Chinese Tea Brick (Black Tea)

We use the finest quality Keemun Black Tea to make this artful Chinese Tea Brick (Black Tea). The leaves are naturally compressed by oxen under 60 tonnes of pressure! The pattern, meanwhile, is, put simply, exquisite. Indeed, this Tea has a story to tell - and in more than one way!

For millennia, Tea Bricks have travelled vast distances at greater ease than Loose Leaf Tea. In fact, compressing the leaf became the preferred way to transport Tea, often under the saddle. And at times, people even used them as currency!

When it came to brewing, one would simply scrape off enough Tea from the brick to make a cup of two! The same applies today with our Chinese Tea Brick (Black Tea).

What is Keemun Tea?

The name "Keemun" comes from an archaic English spelling of Qimen. This county makes up part of the Anhui province of China. Originally, Qimen only produced Green Keemun Tea. Nowadays, however, the county is most famous for Black Keemun Tea. Yet while Green Tea has existed since 2737 BCE, Keemun Black Tea only arrived in the 19th Century!

The story of Keemun Black Tea begins with a former Chinese civil servant in 1875. According to legend, Yu Ganchen had lost his job, and in his shame, decided to travel to the Fujian province to uncover the secrets of producing Black Tea. His journey proved a triumphant success. Inspired, Yu Ganchen returned to his home in Qimen, Anhui, with a plan.

Yu established three Black Tea factories in Qimen. This, of course, came as somewhat of a surprise to local Green Tea producers. Nevertheless, the Anhui province proved well-suited to Black Tea production, with it exploding onto the markets not long after.

In the 20th Century, Keemun Black Tea won the Gold prize at the 1913 International Exposition in Italy. It then won Gold at the 1915 International Exposition in Panama. In 1987, it again rose to fame, winning Gold prize at the 26th World Premium Food Product Contest held in Belgium.

Type of Tea: Black Tea.

Weight: 1.1 kg

Measurements: L = 24 cm. W = 19.5 cm. D = 2 cm.

Origin: Qimen county, Anhui province, China.