Qimen Black Tea

The production quantity of Qimen Mao Ya A black tea leaves is very limited. Qimen black tea is considered the best among Chinese black teas, and this selection is the finest and rarest of Qimen black teas—an exquisite tea. It contains many “tips,” or tea buds.

The cost of purchasing this tea for us rose significantly in 2021, partly because some Chinese teas are subject to different tariffs than other Chinese teas. For this reason, we needed to either increase the selling price or remove the tea from our list. We decided to keep the tea available for customers who regularly purchase tea. Even at this new price, the cost per cup is about 30 cents. The quality remains very high.

Qimen tea has been produced in Qimen County, Anhui Province, China, since around 1875. The word “Qimen” is the origin of the English name for this tea. Before 1875, only green tea was produced in this province, while black tea was produced elsewhere in China, especially in Fujian Province. Today, Qimen is one of the most popular teas in China.

Qimen has five standard grades and at least two officially recognized special grades. The highest quality in the standard group is Qimen Grade 1. All grades come from the same factory; the higher the grade, the smaller the leaves and buds, and the better the flavor. Beyond these standard grades are Mao Ya A and B, with A representing higher quality. This Mao Ya A includes all buds, which are extremely delicate.