Today, we'll discuss in detail a real treasure in the world of tea – Tibetan tea. It has a thousand-year-long story, dating back to the times of the Tang dynasty. Tibetan black tea shaped the history and culture of tea drinking in Tibet and the borderlands of the Chinese empire. It became one of the key commodities moving along the route later known as the Tea Horse Road or ‘Southern Silk Road’, played a major role in the prosperity of this network, and left a legacy that remains uninterrupted to this day, even after over a thousand years.
What is Tibetan Black tea?
Zang Cha (藏茶) is, in fact, a Hei Cha (黑茶) – a kind of post-fermented tea from China. It had many names that changed with time: Wu Cha (乌茶 – black tea), Bian Cha (边茶 – border tea), or Da Cha (大茶 – big tea).
Tibetan tea is made from more mature tea leaves. The picking standard for it includes a bud and up to five leaves. Modern-day processing includes typical steps for producing Hei Cha – fixing, rolling, wet piling (Wo Dui – 渥堆), drying, steaming, pressing, and finally, aging. While the processing method changed over time, some believe it is, namely, Tibetan tea, that precedes all other types of Hei Cha and served as a model for all subsequent Hei Cha production and processing in other areas of China, though places like Hunan, Guangxi, and Yunnan developed their own independent dark-tea techniques.
Tibetan tea processing includes 5 stages and a total of 32 processing steps. The traditional production cycle for Ya’an Tibetan tea takes about 6 months, after which the tea is usually aged for several years (often 3 years or more) before it is sold. Some claim its production process is the most intricate and time-consuming among all tea types.
At the beginning of 2008, the Chinese Ministry of Culture declared Ya'an Tibetan tea production skills as a national intangible cultural heritage.
History of the Tibetan Black tea
Ya'an has been the central production point for Tibetan Hei Cha from the times of the Tang and Song dynasties. The area has a rich history of tea production and is considered one of China's cradles of tea culture.
The origin of Tibetan tea – the legends
Tales of the Tibetan tea origin are found in both Chinese and Tibetan history. Here are two legends that are told in Tibet.
According to the first one, Songtsen Gampo, king of Tibet during the Tang Dynasty, was ill for a long time. One day, he was resting by the window when he saw a bird flying towards him with a twig in its mouth. The king ordered the palace servants to fetch and boil water. After drinking it, his sickness healed within days. The king then sent people to search for the plant with this branch and finally found the tea plant in the Han district (today's Sichuan).
Another story tells that when Princess Wencheng of the Tang Dynasty entered Tibet, she brought three treasures as part of her dowry: tea, silk, and ink. Since then, Tibetan tea and culture from the Central Plains have gradually merged with the Tibetan people's diet and daily life, forming the unique Tibetan culture of today.
The development of Tibetan tea reached its peak during the Yuan Dynasty's rule in Tibet. In 1206 AD, Genghis Khan was proclaimed the Great Khan of Mongolia, and Tibet was drawn into the Mongol sphere and eventually administered by the Yuan dynasty. Under Mongol rule, Chinese tea spread along caravan routes into Central Asia and parts of West Asia. Even today, compressed brick tea from China is still widely used in Tibet, Mongolia, and parts of Central Asia.
The origin of Tibetan tea – the evidence
The Huayang Chronicles (华阳国志巴志) indicate that tea gardens existed in the ancient kingdoms of Shu and Ba (present-day Sichuan). The states paid tribute to Zhou Wuwang, the emperor of the Zhou dynasty (1045-256 BC), in the form of tea. That is considered the first written evidence of people growing, producing, and drinking tea.
During the Tang and Song dynasties, the Old Tea Horse Road emerged as a crucial trade route and a vital means of extending the empire's power and influence into remote border areas. Caravans transported tea produced in Guizhou, Yunnan, and Sichuan to the Tibet-Qinghai region and other frontier areas. Ya'an was a central point on the Tea Horse Road. It concentrated and organized raw tea supplies from Luzhou, Yibin, Guanxian, Chongqing, and other places in Sichuan, as well as from parts of Yunnan. From there, tea was supplied to Tibetans and exchanged for war horses that the empire used in its military campaigns. Between 15,000 and 20,000 horses were traded in Ya'an every year. The trade in Ya'an reached unprecedented levels. These exchanges made the Ya’an section of the existing Southwest caravan routes, later known as the ‘Southern Silk Road’ or Nanlu Biancha (南路边茶), especially prosperous. It was the southern leg of the Tea and horse caravan road, starting from Ya'an, Sichuan, and going to Tibet.
