With today's new found prosperity, China's tea lovers has also discovered a new tea fad -- Black Tea! However, today's black tea produced from China is a far cry from the black tea commonly enjoyed by the west for over a century. Today's Chinese black tea lovers look for a beautifully shaped leaf, western black tea drinkers often look for a good color cup as more important than leaf shape. Western black tea drinkers often enjoy it with milk and sugar or paired with pastries while the new Chinese black tea admirers wants the tea to stand on its own without interfering the experience with other flavors.

The new black tea is expected to produce multiple infusions as oppose to the standard English practice of boiling water for 5 minutes once. Two very different approaches that makes sense due to the intended usage of two very different cultures. When I finally decided to adjust my long-held stubborn western attitude and starting cupping this outstanding black tea from Ying De of China's Guangdong province the way the Chinese are doing it now, I was pleasantly surprised by the orange golden color cup and the light fruity and floral notes. I was able to get multiple infusion using water that is just below boiling water for quick 30 second steepings.

When I was a young tea merchant, with the prominence of the likes of Yunnan and Keemun black teas, the famous Ying De Hong Cha has been all but forgotten until recent years. This outstanding example of Ying De's finest is beautiful to look at with immense amounts of golden tips and nicely shaped curls, when infused correctly it is a most pleasing experience that only blacks teas of this kind can produce.

PREPARATION:

Suggested brewing at just below boiling water (or lower) for short steeping, absolutely fabulous all on its own but we encourage you to find your own "fit".