Basic Introduction to Taoyuan Black Tea
Taoyuan Black Tea belongs to the black tea category of China's six major tea types, named after its origin in Taoyuan County, Hunan Province, China. Traditional Taoyuan Black Tea is divided into floral black tea, Gongfu black tea, and red brick tea. Modern Taoyuan Black Tea includes golden buds, red curly snails, Gongfu black, and red Fu brick. The outstanding quality of Taoyuan large-leaf tea lies in its “large leaves, soft texture, robust color, abundant down, jade-green liquor, fragrant aroma, and lingering aftertaste.” Tea experts have determined that this tea is rich in selenium, zinc, and other trace elements beneficial to human health, as well as over 500 types of polyphenols, with a tea polyphenol content as high as 35% and an amino acid content of 8.56%, more than twice that of conventional teas.
Due to the fact that these tea plants only flower but do not fruit, along with excessive picking over centuries, by the 1960s, there were very few wild tea plants left in Taoyuan. At this time, many domestic tea scholars and experts came searching for them. Liao Yuzhao, a tea taster from Anhua, was astonished to find two distinctive large-leaf tea plants on a cliff in Lujiachong. In 1969, native-born Lu Wanjun had just graduated from Hunan Tea School and dedicated himself to the development of large-leaf tea. To rescue this nearly extinct treasure, the county government chose Lujia Bay in Taipingpu to establish a research institute for the cultivation of superior large-leaf tea varieties. Renowned tea experts such as Zhu Xianmin, Tang Mingde, and Shi Zhaopeng provided guidance on site. Ji Guangteng, a young member of a tea-making family, not only joined the research team but also took on the responsibility of being the factory director of the Taipingpu Commune Tea Factory. Under the leadership of the experts, they conducted thousands of experiments, finally overcoming the hurdle of asexual propagation, ensuring not only the survival of the wild tea but also preserving the integrity of its wild genes and maintaining the noble quality of Taoyuan wild tea.
Nutritional Value
This tea is rich in selenium, zinc, and other trace elements beneficial to human health, as well as over 500 types of polyphenols, with a tea polyphenol content as high as 35% and an amino acid content of 8.56%, more than twice that of conventional teas. The catechins in black tea mostly become oxidized polymers during fermentation, and these oxidized polymers have strong antioxidant properties, giving black tea anti-cancer and anti-cardiovascular disease effects. Folklore also uses black tea as a remedy for warming the stomach and aiding digestion.
Product Characteristics
The key to its outstanding quality lies in its “large leaves, soft texture, robust color, abundant down, jade-green liquor, fragrant aroma, and lingering aftertaste.” The liquor is bright and reddish, with a rich and fresh taste, a unique floral and fruity fragrance. Drinking it clears the eyes and mind, invigorates the appetite, soothes the throat, and benefits the skin.
Historical Folklore
In 1662, Princess Catherine of Portugal married King Charles II of England. During the wedding banquet held at the British royal palace, Catherine frequently raised her goblet in thanks, but what she drank was not wine, but the ancient mysterious beverage from China – black tea. Afterward, the British regarded black tea as the ultimate gift. Although Britain does not produce tea, Lipton's black tea has spread throughout the world. The charm and secret of Lipton lie in its focus on a single black tea brand.
Taoyuan Black Tea originated in the fourth year of the Tongzhi era (1865). At that time, Shaping served as the distribution hub, with merchants from Jiangxi and Guangdong selling through the Hankou port, exporting over 20,000 boxes annually. By the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, black tea exports reached up to 30,000 boxes, each box weighing 60 catties, fetching 40 taels of silver, generating substantial profits. The stems and husks of the black tea were also ground into powder and sold to Russian merchants in Hankou to be pressed into brick tea (commonly known as gold bricks), which were exported to Siberia, Turkey, Pakistan, and other countries. This can be verified in the provincial tea chronicles (to follow).
In 1921, international trade gradually returned to normal, and Taoyuan tea production slowly recovered. In 1926, Soviet tea merchants paid high prices to purchase black tea in Shanghai and Hankou, buying over 100,000 boxes annually, each box selling for around 100 silver dollars, leading to an increase in the number of tea shops in Taoyuan.
After 1928, Sri Lanka, India, Japan, and other countries began to seize the global tea market. In 1937, following the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, the international tea market was disrupted. In 1938, the Chinese National Tea Corporation was established to oversee the acquisition and export of all Chinese tea. In 1942, the outbreak of the Pacific War led to the disruption of maritime transport… Years of war followed. Due to political turmoil and internal strife, tea gardens became neglected, tea shops went bankrupt, and the tea industry fell silent.
After liberation, the state invested in building state-owned tea factories directly under central and provincial authorities in Taoyuan's Shaping area.
In 1957, a national technical experiment and promotion conference for black broken tea was held at the Taoyuan Tea Factory, with the head of the Soviet expert group, Beikov, and expert Surinov visiting the factory.
In 1959, a national conference on mechanized assembly automation for tea processing was held at the Taoyuan Tea Factory, attended by representatives from 98 tea factories across the country.
Over the past century, the tea industry in Taoyuan has experienced ups and downs, traversing a rocky and winding path. Generally speaking, only black tea has remained enduringly popular.
Production Method of Taoyuan Black Tea
Made using fresh leaves of high-altitude wild tea picked on sunny days five days after Qingming and before Guyu. Purely handmade, with longer leaves that cannot be dried sufficiently at the same time being separately dried during the drying process. When the leaves are dry but the stems are still moist, they are placed in a bamboo tray covered with a paper made of bamboo, until the leaves soften. Then, they are baked until fully dry. The resulting dry tea has a strong osmanthus or honeysuckle fragrance. Brewed with water at 90 degrees Celsius, the tea liquor is light orange in color, with a rich osmanthus or honeysuckle fragrance mixed with the sweetness of honey. After drinking, saliva and a sweet taste of fructose can linger in the mouth for over two hours.
Tasting Methods
Clear drinking in a bowl or teacup, mainly floral black tea, with some Gongfu black tea strips also suitable for clear drinking. The ideal water temperature for brewing floral black tea is between 85 and 90 degrees Celsius; Gongfu black tea strips should be brewed with boiling water.
Gongfu brewing method. Suitable for a 125 ml lidded bowl, using about 5 grams of tea. Floral black tea should be brewed uncovered rather than steeped, with water temperature not exceeding 90 degrees Celsius; the water temperature for Gongfu black tea should not be lower than 95 degrees Celsius. Low water temperature and quick brewing with the lid off will highlight the honey and fruit aromas. High temperature and longer steeping will bring out the flavors of cassia, loquat, and jujube flowers.