Qing Zhuan aged
Hubei’s compressed dark tea, historically pressed for the Mongolian and Russian trade and made from coarse mature leaf and stem. It is one of the cheapest teas in China by weight and among the longest-lived.
Character
Coarse and woody rather than refined, and made that way on purpose — it was built to survive years of overland transport and to be boiled with milk.
- Flavour
- Woody, Earthy
- Aroma
- Toasted
- Mouthfeel
- Full bodied, Rich
- Complexity
- Straightforward
- Notes
- old wood, dry earth, faint smoke
- Aftertaste
- Dry, woody and long.
Bold intensity: full-bodied, astringent or bitter enough to lead the cup.
Provenance and production
- Origin
- China
- Oxidation
- Not applicable
- Post-fermentation
- Microbial wet piling
- Harvest
- Summer
- Processing
- Kill-green (fixation) → Rolling and shaping → Wet piling (wo dui) → Compression → Ageing and storage
History
Pressed in Hubei for the Mongolian and Russian trade from the nineteenth century and shipped overland in enormous volume through Kyakhta. Its coarseness and hard pressing are transport engineering rather than a quality choice.
Brewing
Gongfu brewing (gaiwan)
5–7 g/100 ml · 98–100 °C · 6 authored infusions
Western brewing (teapot or mug)
1.5–2.5 g/100 ml · 95–100 °C · 1 authored infusion
No caffeine estimate is authored for this tea. TeaHQ does not infer one from its category, because category predicts caffeine poorly — matcha and gyokuro carry more than many black teas.
If you like this
Grouped by why they were suggested, strongest reason first. Nothing here is a blended score — a suggestion appears under the best reason that exists for it, and never under a weaker one as well.
Editorially linked
Someone wrote down why these two belong together. The note below is theirs.
- Kang Zhuan
Two coarse border-trade bricks from Hubei and Sichuan, made for boiling rather than steeping. Both are among the cheapest teas in China by weight.
Similar sensory profile
Shares controlled flavour, aroma and mouthfeel descriptors. A looser match — two teas can share descriptors and still taste nothing alike.
- Anhua dark tea
Shares 5 descriptors with Qing Zhuan aged: woody, earthy, full bodied, rich and toasted.
- Hei Zhuan
Shares 5 descriptors with Qing Zhuan aged: woody, earthy, full bodied, rich and toasted.
- Tibetan brick tea
Shares 5 descriptors with Qing Zhuan aged: earthy, woody, full bodied, rich and toasted.
- Tie Luo Han
Shares 5 descriptors with Qing Zhuan aged: woody, earthy, full bodied, rich and toasted.
- Aged Liu Bao
Shares 4 descriptors with Qing Zhuan aged: woody, earthy, full bodied and rich.
- Aged white tea cake
Shares 4 descriptors with Qing Zhuan aged: woody, earthy, full bodied and rich.
- Ba Xian
Shares 4 descriptors with Qing Zhuan aged: woody, full bodied, rich and toasted.