Our answer
Red tea, in Chinese 红茶
Fully oxidised tea, named in Chinese for its red liquor; China’s second-largest category
The short answer
Chinese black tea is what China calls red tea (红茶, hóngchá), after the red colour of its oxidised leaves and liquor. The best known are Lapsang Souchong (Zhengshan Xiaozhong) and Jin Jun Mei from Tongmu in Fujian, Keemun from Anhui and Dian Hong from Yunnan. It made up 15.65% of China’s tea output in 2025.
| Chinese name | 红茶 hóngchá, ‘red tea’; 黑茶 hēichá (‘black tea’) means dark tea such as pu-erh |
|---|---|
| How it is made | Withered, rolled, fully oxidised (called ‘fermentation’ in Chinese), then dried |
| Birthplace | Tongmu village in the Wuyi Mountains, Fujian: home of Zhengshan Xiaozhong (Lapsang Souchong) |
| Famous kinds | Lapsang Souchong, Jin Jun Mei, Keemun (Qimen), Dian Hong (Yunnan), Tanyang Gongfu, Ning Hong |
| Output, 2025 | About 569,700 tonnes, 15.65% of China’s tea; 17.81% of its value |
| Exports | Only 6.6% of China’s tea exports by volume in 2024; green tea is 86.6% |
| Caffeine | About 48 mg per 237 ml cup (Mayo Clinic), against 29 mg for green tea |
Why is black tea called red tea in China?
In Chinese, black tea is 红茶 (hóngchá), ‘red tea’. The name describes the tea rather than the dry leaf: properly oxidised leaves turn red-brown, and Chinese tea descriptions praise a liquor that is ‘bright red’ (红艳). The word for ‘black tea’, 黑茶 (hēichá), belongs to a different category altogether, the post-fermented dark teas such as pu-erh.
To make black tea, the leaves are withered, rolled to break the cells, left to oxidise, then dried. Chinese makers call the oxidising step 发酵 (fājiào, ‘fermentation’), though it is driven by the leaf’s own enzymes, not microbes. Several classics carry the name 工夫 (gōngfu, ‘skill’): Keemun is also called Qimen Gongfu because, in the words of its heritage listing, its quality depends entirely on the maker’s hands, and Ning Hong and Tanyang Gongfu are gongfu black teas too.[4][7][9]
The famous Chinese black teas
China’s traditional black-tea making is part of the ‘traditional tea processing techniques’ that UNESCO inscribed as intangible heritage in 2022. These are the names you will see most.[4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12]
| Tea | Chinese | Where | What to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lapsang Souchong | 正山小种 Zhèngshān Xiǎozhǒng | Tongmu, Wuyishan, Fujian | The original Chinese black tea; the traditional style is withered and dried over pine fires, giving a smoky taste |
| Jin Jun Mei | 金骏眉 Jīn Jùnméi | Tongmu, Wuyishan, Fujian | Created in 2005 by a team led by Jiang Yuanxun, from Zhengshan Xiaozhong methods; not smoked |
| Keemun | 祁门红茶 Qímén hóngchá | Qimen county, Anhui | Created in 1875 or 1876; famous for its ‘Qimen aroma’ (祁门香), often likened to sugar, fruit or orchid |
| Dian Hong (Yunnan black tea) | 滇红 Diānhóng | Fengqing county, Lincang, Yunnan | Large-leaf tea with visible golden tips; created by Feng Shaoqiu from 1938 |
| Tanyang Gongfu | 坦洋工夫 Tǎnyáng gōngfu | Fu’an, Fujian | Classic congou; national heritage listing in 2021 |
| Ning Hong | 宁红 Nínghóng | Xiushui county, Jiangxi | One of China’s earliest congou teas, known for a lasting apple-like aroma |
Lapsang Souchong and Tongmu: where black tea began
Zhengshan Xiaozhong (正山小种), sold abroad as Lapsang Souchong, comes from Tongmu (桐木), a village about 70 km west of Wuyishan city in Fujian at close to 1,000 metres. Tongmu calls itself the birthplace of the world’s first black tea, and since 1979 it has been inside the Wuyishan nature reserve. Local legend puts the tea’s invention in the late Ming dynasty, when soldiers passing through slept on the fresh leaves and the farmers dried the bruised, oxidised tea over fires of Masson pine. By the 17th century it was being shipped to Britain.
