History of Anhua Dark Tea
Anhua dark tea holds a significant place in the extensive history of tea, with a rich cultural legacy that dates back many centuries. This region is renowned as the birthplace of several iconic types of tea, such as Qianliang tea, Black Brick, and Fu Brick.
During the Tang Dynasty, spanning from 618 to 907, Anhua dark tea gained immense prestige as a tribute specifically reserved for the royal families, elevating Anhua to fame due to its exceptional dark tea.
Moving forward to the Ming and Qing dynasties, the areas situated along the Zijiang River thrived with bustling dark tea markets, underscoring Anhua's pivotal role.
Throughout a span of 500 years during the Ming and Qing dynasties, Anhua stood at the heart of the Chinese tea market, contributing to approximately 40% of the nation’s dark tea production, among the five provinces renowned for producing this tea variety.
In the aftermath of the liberation war, it was noted that certain minority communities in border regions opted to purchase only Anhua dark tea, underscoring its exceptional quality and exclusivity.
The well-preserved Ancient Tea-horse Road serves as a powerful testament to the significant role Anhua dark tea played in the historical tea-horse trade. This road was vital in maintaining the trade connections that spread the fame of Anhua dark tea far and wide. In 1595, during the Ming Dynasty, this tea was officially recognized as the designated tea for sale in the Northwest regions. From that point onward, Anhua dark tea maintained a vibrant trade in these areas for several centuries.
As the tea-horse trade expanded, numerous tea merchants from Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Gansu journeyed to Anhua to engage in dark tea commerce, with many going so far as to establish tea shops and houses in the area.
At the peak of this trade activity during the later Ming and early Qing Dynasties, the number of tea shops and houses amounted to over 300. The distribution of the dark tea commenced from ancient tea-horse towns like Xiao’an, Bianjiang, Jiangnan, Dongshi, Tangjiaguan, Huangshaping, Youzhou, and Dongping.
The distribution routes led down the Zijiang River to Hankou, then onward through Henan and Shanxi to the northwest region, or via Zhangjiakou to Kyakhta, which was a noteworthy border city in Russia. This entire network was part of the grand Tea-horse Road distinguished by its unique horse-ship transportation method.
This historical trade route stretched thousands of miles, linking Asia with Europe and facilitating the growth of many renowned dark tea merchants throughout history. The business of dark tea has been able to sustain and nurture itself through countless generations, owing to this enduring tradition and the prominent place that Anhua dark tea holds in history.