---
title: "Chinese Black Tea: Why China Calls It Red Tea (Hong Cha)"
description: "Chinese black tea is hong cha, red tea: honey, baked bread and cocoa, no bitterness, no milk needed. Zheng Shan Xiao Zhong to Dian Hong, brewed at 90–95 °C."
canonical_url: https://leafspirit.store/knowledge/black-tea
lang: en
last_updated: 2026-07-26
site: Leaf & Spirit - Chinese tea house in Phuket, Thailand
---
# Chinese Black Tea: Why China Calls It Red Tea (Hong Cha)

The tea we call black is known in China as red tea (hong cha, 红茶) - after the colour of the liquor: amber-ruby, warm as a setting sun. It is a fully oxidised tea, and it was China that gave it to the world, from Wuyi’s Zheng Shan Xiao Zhong to Yunnan’s Dian Hong.

## Taste and character

Chinese black tea is softer and sweeter than the familiar European cup: honey, baked bread, dried fruit and cocoa, with hardly any harsh astringency - which is why it is drunk without sugar or milk. Its dense malty base carries added flavours beautifully: lychee and rose with black tea are southern-Chinese classics.

## In the Chinese tradition

Red tea is considered the warmest and homeliest of Chinese teas: it is offered to guests in the cold season, and in Guangdong it accompanies lychees and desserts. A fine irony: Europeans named it black after the dry leaf, the Chinese named it red after the liquor - and both, as usual, are right.

## How to brew

Water at 90–95 °C, short steeps. Chinese black tea works both gongfu-style in small pours and in a big mug - it is stable and forgiving. It is also excellent iced.

And to see where this leaf sits among the six categories of Chinese tea - the [Chinese tea types guide](https://leafspirit.store/knowledge/chinese-tea-types.md) maps the whole family.

## Buy these teas

- [Lychee Black Tea](https://leafspirit.store/catalog/tea/lychee-black-tea.md) - from 280 THB
- [Rose Black Tea](https://leafspirit.store/catalog/tea/rose-black-tea.md) - from 280 THB
- [Red Oolong No. 12](https://leafspirit.store/catalog/tea/red-oolong-no-12.md) - from 690 THB
[Shop Black Tea in our catalog](https://leafspirit.store/catalog/tea/black.md)

*Updated 2026-07-26 · Reviewed by tea master Ms. Judy (Wang Mengyu)*

Notes on traditional properties are part of Chinese tea culture and are not medical advice.

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