Help identifying a tea I bought in China

Post Reply
gatsu118
New user
Posts: 2
Joined: Wed Jul 21, 2021 12:38 pm

Wed Jul 21, 2021 12:46 pm

Hi,
I have never been on this forum before, but I'm trying to identify the type of tea I bought in China about 13 years ago and I thought this would be a good place to ask.

All I have is a small sample of the tea which I have kept in an air-tight container.
When I purchased it, it came in a compressed brick.
I believe I bought it near Chengdu, but I can't remember it very well.
I have attached some photos of the tea below, but I appreciated it's not much to go off.

Any help/advice would be very much appreciated.
Many Thanks
Jon
IMG_20210721_183217323.jpg
IMG_20210721_183217323.jpg (251.2 KiB) Viewed 1526 times
IMG_20210721_183209495.jpg
IMG_20210721_183209495.jpg (198.38 KiB) Viewed 1526 times
IMG_20210721_183152145.jpg
IMG_20210721_183152145.jpg (247.55 KiB) Viewed 1526 times
IMG_20210721_175915856.jpg
IMG_20210721_175915856.jpg (231.65 KiB) Viewed 1526 times
User avatar
Balthazar
Posts: 706
Joined: Mon Apr 02, 2018 7:04 am
Location: Oslo, Norway

Wed Jul 21, 2021 1:35 pm

Based on the limited information and pictures, I'm inclined to guess that it could be a Kang brick or something similar from the heicha family. They're mostly produced in Sichuan and Guizhou, so makes sense that it's something you could have come across near Chengdu.
gatsu118
New user
Posts: 2
Joined: Wed Jul 21, 2021 12:38 pm

Sat Jul 24, 2021 3:49 pm

Hi @Balthazar,

Thank you very much for your reply.
I will see if I can find some on the internet.

Kind Regards
Jon
User avatar
Balthazar
Posts: 706
Joined: Mon Apr 02, 2018 7:04 am
Location: Oslo, Norway

Sun Jul 25, 2021 1:19 am

Happy to help. I recommend trying to get samples first, to see if it's actually what you are after.

Since these brick teas have traditionally been produced with the Tibetan market in mind, you sometimes find them under more general terms such as "Zang Zhuan Cha" or just "Zang Cha" (Tibetan tea) etc. Big variety in how loose/tight they are pressed, especially for more modern productions it seems.

Yunnan Sourcing has a 1992 brick from Guizhou

For younger bricks, Dragon Tea House has bricks from 2011 and 2021 (among others)
Post Reply