Black tea is a fully fermented variety of tea that comes from the plant, Camellia Sinensis plant.
The process of making loose leaf black tea involves withering then rolling of the tea leaves followed by a long period of fermentation. Then black tea leaves are fired resulting in a loose leaf black tea with a complex yet recognizable smell and full-bodies, stong flavor.
History of Black Tea:
No one is certain exactly when and where balck tea was invented, but there are two stories that may explain the first discovery of black tea. The "Wuyi '' theory, Compressed tea cakes had been made in the Wuyi mountains since Song Dynasty. When the emperor of the Ming Dynasty demanded a shift to loose leaf tea production, the tea producers made several attempts at making premium loose leaf teas. During the new process, tea leaves would turn red as a sign of fermentation because of the red color of the tea leaves, black tea was readily known as red tea in China ( not to be confused with rooibos red tea).
Another story of black tea;s invention takes place in the Chinese village of Tong Mu. Sometime during the 16th century, army soldiers passing through Tong Mu village temporarily stopped production of green tea. The soldiers made beds out of the piles of tea leaves and when they finally left the village, the tea leaves had turned black. Tea processing was resumed with these back tea leaves and a new kind of loose tea was born.