5 centimeters wide and 3.5 centimeters thick. The brick surface is flat and smooth with sharp edges and corners; the tea has a pure aroma, the soup is yellow-red and slightly brown, and the taste is rich and mellow. This product is a semi-fermented tea. The green grassy smell in the fresh leaves is removed, and the brick body is made firm so that it is not susceptible to moisture and mildew. It will not taste bad after being stored for several years. The older it gets, the better. It is suitable for cooking and drinking. Dairy and dairy products can be added. Drink with sugar. The annual output is about 5,000 tons, mainly sold to Gansu, Ningxia, Qinghai, Xinjiang and other provinces and regions, with Lanzhou as the distribution center.

(4) Green brick tea

Green brick tea is a kind of dark tea, also known as Hubei dark tea. It has a natural tea aroma that other ordinary dark tea and Pu'er tea do not have. Yangloudong, Chibi City, Hubei Province is the origin of green brick tea, with a production history of more than 200 years. Yangloudong businessman Lei Zhongwan opened the "Yangloudong Tea House" in the first year of Qianlong's reign in the Qing Dynasty (1736 AD), and later changed the name of the "Yangloudong Tea House" to the "Dongzhuang Tea House". "The public teahouse was set up in Miaochang, and tea bricks were made first" ("Zhongwan Gongzhuan"). The tea house was located in the middle of Miaochang Street in Yanglou Ancient Town, and the factory was located 60 meters below the Guanyin Spring, using Yangloudong tea as raw material. , produced using Guanyin spring water. Because the seat of Guanyin Bodhisattva is a lotus, the brick tea produced "takes the lotus as the case and the word Dongzhuang as the name". It has a history of more than 200 years and is said to be "the origin of brick tea, the century-old Dongzhuang". It is based on the word "Dongzhuang". Old green tea is used as the raw material and is pressed by steam at high temperatures. The soup is clear and red in color, with a rich and fragrant aroma, pure taste, and a sweet and lingering aftertaste. After green brick tea is fermented, autoclaved at high temperatures, and properly stored for natural fermentation, the catechu in the tea leaves is released. Polyphenols and tea polyphenols are more easily soluble in water than ordinary tea. Drinking green brick tea, in addition to promoting body fluids and quenching thirst, has unique functions such as resolving greasiness and strengthening the stomach, lowering fat and slimming, keeping out the cold and refreshing, sterilizing and stopping diarrhea, which are unmatched by other teas.

Mainly sold to Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, Tibet, Qinghai and other northwest regions, as well as Mongolia, Georgia, Russia, the United Kingdom and other countries.

Green brick tea is made through multiple processes and then pressed into a long square brick shape. The color is greenish-brown in appearance, the aroma is pure, the taste is still strong without greenness, the water color is bright red and yellow, and the bottom of the leaves is dark and thick. The ingredients of green brick tea are divided into three parts: noodles, two noodles and inner tea. Among them, the sprinkled noodles and the two noodles are the surface part, the color is brown, the tea juice is rich and delicious, the aroma is unique, and the aftertaste is sweet and meaningful. The inner tea is between the two sides. It is green-brown in color, pure in aroma, red-yellow in color and fragrant in taste. Drinking green brick tea, in addition to promoting body fluids and quenching thirst, also has the effects of refreshing and refreshing, helping digestion, sterilizing and stopping diarrhea, and reducing the three highs (hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia, and hypertension). It is a daily consumer product for people in Inner Mongolia and other northwest regions, and is a national Emergency reserve supplies. Among them, the "Chuan" brand green brick tea produced by Zhaoliqiao Tea Factory Co., Ltd. in Hubei Province is the only Chinese time-honored brand among the first batch of black tea industry recognized by the Ministry of Commerce. It enjoys a long-standing reputation and is still the daily first choice of people in the border areas. Some ethnic minority consumers who do not understand Chinese will feel completely reassured as long as they lightly touch the brick surface with their hands. As long as there are three concave marks. "Sandaodao" (the word "Chuan") has become a symbol of integrity in the minds of frontier people.

(5) Qianliang Tea

During the Tongzhi period of the Qing Dynasty (1862-1874), Hunan tea merchants created Qianliang Tea based on "Bailiang Tea". That is "Hanamaki" tea. Each finished product of Qianliang tea weighs 1,000 taels, so it is commonly known as "Qianliang tea". Qianliang tea uses high-quality black tea produced locally in Anhua as raw material. The black tea that has been softened by steaming is poured into a long cylindrical basket lined with polygon leaves and palm slices, and is made with sticks, hammers, etc. Tools, using techniques such as twisting, pressing, stepping, rolling, and hammering, are repeatedly hammered and tightened to make the tea branches reach the requirements of being dense and solid, and finally form a tree-shaped cylinder with a height of about 160 centimeters and a diameter of about 0.2 meters. The body is naturally dried under natural conditions by "sun exposure and night dew" for 7749 days.

The packaging of Qianliang Tea is original and unique, with a large and straight appearance and a strong visual impact. Its appearance is black and shiny, its soup is orange and bright, and its taste is mellow, with Polygonum leaves in the taste. Bamboo yellow and glutinous rice aroma. The longer it is stored, the better it tastes.

