D-CN-029
Anhua Dark Tea Cake
安化黑茶饼
Disc-compressed heicha, from Hunan, China.
Dark tea (post-fermented)
Anhua Dark Tea Cake is strongest on smoothness, sweetness and body. Typical tasting words: oak, malt, forest floor, plum, mineral. A modern standard format adopting the disc shape to make traditional Anhua dark tea convenient for consumer teaware. Combines regional pine-wood processing character with slow cellar maturation for domestic consumption.
Also known as Anhua Hei Cha Cake and Hunan Dark Tea Bing.
The profile
Taste, 0 to 5
Flavour families, 0 to 5
Facts
- Origin
- Hunan, China
- Plant
- Camellia sinensis var. sinensis
- Harvest
- spring to summer
- Elevation
- mid
- Oxidation
- 50 to 75%
- Roast
- very light
- Leaf
- compressed
- Price band
- mid-range
- Availability
- specialist
- Ageing
- made for ageing
- Forgiving to brew
- 4 of 5
- L-theanine
- low
Made by: kill-green, then rolling, then pile fermentation, then steaming, then cake compression, then drying.
Caffeine
A cup of Anhua Dark Tea Cake carries a typical estimate of 40 mg of caffeine, within a range of 25 to 60 mg depending on leaf amount, water temperature and steeping time. Figures are estimates for a 240 ml cup. Better earlier in the day if you are sensitive to caffeine. The caffeine planner turns this into a daily total.
How to brew it
| Method | Leaf | Water | Steeps |
|---|---|---|---|
| Western, 250 ml | 3 g | 95 to 100 °C | 3 min, 4 min, 5 min |
| Gongfu, 100 ml | 5.5 g | 98 to 100 °C | Rinse, then 15 s, 20 s, 25 s, 30 s, 45 s, 60 s |
Up to 7 infusions. Scale for your own pot with the brew calculator.
Drinking it
- afternoon
- evening
- relaxing
- after_meal
- meditation
Pairs with pastry, nuts and red_meat. Milk: no. Iced: no. Sweetener: no. Good for beginners: yes.
Tasting words explained
Similar teas
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shares smoothness and sweetness - D-CN-028Hunan Hei Zhuan
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shares body and smoothness - B-IR-046Iranian Black (Lahijan)
shares body and smoothness
More: all dark tea (post-fermented) teas, teas from Hunan, China, or filter the whole drawer.