
China is the birthplace of tea, tea trees, the cultivation and production of them, as well as tea-tasting culture spread all over the world along with Sino-foreign economic and cultural intercourses. Chinese teas have been disseminated eastward to Japan, Korea, southward to Indonesia, India, Sir Lanka, westward to central Asia, the Meditation and Western Europe, and northward to Mongolia, Russia, and Eastern Europe, even to the American continent through the Silk Road, etc.
The tea industry is a green industry that has a long-standing history and beneficial to human health. Tea of Chinese origin, with its freshness and naturalness, has brought health to nearly one third of the whole world’s population, and with its peacefulness and comity, has made a huge contribution to the progress of human civilization. Nowadays, tea stands first in the world’s three top non-alcoholic beverages and is reputed to be a healthy and civilized drink of the 21st century.
In 1684, the Qing government opened porters in Guangdong, Fujian, Zhejiang, and Jiangsu for foreign trade. In 1689, a direct trade relationship was set up between China and Britain by the East India Company. In the mid-17th century, tea spread to the American continent along with the puritans and in 1690, Chinese black tea began to be sold in Boston and tea drinking habit was established in America. Tea was the first commodity to be traded between china and America.
The Sui, Tang and Five Dynasties were the maturing period of tea culture. The spread of Zen Buddhism strongly boosted the growth of Chinese tea culture. The production and drinking of tea was attached great importance to the court and tea was listed as a tribute to the emperors of Tang. Along with the publication of the Classic of Tea by Lu Yu, tea poems and essays mushroomed , books began to be written on tea, and the savor-drinking skills based on “ tea decocting” gradually matured, which all symbolized the boom and prosperity of Chinese tea culture.
The Song dynasty is marked by a highly developed tea culture, with a tendency towards refinement and luxury. In the meantime, ball tea, cake tea, loose tea, and powdered tea emerged. On the one hand is the royal tea flourish, Emperor Song Huizong even personally composed the Overview of Tea Ideas; on the other hand, the tea culture of citizens and the vogue of folk tea competition emerged popularity, forming the prosperous tea culture in Song dynasty.
Loose tea leaves were first made in Yuan Dynasty. In the Ming dynasty, loose tea leaves became the mainstream form of tea production. Drinking method of direct infusion and drinking occurred in tea drinking styles. In the Qing dynasty, tea houses emerged. Presenting the visitor with a cup of hot tea as soon as he steps into the house became a propriety and virtue of ordinary people.
Tea spread to Europe in two directions. In north, it was traded to Russia on land. In South, it was traded to Europe by Dutch on sea. British tea drinking started in the 17th century. In 1962, the Portuguese princess Catherin married King Charles II of England. Her favoring in tea made the vogue of tea drinking prevalent in the imperial family, further in the nobility and even among common people.
In the 19th century Victorian era, Duchess Ann Maria liked to invite her friends to have tea in the afternoon. This kind of life immediately became the social fashion of the nobility and formed the afternoon tea culture of grace and ease.
Hunan Tea Group Co., Ltd is a national leading agricultural industrialization enterprise integrating tea R & D, cultivation, processing, sales, and tea culture promotion. Operating across the entire tea industry chain, the company specialize in tea production with equal emphasis on domestic and international trade. Operating across the entire tea industry chain, we specialize in tea production with equal emphasis on domestic and international trade.
The product portfolio includes Dark Tea, Green Tea, Black Tea, Yellow Tea, Oolong Tea, White Tea, Scented Tea, Teas-based Health Products, Tea Beverages, Tea Extracts and Tea-infused foods.
Ranked among China’s Top 100 Agricultural Industrialization Enterprises and Top 100 Agricultural product processing Enterprise, the company is also recognized as National Export Demonstration Enterprise for Processed Agricultural Products, Top 100 Enterprise of China’s Supply and Marketing Cooperatives, one of Hunan’s Top 10 Iconic Agricultural Industrialization Enterprises, Hunan Province’s Top 100 Enterprises, AEO (Authorized Economic Operator) Certified Enterprise by Customs, our comprehensive strength places us at the forefront of Chain’s tea industry.