The organization that managed the "tea-horse exchange market" was called the "tea-horse department". Today, there are still six ancient tea-horse departments left in Ya'an.
Ya'an was the center of the tea and horse road, lying in the middle of Yunnan and Tibet. It was no wonder that all the policies on the tea trade were first implemented there. From the historical records of" History of Min – Food and goods chronicles" (明史·食货志), we learn that "a fine Tibetan war horse costs 40 jin of tea (20kg), an average one costs 30 jin, and a low-grade horse costs 20 jin of tea...". Another year, there was a shortage of war horses, so the Tea and Horse Department updated the prices at the whopping "120 jin of tea for a fine horse, 70 jin for an average one, and 50 jin for a lower-class horse."
The properties of Tibetan Black tea
The tea trees in the area of Ya'an are mainly scattered in the hills of Mengding Mountain, at 600-1500 meters above sea level. It is an area characterized by yellow, red, and brown soil, slightly acidic, rich in organic matter, and with abundant humidity. The raw material for Tibetan tea is one bud and up to five leaves. That makes its content much richer than that of ordinary bud tea.
Sichuan falls within the "Golden belt" of the 30º Northern altitude parallel. Some of the world's highest quality tea grows namely in those regions that the belt encompasses.
Traditionally produced Tibetan tea has oily black leaves that emit a soft glow from within. Advanced fermentation has transformed the inner content of the leaves. It has a smooth, rounded mouthfeel, a mellow and sweet taste, and a strong yet pure aroma with notes of dried fruits and red dates. After aging, slight medicinal notes appear. They remind the smell of traditional Chinese pharmacies. This medicinal smell is a prized feature and a sign of good storage. The tea soup is bright red and clear, without any astringency or bitterness.
Health benefits of the Tibetan tea
The average altitude of the Tibetan area is above 4,000 meters. On the plateau, it is cold most of the year. The air is thin, and radiation is strong. Few vegetables can survive these harsh conditions, and fruits are only available for a short time span. Drinking Tibetan tea is a vital source of much-needed vitamins and plant-based nutrients that are otherwise lacking in local people's diets. Additionally, the unique microflora and rich inner content of Tibetan Hei Cha help break down fat, alleviate feelings of stomach heaviness, and support digestion. More than in any other part of China, tea is not only a leisurely drink but a vital daily supplement and medicine for the Tibetan minority, who have stuck to it for more than a thousand years, ever since the entry of Princess Wencheng into the Tibetan lands.
The average diet of the highland minorities mainly consists of beef and mutton, cheese, ghee, and a sort of highland barley. Most of these foods are harder to digest, high in fat, and low in fiber. Yet, the population rarely suffers from indigestion, obesity, or high blood pressure. Local medical experts attribute this to the consistent drinking of Tibetan Hei Cha.
Daily drinking of Tibetan Hei Cha has been so deeply ingrained into daily life for more than a millennium now that it has created some popular folklore sayings. One is "Better three days without food than one day without tea". Another says, "One day without tea means stagnant; three days without tea means sick".
The "Indian tea enters China" incident
A historical event that occurred more than 120 years ago may be the most definitive proof of Tibetan Hei Cha's remarkable properties and medicinal value.
Around 1895, an incident later known as "Indian Tea Enters Tibet" occurred. By that time, the British had transported a large amount of Darjeeling tea to Tibetan areas in an attempt to cut off the Qing government's supply of tea to those areas and secure new markets for their tea. Such a move would also have great political significance, as tea was the main asset of the Chinese empire for exerting influence in its border areas. However, due to its taste, this tea proved no match for Ya'an Tibetan tea. More importantly, it failed to deliver the medicinal effects and cater to the basic needs of local minorities the way Ya'an tea did. Therefore, it was used only as recreational tea by wealthy families at the time (today's sweet tea houses on the streets of Lhasa are a legacy of Indian tea entering Tibet). At the same time, daily life in Tibet still required a steady supply of Ya'an Tibetan tea. At that time, the 13th Dalai Lama, Tudenggyatso, wrote to the Qing government urging them to increase the supply of Tibetan tea. The Qing government ordered Sichuan Governor Zhao Erfeng to solve the issue, and Tibetan consumers largely continued to prefer Chinese tea. These tea-trade disputes were closely tied to sovereignty issues between China, Tibet, and British India, and Ya’an Tibetan tea played a significant role in those territorial politics
That's it for today! In our next blog post, we'll learn about the different types of Tibetan tea. We'll also meet you with a Tibetan Black tea producer, from whom we source our fine Tibetan tea. They will share tips and tricks on how to store, brew, and taste Tibetan black tea (Hei Cha – 黑茶). Stay tuned!