Compare two teas
Side by side across seven dimensions. There is no verdict and no winner — the purpose is to understand the difference, not to be told which to buy.
Why these two get confused
Two coarse border-trade bricks from Hubei and Sichuan, made for boiling rather than steeping. Both are among the least expensive Chinese teas by weight, and the confusion between them is a real one — they differ by province and by destination market rather than by anything visible in the brick.
Point by point
| Dimension | Qing Zhuan | Kang Zhuan |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Dark tea and pu-erh · not applicable · post-fermented (wet piling then ageing) | Dark tea and pu-erh · not applicable · post-fermented (wet piling then ageing) |
| Production | In order: Kill-green (fixation) → Rolling and shaping → Wet piling (wo dui) → Drying → Compression → Ageing and storage. mature leaf and summer harvest. | In order: Kill-green (fixation) → Wet piling (wo dui) → Drying → Compression → Ageing and storage. mature leaf and summer harvest. |
| Origin | China — Yangloudong | China — Ya’an |
| Flavour | woody, smoky and earthy. full bodied and medium in the mouth. Aroma: wood, smoke, dried hay, earth. Straightforward in character. Moderate in intensity. | smoky, woody and earthy. astringent, full bodied and drying in the mouth. Aroma: woodsmoke, bark, damp earth. Straightforward in character. Bold in intensity. |
| Brewing | Boiling and decoction: 0.5–1 g/100 ml at 95–100 °C, first steep 600s. Western brewing (teapot or mug): 1.5–2.5 g/100 ml at 95–100 °C, first steep 180s. Boiling aged and dark tea (zhu cha): 1–2 g/100 ml at 98–100 °C, first steep 480s. Mongolian milk tea (suutei tsai): 1–2 g/100 ml at 98–100 °C, first steep 600s. | Boiling and decoction: 0.5–1.5 g/100 ml at 95–100 °C, first steep 900s. Western brewing (teapot or mug): 1.5–2.5 g/100 ml at 95–100 °C, first steep 180s. Boiling aged and dark tea (zhu cha): 1–2 g/100 ml at 98–100 °C, first steep 480s. Butter tea churning: 1.5–3 g/100 ml at 98–100 °C, first steep 1800s. |
| Cultural context | Used in Tibetan butter tea and the Himalayan tea trade and Suutei tsai (Mongolian milk tea). | Used in Tibetan butter tea and the Himalayan tea trade, Suutei tsai (Mongolian milk tea), Tang boiled tea and the Cha Jing, The tea-horse trade, The Lhasa sweet tea house and Suja and ngaja in Bhutan. Central to Tibetan and Himalayan food culture as po cha, churned with butter and salt. Judging it by steeped-tea standards misses what it is for. |
| Who may prefer it | Someone who wants presence without being dominated and is willing to drink something several times before it makes sense. It rewards attention to leaf weight and timing. | Someone who wants the cup to assert itself and is willing to drink something several times before it makes sense. It rewards attention to leaf weight and timing. |
Nothing above is a recommendation. The last row describes the drinker each tea suits, using each tea’s own authored fields and the same sentence structure for both, so neither can be framed as the safe choice.