by Ms Manu

Created on: August 10, 2009

The best description of a piping hot cup of black tea,' Black as the devil, Hot as hell, Pure as an angel, Sweet as love'. Black teas are strong robust and very assertive. Black teas come from all the major tea growing countries.

Chinese black tea,

Chinese are famous for green and oolong teas, and black teas are made from the plants and in regions that don't produce the best of green and oolongs. Chinese black teas, much similar to their other teas are sweet and fruity, some of the famous teas of China are:

i. Golden Monkey - This tea was mainly developed for export, rather new but has cult like following in the west. This comes from the Saowu near the coast in the Fujian province. This is a light tea slightly sweet and with the aroma of mild rose and apricots. It is made of an inch long twisted leaves that are a mixture of about 75% darker brown leaves and 25% golden tips.

ii. Panyong Golden Needle - This tea is from Panyong town and the surrounding region in northeastern Fujian province. Made of flat shiny needle like leaves with many golden tips. It is a medium dark tea with strong flavour of nuts and a has a fruity top note.

iii. Keemun Mao Feng - This is the most famous black tea from China. Made of long skinny leaves of which many end in golden tips. It is a light and sweet tea with hints of chocolate. The sweetness is due to the fact that the leaves are harvested earlier in spring than normal, which results in these leaver containing more polyphenols and amino acids. This tea is grown in the region around the Qimen town near the Yellow Mountains and the Yangtze River.

iv. Yunnan Black Tea - this tea comes from a remote region of China bordering Laos and Burma. Made of slightly twisted inch long dark black leaves and golden tips. It is a medium strong tea with astringent undertones and has a earthy aroma.

v. Lapsang Soucong - This is a medium heavy tea with a smoky aroma. Originally from the Wuyi Mountains, this tea is one of the oldest black teas of China. Today many varieties of this tea can be found.

Indian Black teas,

India is the largest producer and exporter of tea. Tea production was restricted to a few indigenous tribe of the Assam region of India, till the British developed plantations in the 1800 to suffice the growing tea market in Europe. The tea plant growing in India is a variant of that found in China, it is the 'Camellia sinensis var. assamica'. Due to the huge tea harvest, the production process is mechanized in India, unlike

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