The pine smoke is what most Western drinkers know as Lapsang: leaves withered and dried over burning pine, with a strong smoky flavour and, in Chinese descriptions, a longan-like sweetness. In Tongmu itself the smoked style, 烟小种 (yān xiǎozhǒng), now shares the market with unsmoked teas. The best known is Jin Jun Mei (金骏眉), created in 2005 by a team led by Jiang Yuanxun, described as the 24th-generation heir of the Zhengshan Xiaozhong craft. Its new process needs no smoking, and its success transformed the village.[4][5][6]
Keemun and Dian Hong
Keemun (祁门红茶, Qímén hóngchá) is from Qimen county in southern Anhui. Xinhua dates it to 1875, the first year of the Guangxu emperor; China’s intangible heritage register says 1876. It won a gold medal at the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition and became a favourite in British afternoon tea, earning the nickname ‘queen of black teas’ (红茶皇后). Qimen county has about 190,000 mu (roughly 12,700 hectares) of tea gardens and produced about 7,300 tonnes of tea in 2022. Its making craft has been on China’s national heritage list since 2008.
Dian Hong (滇红, Diānhóng) is younger. In November 1938 the tea expert Feng Shaoqiu reached Shunning, today’s Fengqing county, and made a trial black tea from local large-leaf leaves using Keemun methods. The first 500 dan (担) were shipped through Hong Kong to Britain in 1939. Dian Hong is plump, with visible golden tips (金毫), a high aroma and a strong taste. In the 1950s Fengqing’s black tea was all exported to the Soviet Union, and in 1986 a top-grade Dian Hong was given to Queen Elizabeth II as a state gift.[7][8][9][10]
Chinese black tea in numbers
Black tea is China’s second-largest tea category after green, and worth more per tonne than average.[1][2][3][8]
| Measure | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Black tea output, 2025 | About 569,700 tonnes, 15.65% of China’s dry tea output | China Tea Marketing Association, via Beijing News |
| Black tea value, 2025 | About ¥59.34 billion, 17.81% of total tea value | China Tea Marketing Association, via Beijing News |
| All Chinese tea, 2025 | 3,640,300 tonnes of dry tea worth ¥333.19 billion | China Tea Marketing Association, via Beijing News |
| Black tea’s share of tea exports, 2024 | 6.6% by volume (green tea 86.6%) | Tea & Coffee Trade Journal |
| Qimen county tea output, 2022 | About 7,300 tonnes | Xinhua |
Caffeine and health
Black tea has more caffeine than green tea. Mayo Clinic puts a 237 ml (8 oz) cup of brewed black tea at about 48 mg, against 29 mg for green tea, and says up to 400 mg a day appears safe for most adults. A 2025 laboratory study found about 14–17 mg in 200 ml after a two-minute brew, rising to 27–28 mg after ten minutes: the longer it steeps, the stronger it gets.
On health, the best-known recent evidence is observational. A US National Cancer Institute study of nearly 500,000 adults in the UK Biobank, published in 2022, found that people who drank two or more cups of tea a day had a 9% to 13% lower risk of death over about 11 years than non-tea drinkers. The researchers said this suggests black tea can be part of a healthy diet; it does not show that tea causes the difference, and studies on black tea have produced mixed results.[13][14][15]
Questions readers ask
What is Chinese black tea called in China?
红茶 (hóngchá), ‘red tea’, after the red-brown colour of the oxidised leaves and the red liquor. The Chinese term 黑茶 (hēichá), literally ‘black tea’, means dark tea such as [pu-erh](/culture/chinese-tea/pu-erh).
