Taste the Origins of Dark Tea – Zang Cha (Tibetan Dark Tea)

Before Liu Bao and looonng before Shou Puer, Zang Cha (藏茶) or Tibetan Dark Tea is considered by many as the original full oxidized Heicha. The name is a bit misleading, as the tea has long been a traded commodity on the Tea Horse Road to Tibet, but the tea itself is grown and produced in Sichuan – in Yaán the region where Tea as a plant was first cultivated.

Zang Cha is steeped in over 1300 years of history and is even designated as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage, yet it’s quite unknown in the west, as the vast majority of the tea is still exported to Tibet. Historically, since this tea has been boiled and mixed with Yak butter among Tibetans with their nomad lifestyle, the blends that has been most commonly sold abroad are typically not suited for the Gong Fu style of brewing. However within China there’s a growing population of people who appreciate productions using Wild-growing and finer leaf material, pushing producers to start creating teas for this burgeoning market.

Sichuan has a special place in our hearts as the home of our founder Yiling, and after spending the past 2 years going deep into the world of Zang Cha, we’ve sourced some amazing teas that we’re excited to share with you all!

In this tasting workshop we will not only go into the history and processing of Zang Cha, but we will also taste various types, harvests, and pickings of Zang Cha, as well as in different brewing styles.  Traditionally, Tibetan tea is mixed with tea leaves, red moss, tea stems, camellias, and tea fruits from the mature tea trees (we call this using“whole plant”全株), compared to for example Pu’er which uses just leaves. We’ve brought a select representative group of teas, some Wild-growing, some “whole plant”and even a true taste of the past – Zang cha harvested in the 1960s.

We look forward to sharing these amazing teas with you!

* PS: this tasting event is free for Nari Members.