Hei Cha

From €1,47

What is hei cha (Chinese dark tea)?

Hei cha (黑茶, literally "black tea") is China's family of post-fermented dark teas: after fixing and rolling, the leaf goes through wet piling (wo dui) or years of natural ripening, during which microflora slowly transform it. The result is the deepest fermentation of any tea — a dark, dense liquor with earthy, woody and wine-like tones that only grows smoother with age. Historic dark teas come from Hunan (Anhua), Guangxi (Liu Bao), Hubei (Laoqing) and Sichuan, whose pressed "border tea" once supplied Tibet.

What are the main types of dark tea?

Liu Bao (Guangxi)

Named after a district near Wuzhou, Liu Bao by local legend dates back to the Tang dynasty, and became famous through 18th–19th-century exports to Southeast Asia — for a century it fuelled Chinese tin miners in Malaysia. High-grade Liu Bao matures in storehouses for three to ten years before release. The cup is glossy golden-brown and comforting: prairie grass, wet driftwood, hazelnut and a touch of fresh milk.

Anhua dark tea (Hunan)

Hei cha is believed to have originated in Anhua county — it already appears in Ming-dynasty economic records of 1585, and caravans once carried over two thirds of its output north to Tibet, Central Asia and Russia. Anhua's signature shapes range from loose-leaf Tianjian "heavenly tips" to Qianliangcha — a 1.67-metre bamboo-wrapped log nicknamed the "Tea King of the World". The first Anhua black bricks, pressed in 1940, went straight to the Soviet Union.

Fu Zhuan brick (Hunan/Shaanxi)

The most distinctive brick tea: its body is dotted with "golden flowers" (jin hua) — colonies of the fungus Eurotium cristatum, tiny yellow grains that lend the tea a sweet, mellow character. Connoisseurs judge a brick by its bloom: the bigger the golden "peas", the better the tea. The name is a wordplay on "bricks of the hottest summer days" and "tea of happiness".

Dark tea types at a glance

Type	Region	Signature taste	Character
Liu Bao	Wuzhou, Guangxi	Hazelnut, earth, rustic bread, driftwood	Aged in baskets; rounder and deeper with every year
Anhua dark tea	Anhua, Hunan	Autumn leaves, spicy herbs, dried fruit	Orange-amber liquor, wine-like nose, thick sweet finish
Fu Zhuan brick	Hunan / Shaanxi	Honey, dried apricot, spicy herbs	"Golden flowers" inside; mellow, sweetish, easy-drinking

How do you brew and store hei cha?

Dark tea loves heat: rinse the leaf once, then brew with water just off the boil in a gaiwan or clay pot, keeping steepings short — a good Liu Bao or brick tea gives many infusions and can even be simmered for a thermos. Keep it dry, dark and away from strong smells — time works in your favour: thirty-year-old Liu Bao turns amber and almost oily in the cup.

We select our dark teas directly at farms and storehouses in Guangxi and Hunan, and ship every order fast from our Amsterdam warehouse across the Netherlands and Europe — and you can taste before you buy at the Moychay tea club — Rozengracht 92H, Amsterdam.

Facts and figures in this guide are based on “Geography of Chinese Tea” by Sergey Shevelev, founder of Moychay — written after visiting every tea-producing province of China.

Frequently asked questions

Is hei cha the same as black tea?

Not in the Western sense. Hei cha translates literally as "black tea", but it means China's post-fermented dark teas — Liu Bao, Anhua brick tea, Fu Zhuan. The tea Westerners call black is known in China as hong cha, "red tea". So on our site, dark teas live here, and English-style "black" teas are in the red tea collection.

What is the difference between hei cha and pu-erh?

Both are post-fermented, and ripe pu-erh even borrows the same wet-piling idea. The difference is geography and raw material: pu-erh is made only in Yunnan from local large-leaf trees and is usually treated as its own category, while hei cha covers the dark teas of Hunan, Guangxi, Hubei and Sichuan, each with its own regional technique.

What are the golden flowers in Fu Zhuan tea?

The yellow specks inside a Fu Zhuan brick are colonies of Eurotium cristatum, a fungal culture that develops during fermentation and is deliberately encouraged — it is a mark of authenticity, not a flaw. The golden flowers smooth the taste toward honey and dried fruit, and tradition says the larger the "peas", the better the brick.

How long can you age Liu Bao and other dark teas?

Practically indefinitely, if stored dry and away from odours. High-grade Liu Bao already ripens three to ten years in storehouses before release, and well-kept examples keep improving for decades — thirty-year-old Liu Bao pours an amber, almost oily liquor. Unlike green tea, hei cha is bought to be kept: it rewards patience.

How do you brew hei cha?

Give the leaf a quick rinse with hot water, then brew with water at a full boil — dark tea opens best at high temperatures. Use a gaiwan or clay teapot with short steepings, extending each round; pressed tea should be flaked gently, not crumbled. Aged Liu Bao and brick teas also take well to simmering.