Qing Zhuan青砖茶

Qing Zhuan is a hubei-dark pu-erh & dark tea from Chibi (Puqi), Hubei, China. Brew it at 100°C with 6g of leaf per 100ml of water; expect up to 9 short infusions in a small gaiwan or teapot. A quick rinse is recommended.

Tasting notes

The name trips people up — 青砖, literally 'green brick' — but this is fully post-fermented hei cha, dark as any shou, just named for the bluish-grey tint of the pressed brick. Qing Zhuan was caravan tea, built to be boiled in iron pots with yak butter and salt on the Tibetan plateau, and you can taste that history in how sturdy it is. The flavor is simple and unfussy: toasted grain, wet stone, a clean earthy base, and — if the brick has a few years on it — a grape-skin tannin note that shows up around the third or fourth steep. No mushroom, no medicinal edge, no surprises. Just mellow and durable. The brick itself is brutally compressed; a real tea knife is mandatory or you'll crush the leaves and get a muddy cup. Boil the water, rinse 10 seconds, steep a little longer than pu-erh. It'll go 8+ infusions without losing the thread. Not glamorous. Reliable.

Flavor profile

A historically significant brick tea that fueled the Tea Horse Road and Mongolian tea trade for centuries. The brew is thick, mellow, and smooth with a clean earthiness. Less complex than Anhua or Liu Bao dark teas, but remarkably durable — maintains flavor through many infusions. Aged examples develop a pleasant dried grain and wood sweetness.

Terroir

Low hills, humid subtropical, historically a Tea Road staple

Brewing

Rinse: Rinse 5-10 seconds — brick tea needs awakening. First rinse also removes surface dust.

1. Quick rinse — pour off immediately.
2. Steep 1: 15 seconds
3. Steep 2: 20 seconds
4. Steep 3: 25 seconds
5. Steep 4: 30 seconds
6. Steep 5: 40 seconds
7. Steep 6: 50 seconds
8. Steep 7: 60 seconds
9. Steep 8: 80 seconds
10. Steep 9: 120 seconds

Use a tea pick or knife to break pieces from the tightly compressed brick — avoid crushing the leaves. Can be boiled in large quantities, Mongolian or Tibetan style, with milk and salt.

Aroma & taste

Processing

• kill-green
• rolled
• pile-fermented
• compressed into large bricks

Sources

• https://yunnansourcing.com/products/2021-bai-sha-xi-9101-qing-zhuan-hunan-brick-tea
• https://www.chinateawholesale.com/post/qingzhuan-tea
• https://www.teawithneldon.com/post/the-mystery-of-chinese-dark-teas-an-in-depth-provincial-tour-of-heicha