Vicony Tea Directory

	Ching Wo Tea | Zheng He Congou- Dried Tea Leaves

Ching Wo Tea

Thanks for information provided by Tea Association of Zhenghe County

Ching Wo Tea Introduction

Ching Wo Tea （政和功夫茶）is one type of congou black tea produced in the south of China. Ching Wo Tea is now more often called Zheng He Congou Tea and seen as one of the big three congou black teas produced in Fujian province. The other two is Bai Lin Congou and Tan Yang Congou. Ching Wo Tea is often referred to as clarets because of its full-bodied,winey flavor. In fact,the words of Ching Wo came from the local dialect for Zhenghe,the name for Zhenghe county,where the Ching Wo tea was originally and mainly produced. Although,like Qimen county,now Zhenghe County also makes other teas like white tea,green tea and oolong tea,the name of Ching Wo remains as one for Ching Wo congou(Zheng He Congou) black tea.

Ching Wo Tea, along with Keemun Tea, has a deep, full body and makes excellent breakfast and afternoon tea.

Ching Wo Tea is commonly divided into two categories by what tea cultivar the tea leaves were used from. One type of Ching Wo is made of leaves plucked from Da Baicha cultivar which is mainly used for white tea. This type of Ching Wo seen as superior in quality is known for abundant downy hairs,fine taut trips,and jet-black and glossy color. When brewed,it produces bright reddish brown infusion with long-standing fragrance. and mellow,sweet and full-body. The other type is made of leaves from small-leaf cultivar. This type with tightly rolled leaves has aroma similar to that of Keemun Tea while not so long-standing and the infusion it makes is not so deep as the first one. Now,quality Ching Wo Tea is mainly made up of the first type and also needed to be appropriately blended with the latter one.

	Ching Wo Tea- Brewed Tea Leaves

History of Ching Wo Tea

The tea production history in Zhenghe county,the Chong Wo original producing area,dates back to even one thousand years ago. In Song Dynasty,Zhenghe county mainly produced Ya Cha,one of the then rare teas,which was presented to Emperor Huizhong as tribute and so loved by him that he granted his reign title,"zhenghe",to the county. Before that time,Zhenghe county was named as Guanli county. In 1874,tea merchantes from Jiangxi province pioneered the production of black tea in Zhenghe county and made a hit. In 1896,the Ching Wo tea made from Da Baicha cultivar became famous and ranked first among the top three congou black teas of Fujian province.

Ching Wo tea has been worldwide known since 1840s. Around the middle of 19th century,its annual output has reached 10000 dan (one dan being 50KG),mainly exported to European countries and Middle East. In Europe,almost none of tea drinkers,at that time,didn't know Ching Wo. The popularity of Ching Wo tea even lured some profiteers into making fake,which made honest tea traders fight against counterfeit and make a declarative announcement. Now,you can still find a copy of the Anti-counterfeit Declarative Announcement at the museum in Zhenghe county. Although Ching Wo had owned renown,it gradually disappeared from most peoples'eyes even in China as the result of continuous wars and Chinese turbulent political situation. Tea trade channels were blocked and tea gardens desolated. Ching Wo tea production like chinese other teas suffered tremendously. Until the founding of the People's Republic of China,Ching Wo' production began to recover.

Ching Wo Tea Producing Areas

Ching Wo tea producing area is in the north of Fujian province that is an region covered with dense forests and criss-crossed with sinuous rivers,with longitudes between 118.33'east and 119.17'east, and latitudes between 27.05'north and 27.23'north.The mountainous area ranging from 200 to 1000 meters in altitude has a mild climate with a up to 260-days frost-free period and a 1600-odd ml rainfall every year. Tea gardens here are mostly located in the gentle mountainous slopes where acid and fertile soil is suitable for growing the Da Baicha tea cultivar.