The production process of Qianliang tea and Bailiang tea is exactly the same, but the smaller the tea, the more difficult the production process is, and the higher the technical requirements for technicians. Qianbailiang tea is a classic dark tea in Anhua, Hunan. Aged tea is the best. The market value of Qianliang tea that has been around for 50 years is about 2 million yuan. Qianliang tea is used as the most popular tea in South Korea, Japan and other places. The treasure of the store is the collection of thousands of taels of tea, which is more popular. It is said that Qianbailiang tea has very good health care effects. The special fermentation process of "sun exposure and night dew" has created the unique quality characteristics and unique pharmacological effects of "Qianliang tea" on the human body. Long-term storage of "Qianliang tea" can regulate the gastrointestinal It has the effect of "medicine" to cure diseases. Clinical experiments have proven that "Qianliang Tea" has obvious auxiliary effects on improving human blood circulation and lowering blood lipids and blood pressure. "Qianliang Tea" uses dark tea, commonly known as "post-fermented tea" in tea circles, as raw material. Therefore, as long as it is stored in a dry and odor-free place, its pharmacological and health-care effects will become more prominent over time, and the taste will be more mellow and natural. . "Qianliang Tea" has become a collection and living room decoration for forward-thinking people.

(6) Kangzhuan Jinjian

It was created around 1074, mainly using raw materials from Ya'an and Leshan in Sichuan, and later expanded to Yibin, Chongqing and other places. Mainly sold to Tibetan areas such as Tibet, Qinghai and Garze, Sichuan. The original tea is produced and processed in state-owned tea farms (factories) such as Ya'an, Yibin, Jiangjin and Wanxian in Sichuan, with an annual output of nearly 10,000 tons.

They are all brick-shaped teas that have been steamed and pressed. Kang bricks are of higher quality, while gold tips are of lower quality. The processing methods of the two are the same, the only difference is the quality of the raw materials.

The raw materials for making kang bricks and gold tips come from a wide range of sources, and there are many types, including Zhuang tea, graded outdoor sun-dried green tea, strip tea, tea stems, tea fruits, etc. Therefore, the raw materials of Maocha must be carefully sorted in advance, and then go through processes such as screening, cutting, shaping, winnowing, and sorting to ensure that sand, stones, and grass are removed, the stems are of appropriate length, and the noodles and lining are evenly shaped. Tea.

Then, reasonable ingredients are made according to the quality standards stipulated by the state, and through manufacturing processes such as weighing tea, steaming tea, and pressing, the bricks and gold tips are made.

The net weight of each piece of Kangzhuan tea is 0.5kg, and the net weight of each piece of Jinjian tea is 2.5kg. Kang bricks are pillow-shaped with rounded corners, and the size is 17×9×6 cm. The golden tip is also rounded and pillow-shaped, with a size of 24×19×12 cm. Kangzhuan has a brown appearance, pure aroma, mellow taste, thick red soup, and coarse flowers at the bottom of the leaves; Jinjian has a brown appearance, mild aroma, mellow taste, bright red water, and dark brown and thick leaves at the bottom.

In 2013, agarwood black tea and huanghuali black tea obtained national patents.

(7) Sichuan Biancha

Sichuan Biancha is divided into two categories: South Road Tea and West Road Tea. South Road Tea is produced in Ya'an, Tianquan, Rongjing and other places in Sichuan. In the past, it was divided into six colors: Maojian, Yaxi, Kangzhuan, Jinyu and Jincang. It has been simplified into two colors: Kangzhuan and Jinjian. It is mainly sold in Tibet, but also in Qinghai and Sichuan Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. The South Roadside Tea production method is to use a cutter to harvest the branches and leaves, freeze them, and then dry them in the sun after being "gathered", "steamed, and distilled" for many times. Nanlu Road Tea (Tibetan Tea) is the dark tea variety with the most complicated preparation method, and is made through more than 32 processes. Western roadside tea produced in Guanxian, Chongqing, Dayi and other places in Sichuan is steamed and pressed into bamboo strips to make square or round tea. It is mainly sold in Sichuan Aba Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture and Qinghai, Gansu, Xinjiang and other provinces ( district). The preparation method of West Roadside Tea is simple, just dry the harvested branches and leaves directly.

(8) Guangxi Wuzhou Liubao Tea

The most famous Guangxi dark tea is Wuzhou Liubao Tea, which is named after it is produced in Liubao Township, Cangwu County, Wuzhou City, Guangxi. It has a production history of thousands of years. In addition to Cangwu County, Hezhou, Hengxian, Cenxi, Yulin, Zhaoping, Lingui, Xing'an and other counties also have a certain amount of production. The manufacturing process of Liubao tea is greening, rolling, retting, re-kneading and drying. After the raw tea is made, it still needs to be soaked with water, steamed and packed into baskets, stacked and aged. Finally, the Liubao tea soup tastes red and red. Characteristics of strong, mellow and aged. Wuzhou, Guangxi is famous both internationally and domestically for its Wuzhou Liubao Tea. In 2010 and 2011, two Guangxi Spring Tea Party were held, forming a well-established tea culture city brand effect.

Wuzhou Liubao tea is a special kind of dark tea with unique quality and the most valuable aroma. It has a wide market in Hong Kong, Macao, Southeast Asia and Japan. Dark tea is a tea unique to China. Because the color of the tea leaves is jet black, it is called dark tea. Chinese people are generally not very keen on aged tea. It is said that the Japanese are more interested in new teas; however, the Japanese have begun to favor "Pu'er tea", a representative dark tea produced in Yunnan, and "Liubao tea" produced in Wuzhou, Guangxi. This is probably influenced by the custom of drinking old tea in Hong Kong.