Monday, May 10, 2010

The Origin Of China Black Tea

Like all typical teas, China black tea comes from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant grown originally in the Yunnan Province of China and available only for export to the foreign markets. Today, China black tea is still a favorite among tea drinkers, especially the English where black tea is constantly the main ingredient in English tea breakfast.

The Chinese call it hong cha because of the color of the infused liquid and the red edges of the oxidized leaves. At one time, it is said that China black tea was considered of lesser quality and not desired by the Chinese themselves, and was therefore exported. This is probably why, to this day, black tea is what everyone outside of China thinks of when talking about tea, whereas, tea in China is understood to mean green tea. Regardless, the black teas of today have come a long way from being considered as low quality tea.

Antoher name for China black tea is Congous - its name in the international tea trade business. The name actually comes from the Chinese term gong fu or kung fu. Northern Congous are also referred to as Black Leaf Congous, "the Burgundy of China teas", and Southern Congous as Red Leaf Congous, "the Claret of China teas."

Source : articlesbase

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