Black tea is a strong, bold and rich tea type. It’s a popular drink worldwide, not only because of the complex flavours but because it also contains antioxidants and caffeine and is therefore used as a healthy replacement for coffee. Black tea gained it’s popularity because of the large variety of full-body flavours, ranging from citrusy, to floral, to smokey. In this black tea guide for tea lovers we’ll tell you more about black teas, their flavours and origin.

The origin of black tea

The history of black tea can be traced back to late 16^th century China. Up until then, only green tea and oolong teas were consumed. Black tea was originally called hong cha, ‘red tea’, because of the colour the oxidized leaves give the water. The first black tea type to be discovered was Lapsang Souchong, a tea produced in the Wuyi Mountains.

Popular black tea types

Darjeeling black tea

A beautiful and complex tea type with a full body muscatel flavour and is often described as spicy. It’s also known as the champagne of tea! Darjeeling is mostly grown in tea gardens in India.

English Breakfast black tea

A very popular tea type that often accompanies a rich variety of breakfast foods. Breakfast blends are light and sweet teas, often infused with Assam, Ceylon or Darjeeling. There’s a lot of speculation about the origin, from a Scottish tea master to an American vendor, but in the end the tea became popular in England.

Ceylon black tea

Ceylon tea is a pure tea type from Sri Lanka. It’s a full body tea with citrus flavours. Because of its strong flavours it’s perfect for Chai Latte!

Earl Grey black tea

One of the most popular black tea blends is of course Earl Grey. This fruity, floral tea is mainly Assam or Darjeeling tea infused with bergamot oil and vanilla. Earl Grey tea was named after a British Prime Minister in the 18^th century who received the flavoured tea as a gift.

Masala Chai black tea

You’ve probably heard of Chai Tea or Chai Tea Latte, which comes from the Masala Chai. This spicy tea is made with a few basic ingredients: milk, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, black pepper and cardamom. Nowadays, the drink is popular worldwide but it originates from South Asia.

Lapsang Souchong black tea

An exquisite tea type known for its deep smoky flavour. As one of the first known black teas in existence it’s also known as the king of all teas. 

As legend has it, the smoking process was discovered by accident. It is said that an army was camped out in a local tea factory that was full of drying leaves. The leaves had to be moved to make room for the soldiers, and by the time they left the leaves needed to be dried quickly so they could be sold. So the tea factory workers lit up fires with pinewood to dry the leaves more quickly. As a result, they discovered a new tea flavour! No one knows whether this is true, or if it’s just a really good story. 

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