Mengding Mountain Dark Tea

Mengding Mountain Dark Tea

Mengding Mountain Dark Tea is a geographical indication certification trademark.

　　In March, Ya'an bursts into fresh green hues across its tea plantations, exuding the vitality of spring as Mengding Mountain teas vie in splendor. Yet another gem of Ya'an’s tea industry—dark tea—remains little known, hidden away like a maiden in her chamber. Taking advantage of the Fourth Mengding Mountain International Tea Culture Tourism Festival, reporters conducted extensive interviews, thus lifting the veil on the history of Ya'an's dark tea and the Ancient Tea Horse Road.

　　Dark tea falls into two main categories: Yunnan Pu'er tea and Sichuan Kang Brick tea. Kang Brick tea is produced in Ya'an, which was once the capital of Xikang Province, hence the character “Kang” (康) from Xikang. The tea is shaped like a brick, hence the name Kang Brick tea.

　　Mengding Mountain is the earliest tea-producing region in the world, establishing Ya'an’s significant historical status as one of the first tea-producing areas. Ya'an has supplied tea to Tibet’s regions for the longest time, a tradition that continues to this day—with 90% of Tibet’s tea still coming from Ya'an. Due to its health benefits such as anti-radiation properties, fat decomposition, prevention of altitude sickness, and resistance to cold, dark tea is revered by Tibetans as the “tea of life” they cannot live without. A local saying goes, “Better go three days without food than one day without tea.” Historical records indicate that in 641 AD, when Princess Wencheng married Songtsen Gampo, the king of Tubo, she brought Chinese tea and culture to the Tibetan region.

　　The Ancient Tea Horse Road was an ancient trade route between Sichuan, Yunnan, and Tibet, where horse caravans and porters transported tea, horses, and medicinal herbs. There were two main routes—one starting from Ya'an in Sichuan, and the other from Pu'er in Yunnan. The Sichuan-Tibet route relied on porters to transport tea, not only demonstrating a stronger humanistic spirit compared to the horse caravans of the Yunnan-Tibet route, but also moving tea in volumes many times greater. The procession of porters was grand and spectacular.

　　As a political tea, successive central governments controlled the exclusive supply of dark tea to maintain stability in Tibet, a strategy known as “using tea to govern the border.” As military tea, tea was traded for Tibetan horses to equip the army. As economic tea, Princess Wencheng introduced tea to Tibet, initiating its tea-drinking history, sparking trade between Han and Tibetan peoples, fostering friendship, and flourishing markets. As cultural tea, it enhanced cultural exchanges between the Han and Tibetan peoples.

　　It is reported that the Ya'an Tea Factory has a 463-year history, making it the oldest in the dark tea industry, and underwent restructuring in 2000. Today, the dark tea produced by the Ya'an Tea Factory is not only sold to Tibetan areas but is also gradually being promoted in Han regions. Once hard to find an audience, dark tea is gradually gaining acceptance among more and more consumers. We believe that with increasing government attention to the tea industry and the dark tea sector, the future of dark tea will be brighter.