Spring Anhua Hei Cha

This distinctive dark tea from Anhua offers a complex profile, beginning with a spicy warmth that transitions into a subtle sweetness. Its thick body carries earthy undertones, reminiscent of brewer's. It leans spicy, sweet and earthy.

Water around 95–100 °C (203–212 °F). In a mug, steep 3–5 min. For gongfu, use 5–7 g per 100 ml, 10–20 s steeps (10–20+ rounds). You'll get to see how the flavor changes across multiple rounds. Rinse the leaves once with boiling water before your first real steep. It cleans off storage dust and gets the flavor going.

Grown in Hunan, China. This batch is from the Spring 2012 harvest.

Starts at $12.75 from Yunnan Sourcing, or about $0.21/g. A 50g package gets you around 8 gongfu sessions at ~6 g each, which works out to about $1.26 per session. Compare dark prices across vendors on Teadar.