Qimen Black Tea

Editor's note: The moist clouds that ring Huangshan Mountain – with an area of 160 square kilometers in Anhui province – are believed to form a natural layer of shelter, blocking the sunlight and allowing the tea leaves cultivated there to produce more nitrogen content and that gives them their distinctive aroma.

As a result, the celebrated Huangshan Maofeng, Taiping Houkui and Qimen Black Tea produced in Huangshan have won worldwide popularity. They were also added on Nov 29 to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity compiled by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

Qimen Black Tea has worldwide popularity for its pleasant fragrance. [Photo/WeChat ID: gh_fddd8e6b4139]

Qimen Black Tea, originated from Qimen county in Huangshan county of Anhui, is among the most famous black teas in China and has been consumed in the west for well over a hundred years. 

The art of making it is believed to have originated in the reign of the Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

This elegant tea is delightful to drink, never astringent. It brews up a sweet and malt tea soup with some light floral notes. The floral taste, rather than conflicting with the malty sweetness, accentuates it and adds additional dimensions of complexity to it.