Qian Liang Cha 20078Q07 Harvest: September 2007
Origin: China / Hunan / Anhua
Height: 1000 m.a.s.l
Tea plant varietal: An Hua Yun Tai Shan Da Ye Zhong
Qian Liang Cha may be translated to 100 pound (lb) tea. Normally it is pressed to huge columns of a heavy weight. These might be cut to Cakes, sometimes smaller columns or other forms are pressed too. Qian Liang Cha is one of the classical heicha. one of the oldest ways of tea manufactering. Normally pressed to huge brick; this one is quite a small variant. The tea leaves undergo a microbial postfermenting stage in a hot and damp room, this proces continues after pressing. Quite a primordial tea with smooth and sweet taste, remembers Pu Er, somewhere between raw and fermented.
Character:
A really earthy, primordial tea, which reminds of Pu Er besides its sweet mellow aromas, somewhere between raw and fermented.
Category:
Heicha Other Heicha, i.e. post-fermented teas that are not Pu Er, are produced in various provinces, and most of them are unknown even among tea connoisseurs. Heicha from the provinces of Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan and Anhui belong to the very rare and unknown traditional Heicha, which go through an artificial process of post-fermentation (Rengong Houfajiao), induced by human influence, but for shorter time than for the new Pu Er Shu Cha. They are produced in different variations, but they are not as clearly differentiated as Pu Er Sheng Cha and Pu Er Shu Cha. These Heicha are lighter in colour in the cup, and very unusual and archaic to the palate. They are often pressed into very large bricks or pieces. Just as Pu Er, they keep fermenting during the whole time of stocking. Heicha are generally speaking very distinct in taste, difficult and complex, sometimes beautifully sweet, though, and in any case extremely interesting.
Storage:
This tea has been fermented microbially during years of storage and keeps maturing over time, gaining depth, sweetness and earthy aromas.
