Hei cha is also known as "Dark Tea" and is a post-fermented tea like shou/ripe pu'erh. Hei cha has existed for over 1,000 years in China and is an ancient tea with a lot of history.
This Anhua hei cha has been aged in a bamboo basket and is called "Tian Jian" (Heaven Points), referring to the highest quality of leaves used for this tea - early spring harvest and plucking standard (barely any stems and good quality leaves). This particular tea has been fermented with good bacteria which results in golden spores known as "Jin Hua" or golden flowers, which break down the tea and give it its very distinct flavors.
Hei cha shares some similarities with shou/ripe puerh. This particular hei cha has a light pine smokiness infused into a very earthy, mushroomy tea with barely any astringency and a natural sweetness to the tea liquor. There is no wrong way to steep this tea as it is very forgiving and easy to brew.
According to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), hei cha is excellent for the stomach and general health & well-being.
This tea is NOT GLUTEN-FREE.