Teas / dark / Sichuan Kangzhuan (Tibetan Brick / Border Tea)

Sichuan Kangzhuan (Tibetan Brick / Border Tea)
🇨🇳 China

Sichuan Kangzhuan (Tibetan Brick / Border Tea)

Sìchuān Kāng Zhuān · 四川康砖 (四川康磚)

tibetan · zhuan

Kangzhuan ("Kang Brick") is the highest grade of Sichuan border-tea bricks — a Hei Cha pressed in Ya'an, the historical centre of the tea-horse trade with the Tibetan plateau. A government office set up in 1047 during the Song dynasty managed this trade; about 7,500 tons of tea went annually from Sichuan to Tibetan-inhabited areas, mostly via Ya'an. The bricks were once used as currency on the Tea Horse Road. Still consumed in Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan and Ladakh, typically whisked with yak butter and salt to make po cha (butter tea).

Quick facts

Region
Ya'an
Harvest year
2018
Harvest season
spring
Shape
zhuan

Brewing

Leaf
6.0 g / 100 ml
Water
100°C
Rinse
yes
Gongfu steeps (s)
15, 20, 30, 45, 60, 90, 120, 180

Western-style boiling. In Tibet often whisked with yak butter and salt as po cha; for tasting, use boiling water and longer steeps than other heicha.

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Tasting notes

Aroma
aged wood, dark earth, light camphor
Flavor
smooth, woody, mineral, slightly medicinal
Mouthfeel
thick
Finish
warming, long

Aging potential

Aged Kangzhuan from the 1980s–90s is highly prized; the dense pressing slows aging compared to looser heicha.

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