Introduction:Did you know that the world’s best-selling type of tea—black tea—originally came about from an accidental tea-making mishap? This article takes you from Zhengshan Xiaozhong in the deep mountains of Wuyi Mountain, Fujian, to trace the evolution of Jin Jun Mei, follows the path tea took along the ancient Tea Horse Road to reach the world, and explores how, in the 17th century, European merchants shook the global food and drink culture with it. We’ll also look at the trend of handmade tea making a comeback and the unique flavor appeal of classic black teas.
Black tea, now the most consumed tea type globally, has a surprisingly dramatic origin story. Legend has it that during the Ming Dynasty, in the Wuyi Mountain area of Fujian, tea farmers accidentally discovered that by allowing the tea leaves to undergo proper withering and oxidation, they could produce a richer and more full-bodied taste compared to traditional green tea. This unintentional innovation laid the foundation for the category of black tea and opened a brand-new chapter in the history of tea drinking.
There are no clear historical records about who first created black tea. Many studies suggest that this innovation more likely arose from tea farmers improvising in response to unexpected situations. According to local legend, a village in Wuyi Mountain once had soldiers temporarily stationed due to wartime, leaving freshly picked tea leaves without time for the usual processing steps. The next day, the farmers found the leaves had naturally withered and, in a hurry, decided to dry them over pine firewood. Unexpectedly, this method resulted in a tea soup with an unprecedentedly rich aroma and sweet aftertaste, quickly gaining huge local popularity.
Tracing back to its roots, the earliest type of black tea in China is said to have originated in the Wuyi Mountain area of Fujian, known locally as "Zhengshan Xiaozhong." These teas are carefully selected from the tender buds and leaves of small-leaf tea trees. After processing, they typically have a darker appearance, occasionally dotted with golden-colored buds. High-quality Zhengshan Xiaozhong is especially characterized by abundant golden tips, and top-tier products of this kind are even classified separately as "Jin Jun Mei."
Before the advent of black tea, Pu’er tea was the main type traded along the ancient Tea Horse Road, primarily used for bartering horses and thus introduced to surrounding regions such as Tibet. Japan, on the other hand, had a strong preference for green tea. It wasn’t until the emergence of black tea that tea culture truly began to spread widely across the globe.
During the 16th century, Portuguese explorer Jan Huygen van Linschoten led an expedition that first introduced tea culture to the European continent, roughly between 1563 and 1611. Initially, tea gained popularity among European royalty due to its believed benefits of refreshing the mind and promoting health. It then gradually spread to the noble class and eventually entered the homes of ordinary people.
In the 17th century, as demand for tea rapidly increased, the Dutch East India Company dominated early tea trade. However, when the British East India Company successfully mastered Chinese tea production techniques and established production bases in places like India, it quickly replaced the Dutch as the leader in the tea trade.
The invention of tea bags greatly simplified the tea brewing process and became an important milestone in popularizing tea drinking. This innovation not only made brewing more convenient but also indirectly contributed to the rise of global tea brands. Multinational companies such as Lipton gradually moved deeper into origin regions, taking comprehensive control over cultivation management, raw material selection, and blending techniques, gradually eroding the original market monopoly of the British East India Company.
In recent years, with consumers placing greater emphasis on traditional craftsmanship, handmade tea making has regained attention, with many small-scale producers returning to the market stage, dedicated to preserving and reviving ancient tea-making techniques.
If you’d like to personally experience the distinctive pine smoke aroma and longan-like rich mouthfeel of Zhengshan Xiaozhong, we recommend starting with classic producing areas of this category. If you prefer floral-fruity notes and a delicate, sweet lingering finish, Jin Jun Mei—with its outstanding honey fragrance and elegant taste—is definitely worth savoring in detail.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
