Dark tea · Hunan
Qian Liang Cha
千两茶
The "thousand-tael tea" of Anhua — a dark tea steamed and pressed by hand into a tall, log-shaped column bound in bamboo. Aged for years, it gives a smooth, sweet, woody cup of real depth.
- Region
- Anhua, Hunan
- Harvest
- Spring and summer leaf; steamed, pressed and aged
- Oxidation
- Post-fermented (dark tea)
- Cultivar
- Local Anhua bushes
In the cup
Mellow and woody with dried fruit, dark sugar and a clean earthy sweetness, smoothing further with age.
What it gives
A warming, settling tea — post-fermented and aged, gentle on the stomach and traditionally drunk after rich meals.
Qian Liang Cha — thousand-tael tea — is the most theatrical of the Anhua dark teas of Hunan. Its name comes from its weight: traditionally a single piece weighed about a thousand liǎng (taels), pressed and bound by a team of men who steam the leaf, pack it into a long bamboo casing, and compress it by foot and pole into a tall, dense log that is then left to cure in sun and air.
The aging that follows turns a coarse leaf into something deep and smooth. Slices cut from the log reveal tightly packed, dark leaf that brews into a mellow, woody, sweet cup — a classic post-fermented dark tea with serious presence.
In the cup
Pry off a small piece, rinse it, then brew hot — full boiling for older logs — with short steeps. The liquor is deep red-brown, mellow and woody, with dried fruit, dark sugar and a clean earthy sweetness. It is forgiving and long-lasting, giving many rounds, and is at its best after a few years of age.
How to brew
Qian Liang Cha
Water
95–100 °C
Leaf
6 g per 100 ml
Steep
Rinse, then short steeps, many rounds
Vessel
Clay pot or gaiwan; older leaf takes boiling
