What is Black Tea?

Black teas are not black at all, but produce a yellow brew with a touch of green, as opposed to green teas, which are green with a hint of yellow. Black teas also have a dirty appearance. Their aroma combines a bitter­ness resembling the herbs used in medicine with a metallic dryness, similar to the smell of a heated metal wok.

It is in the taste that black tea lives up to its name: the first couple of sips are extremely bitter, as if you were drinking medicine. With the next few sips, the tea becomes bittersweet and as you drink a couple more the degree of bittersweetness changes again. Thus, the distinctive feature of black tea is that the taste changes from sip to sip. Black tea also leaves a cool sensation in your mouth and a persistent bittersweetness, especially on the back and sides of your tongue.

Rose Black

Rose Black has a hug of scented rose petals with a reddish-brown hue. A bolder style protects its soft flavor and blithe body. Smooth and straightforward, this tea has a crisp, clean finish due to intense aroma. It is a wonderful morning tea.

Brewing Instructions

Black tea may be prepared in a regular teapot or beautifully presented in a traditional steeping cup or gaiwan. Use 1-2 tsp of tea leaves per serving and very hot, but not quite boiling water. Infuse 2 to 5 minutes depending on desired strength. Black tea may be resteeped once or twice by increasing the steeping time.

The black tea story

There is a story about a black tea called Wu Tang, or bitter stalk tea. This tea was, at one time, in small production and used only as an offering to royalty. Because it was rare and expensive, many people tried to grow the seeds from the plant. They were unsuccessful in their attempts, so they resigned themselves to watching birds eat the seeds. To their astonishment, they noticed that the seeds in the feces of the birds began to germinate. What had happened was that the outer layer of the seed was broken down by the birds' digestive juices, thereby allowing the seeds to grow. Today, growers take cuttings to propagate the plant.

Some teas possess the fragrance of certain flowers and so they are known as flower teas. These teas are named after the flower whose fra­grance they possess, such as rose, white peony, and lychee. In these teas, the flowery fragrances are scented into the tea leaves when the leaves are being prepared. The tea leaves can be scented or smoked up to four times - teas scented only once are considered to be of poor quality, while teas scented four times are of excellent quality.

However, it is essential to achieve the correct balance of flowers and tea. If the flower aroma is too strong and dominating, the brewed tea will often have a bitter and unpleasant taste. Conversely, if the flower fragrance is too weak, the brewed tea will not be flower tea. As a general guideline, the aroma of a brewed flower tea should be 70 percent tea and 30 percent flower.

Flowers with a strong fragrance are paired with strong tea and vice versa. For example, flowers such as rose and lychee are paired with red tea while more delicate flowers with a weak fragrance are paired with green, light green, and white tea. Although people like to use jasmine with red tea, the aroma of the red tea tends to overwhelm and dominate the fragrance of jasmine. Jasmine and green tea are a more popular match.

Some enthusiasts of flower teas enjoy the flowery taste so much that they discard the tea leaves and brew the flowers directly in water. However, it is arguable whether these flower waters can be regarded as a form of tea.

Lychee Black Tea

Have you ever tasted gold…
Or experienced
Heaven on Earth?

A lace of berries, chocolate, truffle and smoke. The insistence of lingering mist. The rarest succulent lychee fruit. Robust… velvet. The culmination of centuries-old tradition of Fah Guo Mountain tea-growing. These are what make the Lychee Black Tea an extraordinary experience.

The grace of the tea is revealed with each smooth sip. A well-balanced mellow sweet flavor, a light body with hints of lychee fruit and a mild, sweet-like aftertaste.

Black Emperor (Keemum Varity of black tea)

A full-bodied, yet mellow black tea with a lively bouquet. The Black Emperor is made from one of China’s finest black teas. It is superbly crafted with tipsy leaves and an aromatic sweetness.