Origin:  Ya'an, Sichuan Province
Cultivar: Ya'an Qunti
Harvest Time: April 2017
 
Known in Chinese as Zang Cha, Tibetan tea is a type of dark tea (hei cha) that is made of fermented, coarse tea leaves and twigs conventionally compressed into bricks. This ancient form of tea is an essential drink for Tibetans since it provides energy and nutrients that are missing in their diets. Historically, this tea was not only consumed as a beverage but also as food and even as currency throughout Asia. It was greatly appreciated as merchandise, but also because of its powerful health benefits. This tea is energizing cleansing, and very warming.  It is the tea used to prepare Tibetan  Butter Tea (stewed tea leaves with salt and yak butter).
 
Ya’an Tibetan dark tea is produced in the mountains just below the Tibetan plateau, in western Sichuan Province. This picturesque region used to be part of the former Tibet, and many of the local people still identify themselves as such.