What is lapsang souchong tea?
A black tea from Tongmu village in the Wuyi Mountains of Fujian, called 正山小种 (Zhengshan Xiaozhong) in Chinese. The traditional version is withered and dried over pine fires, which gives it its smoky flavour. Tongmu is regarded as the birthplace of black tea, and the tea reached Britain in the 17th century.
Is lapsang souchong always smoked?
The Lapsang sold in the West is the smoked style, known locally as 烟小种 (yān xiǎozhǒng). In Tongmu unsmoked teas made from the same tradition, such as Jin Jun Mei, now share the market with it.
What is keemun tea?
Keemun (祁门红茶) is a black tea from Qimen county, Anhui, created in 1875–76. It is prized for its ‘Qimen aroma’, described as sugary, fruity or orchid-like, won a gold medal at the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition and is a classic of British afternoon tea.
What is Dian Hong (Yunnan black tea)?
滇红 (Diānhóng) is black tea from Yunnan, above all Fengqing county, made from large-leaf tea and known for golden tips and a strong, aromatic taste. It was first made by the tea expert Feng Shaoqiu from 1938, and its first batch was shipped to Britain in 1939.
What is jin jun mei tea?
金骏眉 (Jīn Jùnméi) is an unsmoked black tea created in 2005 in Tongmu, Fujian, by a team led by Jiang Yuanxun, developed from Zhengshan Xiaozhong methods.
How much caffeine is in black tea?
About 48 mg in a 237 ml cup according to Mayo Clinic, compared with 29 mg for green tea. It rises the longer you steep the leaves.
Is black tea popular in China?
Yes, but less than green tea. In 2025 black tea was about 15.65% of China’s tea output (around 569,700 tonnes) against 59.03% for green tea, and it is China’s second-largest category. Its share of value, 17.81%, is higher than its share of volume.
Sources
- Beijing News, China Tea Marketing Association 2025 production and sales figures, including black tea (in Chinese) · accessed 1 Nov 2026
- Sohu, China Tea Marketing Association 2025 report: output and value shares of the six tea categories (in Chinese) · accessed 1 Nov 2026
- Tea & Coffee Trade Journal, China’s tea industry growth is seemingly unstoppable (13 June 2025) · accessed 1 Nov 2026
- Wikipedia, Black tea (name, processing, Lapsang Souchong, Keemun, Dian Hong) · accessed 1 Nov 2026
- The Paper, Wuyishan National Park: between the park and the tea gardens (Tongmu and Zhengshan Xiaozhong, 23 September 2019, in Chinese) · accessed 1 Nov 2026
- China Daily (Chinese), Tongmu village and Jin Jun Mei (9 March 2021) · accessed 1 Nov 2026
- China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network, Keemun black tea making craft (national list, 2008; in Chinese) · accessed 1 Nov 2026
- Xinhua, Qimen black tea (13 April 2023, in Chinese) · accessed 1 Nov 2026
- China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network, Dian Hong black tea making craft (in Chinese) · accessed 1 Nov 2026
- Xinhua, The story of Dian Hong (25 November 2025, in Chinese) · accessed 1 Nov 2026
- China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network, Traditional Chinese tea processing techniques and associated social practices, part 1 (Tanyang Gongfu, Ning Hong; in Chinese) · accessed 1 Nov 2026
- UNESCO, Traditional tea processing techniques and associated social practices in China (inscribed 2022) · accessed 1 Nov 2026
- Mayo Clinic, Caffeine content for coffee, tea, soda and more · accessed 1 Nov 2026
- Ayakdaş G, Ağagündüz D, L-theanine and caffeine in tea infusions with different fermentation degrees, Foods 2025;14(13):2313 · accessed 1 Nov 2026
- US National Cancer Institute, NIH study of tea drinkers in the UK suggests health benefits for black tea (29 August 2022) · accessed 1 Nov 2026
Update log. 1 November 2026 — reviewed. Next review due 1 February 2027. Suggest a correction