Eco-friendly bases:
The company manages 101 premium eco-tea plantations totaling 650, 000 mu (approx. 43,000 hectares). Among these, 148, 000 mu (9,870 ha) hold international organic certifications including EU, USDA NOP and JAS standards our network empowers 500,000 tea-farming households to increase income.
Hunan has successfully built five provincial-level public brands of tea: “Anhua Dark Tea”, “Xiaoxiang Tea”, “Hunan Black Tea”, “Yueyang Yellow Tea” and “Sangzhi White Tea”. Besides, provincial-level, municipal-level and county-level tea brands have achieved outstanding results in promoting the regional public brands. The brands have been widely recognized by the industry and consumers.
Hunan has formed a tea brand development pattern with provincial-level public brands at its core, and municipal-level and county level public brands as the support for growing together.
Hunan Tea Group Co., Ltd developed a professional manufacturing chain for tea planting, production, and processing, scientific research, trade and tea culture propagation. It is engaged in internal and external trade and located in Hunan, the hometown of the Chinese tea.
The company has a long history and the advantage of operating various teas, including black tea, green tea, yellow tea, heicha (dark tea), white tea, Oolog tea, Jasmine tea, small package tea, tea bags, tea extracts and deep processed tea products. It also possesses 8 export business departments, 6 overseas representative offices and 2 marketing holding companies.
At home, the company has established 4 Chinese well known trademarks and 4 famous Trademarks. It ranks the second in terms of the operating scale and overall strength and created five number ones in China: Total operation volume occupying 60% of the province and tea sold in border areas accounting for half of the country ranking number one in China; also number one in tea export for foreign exchange, tea exported to the EU market and organic tea export.
The company has established 83 premium ecology tea production bases in the mountainous areas with a higher altitude and excellent ecologic environment, covers an area of 34, 700 hectares. It conducts the standardized production and management (the centralization of fertilization, pesticide, picks, processing, store and maintenance) to the ecological tea plantations, 90 % of our raw material is harvested from the ecological tea bases and plantations and the company has linked 250, 000 peasant households with the market.
As a National Model of Agriculture Products Processing Enterprise with an annual processing capacity of over 60,000 tons, the company has 30 Holding enterprises with 302, 000 square meter processing area and 26,000 square meters of transit old chain storage. In addition, it boasts 89 refined tea processing lines (the dark tea, yellow tea green tea, and black tea processing equipment and technology have been independently developed by the company), over 2,000 advanced testing equipment and 287 medium and senior technicians.
The company fulfills social responsibility in conducting quality management, improving welfare of employees, building an environmentally friendly enterprise and promoting integrity and conservation. As a member of ETP, the company regularly invites senior experts to tour tea production bases and factories, offer lectures and guidance to the management, production and sales staff to ensure that the company passes the annual inspection and accreditation by the executive body of FLO.
Chinese culture has a long and profound history. As a necessary drink in daily life of the people, tea has also shaped its characteristic culture in the long history. It can be divided into six major categories as per different processing methods: Black Tea, Green Tea, Hei Cha (Dark Tea) Oolong Tea, Yellow Tea, and White Tea.
Green Tea is a tea with the maximum output in China and its multiple varieties takes the first place in the world. Green tea is of the high flagrance, mellow taste and beautiful shape and withstanding for brewing. It is subject to the de-enzyming rolling and drying manufacturing process. Due to the different drying methods during the processing, green tea can be divided into Fired Green Tea, Baked Green Tea, Steamed Green Tea and Sunned Green Tea.
Black Tea is different from green tea due to the different processing method. During the processing, the black tea will not experience the deenzyming, but withering and rolling ( into strips or granules) and fermentation, which oxides the tea polyphenols into red compound. Apart of the compound dissolves in the water and a part of it does not dissolve in the water which will be accumulated in the leaf blade to form the red tea liquor and red leaves.
Hunan Dark Tea is a famous historical tea of China and one of the ten most famous teas of the SINO-EXPO. It can remove the oily property of the food, boost the digestion and efficiently promote the metabolism. In addition, it is of the same significant efficacy in lowering down the blood fat, the blood pressure, the blood sugar, losing weight and preventing the cancer.
BY ADDISALEM MULAT
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD SUNDAY EDITION 22 JUNE 2025