What Is Qing Xiang Black Tea? A New Black Tea Made at Low Temperature

Ordinary black tea and the aroma that appears during processing

Yunnan black tea usually means a fully fermented tea that goes well with milk, like the ones in our own lineup.

However, what we set out to develop was a black tea with a strong flavor of fresh flowers and fruit.

If you have ever been at a black tea factory during production, you may know that freshly rolled leaves give off a bright floral, menthol-like aroma. As processing goes on, that aroma gradually changes into the familiar one we think of when we hear "black tea."

When we developed Qing Xiang Black Tea, our goal was to keep as much as possible of the aroma that appears during processing.

Black tea is usually heated at a high temperature to stop fermentation. However, high heat also drives off the fresh floral aroma. If the heating is not enough, on the other hand, some of the enzymes remain, fermentation goes too far, and the tea develops an unpleasant, stuffy smell.

To solve this dilemma, we developed a way to stop fermentation reliably while keeping heat to a minimum. The result is a tea somewhere between white tea and black tea that does not fit into existing categories.

Making Qing Xiang Black Tea ourselves in Yunnan

We stay in Yunnan Province every year to manage tea production, purchasing, and logistics, and we also work on developing new teas.

We are not farmers who own tea gardens. We use equipment and fresh tea leaves from local producers and handle everything ourselves, from designing the processing steps to making the tea.

We do not disclose the details of the method, but we succeeded in producing black tea using a new method that differs from conventional black tea processing. We made our own adjustments at each stage, including withering, fermentation, stopping fermentation, and drying, and optimized the entire process with the shared goal of minimizing stress on the leaves.

We produced this black tea ourselves in 2024, using a producer’s equipment and controlling every processing parameter from withering to final drying. From 2025 onward, we transferred the production technique to the producer.

We developed this method ourselves. It is completely different from the methods used for Yunnan black tea, Darjeeling, and conventional Chinese and Sri Lankan black teas. By minimizing heat damage and avoiding overheating, we produce a tea that combines the characteristics of black tea and white tea.

Processed at low temperatures to minimize heat damage to the leaves, this tea is a distinctive black tea that does not fit into any existing category. We previously called it “new-style black tea,” but from now on, we will call it “Qing Xiang Black Tea.”

Ideally, we would call it “black and white tea,” but the name is a little awkward, so we settled on “Qing Xiang Black Tea” as the series name.

How we process Qing Xiang Black Tea: keeping the aroma formed from withering to rolling

The aroma of black tea forms mainly through two enzyme reactions. One is the breakdown of terpene glycosides during withering and rolling, in which beta-glucosidase releases floral aroma compounds such as linalool and geraniol. The other is the enzymatic fermentation of polyphenols by polyphenol oxidase after rolling, which gives black tea its typical character. Of the two, the first is the main reaction that produces aroma compounds reminiscent of flowers and fruit.

In the Qing Xiang Black Tea series, we put the weight on withering so that this breakdown of terpene glycosides goes far enough, while deliberately holding back the fermentation of polyphenols. When polyphenols ferment heavily, the middle note typical of black tea forms, and the light floral, menthol-like aroma that appears during processing is gradually covered up. By holding back fermentation, our priority is to keep as much as possible of the floral, refreshing aroma that appears while black tea is being made.

The leaf color of Qing Xiang Black Tea

For this reason, the leaves are greenish, and the brewed leaves of Qing Xiang Black Tea Purple Tea resemble those of Phoenix Oolong. At first glance, it may look like a lightly fermented tea, but the leaves are fully withered to maximize beta-glucosidase activity and are also rolled, giving the tea a very distinctive flavor.

Qing Xiang Black Tea for cold brewing

White tea is particularly well suited to cold brewing. Since the Qing Xiang Black Tea series combines elements of both white tea and black tea, it also works very well as a cold brew.

When cold brewed, it develops a bright flavor reminiscent of natural wine rather than black tea, seeming to become a different tea altogether. Black tea is generally difficult to pair with food, but this tea does not have the typical black tea character and complements Japanese, Western, and Chinese dishes.

When carbonated with a soda maker, it develops a flavor reminiscent of natural sparkling wine, enough to make you forget you are drinking tea.