Hunan Special: Thirst growing for Hunan's fermented dark tea

                                                                                                                            By Tian Yang (China Daily) 

 The dark tea popular in China's western region during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) is now enjoying a revival in both domestic and overseas markets.

Not as widely known as many other varieties - and often mistaken for black tea - dark tea is named for leaves that blacken after special treatment. It only grows in China, with about 60 percent of it produced in the central province of Hunan.

Yet Hunan residents themselves don't usually drink it. Instead, the tea is popular in remote, border areas that are home to ethnic groups.

Their preference is due to the belief that dark tea can offset surplus fat in a diet of mostly meat and milk.

It is also known as brick tea due to the compressed shape merchants used for easier transport over long distances.

Dark tea was discovered by accident, according to Chinadarktea.com. When shipped north on the sea and then along the Silk Road in ancient times, humid air caused dried leaves to ferment and develop a strong aroma. The change also gave the tea greater longevity.

Today the tea is processed differently than other varieties to replicate the flavor.

Tea leaves are heated, kneaded and twisted, then sprinkled with water and placed in huge piles under cloth to ferment before being dried.

After treatment, the tea takes on a dark black color. Once brewed, it has a strong aroma with a thick flavor. The taste and aroma are said to improve with age.

But compared to Longjing, Hunan's dark tea is not well known - a situation local tea makers expect to change.

Baishaxi Tea Industry Co Ltd, based in the birthplace of dark tea in Anhua county of Hunan province, is one of the major producers. Established in 1939, the company has created various kinds of dark tea.

Together with other Hunan tea companies, Baishaxi started a tour earlier this month to promote dark tea in Europe. Destinations included Hungry, the Czech Republic, Romania, Turkey, the Ukraine and Russia.

At the third stop of the tour in Bucharest, Romanian government officials and local red wine makers gathered to appreciate dark tea from Hunan. A precious type named Qianliang caught their attention.

Qian in the name means one thousand and liang refers to China's old measurement of weight - about 32 liang to a kilogram. The tea got its name because it is shaped in rolls that each weigh about 1,000 liang.

The secret recipe for Qianliang used to belong to a family in Anhua. It was later hand-made exclusively by Baishaxi in the 1950s and sold according to a government distribution plan. In 1958 the company began mechanized production and stopped making Qianliang.

In the late 1990s, Baishaxi resumed production of Qianliang to meet demands from overseas enthusiasts. The tea is now mainly sold in Southeast Asia, Guangdong, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Today, Baishaxi's plantation covers more than 4 million square meters. Its two production lines have combined capacity to produce 5,000 tons of dark tea each year.

In 2010, its dark tea was selected among China's 10 most famous teas and displayed in the United Nation Pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo.

As a distinct symbol of Hunan's traditional culture and craftsmanship, it is now one of the most favored presents from local residents to friends at home and abroad.

(China Daily 05/31/2011 page15）

湖南特產(chǎn)：快速增長的湖南黑茶

中國日報：田楊（音譯）

湖南省白沙溪茶廠有限責(zé)任公司總經(jīng)理劉新安（左）向羅馬尼亞官員贈送黑茶（百兩茶）

 自明朝（1368-1644）以來，（湖南）黑茶流行于我國西部少數(shù)民族地區(qū)，現(xiàn)在（湖南）黑茶開始在國內(nèi)外市場復(fù)蘇。

（在我國的六大茶類之中）黑茶并不像其他茶類那么受人所知，而且常與紅茶相混淆。黑茶的得名在于其特殊的加工工藝使其干茶色澤黑褐油潤，黑茶只有中國有，全國60%的黑茶都產(chǎn)于湖南的中部地區(qū)。

然而湖南當(dāng)?shù)氐木用窈群诓璧牟⒉欢?，（長期以來）黑茶流行于我國的廣大少數(shù)民族地區(qū)。由于黑茶能夠有效的化解飲食中從肉食（牛肉）和奶制品攝取的過多脂肪，西北人民特別偏愛黑茶。

 眾所周知，黑茶由于其緊壓成磚形，便于商人長距離的運輸。

 通過中國黑茶網(wǎng)（www.chinadarktea.com）,我們了解到，黑茶的誕生源于一次意外：在古代，人們先通過船運，然后走絲綢之路將茶葉運到我國北方地區(qū)和其他國家，潮濕的天氣使干茶發(fā)酵（茶葉被雨水淋濕）并產(chǎn)生一種強烈的香氣。這種變化（發(fā)酵過程）延長了黑茶的“壽命”（使黑茶能夠長期存放）。

 如今，黑茶因為其獨特的香味與其他茶類區(qū)別開來。在干燥以前，茶葉要經(jīng)過殺青、揉捻、渥堆（在干茶上撒水，然后攤放在地面上，用一層布料覆蓋）。

 在經(jīng)過上述加工之后，茶葉變得黑褐油潤。經(jīng)過發(fā)酵的黑茶，具有濃烈的香氣和厚重的口感，這種香氣和口感將會隨著年份的增加而增強。“與西湖龍井相比，湖南黑茶并不廣為人知，這種情況將會改變”湖南黑茶的生產(chǎn)企業(yè)預(yù)料。

 湖南省白沙溪茶廠有限責(zé)任公司是一家大型黑茶生產(chǎn)廠家，是緊壓茶的搖籃,位于湖南安化，該廠創(chuàng)辦于1939年，大量黑茶系列產(chǎn)品誕生于白沙溪茶廠。

 和其他湖南黑茶廠家一道，白沙溪于本月（5月）早些時候開始了黑茶的歐洲之旅。包括匈牙利、捷克共和國、羅馬利亞、土耳其、烏克蘭和俄羅斯。

 在（湖南黑茶歐洲之旅的）第三站：布加勒斯特（羅馬尼亞首都），羅馬利亞官員與當(dāng)?shù)丶t酒生產(chǎn)商齊聚一堂感悟來自湖南的黑茶。神秘的千兩茶吸引了很多人的目光。

 千兩茶的因其外形和重量得名，其重為一千兩（按中國老秤計算重量：32兩為一公斤）。

 這款神秘的千兩茶制作工藝一直以來被安化（劉姓）家庭掌握。五十年代以后千兩茶手工加工工藝被白沙溪傳承，通過國家計劃銷售。1958年，白沙溪在千兩茶加工工工藝的基礎(chǔ)上研制出了新的產(chǎn)品（花磚茶），使其機器化生產(chǎn)。 

 在九十年代末期（1997年），為了應(yīng)合海外市場的需求，白沙溪恢復(fù)了千兩茶的生產(chǎn)，暢銷于東南亞、廣東、香港、臺灣等地。

 現(xiàn)在白沙溪擁有超過四百萬平方米的茶園基地，其兩條現(xiàn)代化的機器生產(chǎn)線每年能夠生產(chǎn)5000噸的黑茶成品。

 在2010年，湖南黑茶入選“中國世博十大名茶”，在2010年上海世博會聯(lián)合國館展示。

 作為能夠代表湖南傳統(tǒng)風(fēng)俗文化和工藝的產(chǎn)品，湖南黑茶日益成為國內(nèi)外朋友禮尚往來的交流載體。

 （注：本文譯文僅供參考，略有改動）

譯者：孟濤

(中國日報 2011年5月31日 第15頁)