Fermented tea

Fermented tea originates in China, where it is commonly known as hei cha (黑茶) or dark tea. Hei cha is produced in many areas of China, mostly in the warmer southern provinces. It is commonly pressed into bricks or cakes for ageing.[1][2]

The most famous and important producing areas and varieties include:

• Yunnan: Pu-erh cha (雲南普洱茶, either "raw" Sheng Pu-erh 生普洱 or "ripened" Shu Pu-erh 熟普洱)
• Hunan: Fu Zhuan cha (湖南茯磚茶 (黑茶), the famous Fu Zhuan 茯磚茶 “brick tea”)
• Guangxi: Liu Bao cha (廣西六堡茶, often sold as 松黑茶, loose dark tea)
• Anhui: Liu An cha (安徽六安籃茶, Lu An basket tea )
• Sichuan: Lu Bian cha (四川路边茶, Sichuan border tea)
• Hubei: Qing Zhuan cha (湖北青砖茶, Hubei green brick tea)
• Tibet: Tibeti, brick tea or Zang cha (藏茶, Tibetan tea)

Shapes include:

• Bamboo leaf logs
• Cakes, or "Bing cha" (餅茶)
• Bricks, or "Zhuan cha" (磚茶)
• Loose, in baskets
• Bird nests, or "Tuo cha" (沱茶), usually Pu-erh
• Squares, or "Fang cha" (方茶)

Kombucha (also tea mushroom, tea fungus, or Manchurian mushroom when referring to the culture; botanical name Medusomyces gisevii[16]) is a fermented, slightly alcoholic, lightly effervescent, sweetened black or green tea drink commonly consumed for its supposed health benefits. Sometimes the beverage is called kombucha tea to distinguish it from the culture of bacteria and yeast.[17] Juice, spices, fruit or other flavorings are often added to enhance the taste of the beverage.

Several distinct varieties of fermented tea are produced in Japan.[10] Toyama prefecture's Kurocha is Japan's only piled tea, similar to the Chinese post-fermented teas. Toyama Kurocha is traditionally prepared by boiling in water, adding salt and stirring with a whisk as in a traditional tea ceremony. It is consumed on religious occasions or during meetings in the Asahi area of the prefecture.[18] Awabancha (阿波番茶), produced in Tokushima prefecture, and Batabatacha, like the Toyama Kurocha associated with Asahi, Toyama, are made from bancha, or second flush tea leaves, with bacterial fermentation.[19] Batabatacha has been found to contain Vitamin B12, but in insignificant amounts for human diets.[20] Goishicha (碁石茶) from Ōtoyo, Kōchi and Ishizuchi-Kurocha grown at the foot of Mount Ishizuchi in Ehime prefecture are made by fermenting the tea in a two step process, first with aerobic fungi, then with anaerobic bacteria.[15][21]

Tteokcha

Tteokcha (떡차; lit. "cake tea"), also called byeongcha (병차; 餠茶; lit. "cake tea"), was the most commonly produced and consumed type of tea in pre-modern Korea.[22][23][24] Pressed tea made into the shape of yeopjeon, the coins with holes, was called doncha (돈차; lit. "money tea"), jeoncha (전차; 錢茶; lit. "money tea"), or cheongtaejeon (청태전; 靑苔錢; lit. "green moss coin").[25][26][27] Borim-cha (보림차; 寶林茶) or Borim-baengmo-cha (보림백모차; 寶林白茅茶), named after its birthplace, the Borim temple in Jangheung, South Jeolla Province, is a popular tteokcha variety.[28]

Though the early history of tea is unclear, it has been established that for centuries people have chewed tea leaves.[29] Few peoples today continue to consume tea by chewing or eating.[11] In northern Thailand, a pickled tea product called miang is chewed as a stimulant. Steamed tea leaves are kept pressed into sealed bamboo baskets until the anaerobic fermentation produces a compact cake with the desired flavor. The fermentation takes four to seven days for young leaves and about a year for mature leaves.[30] Miang is related to the Thai and Lao street snack Miang kham.[31]

The Shan people of Myanmar also consume a pickled tea known as lahpet. After fermentation, the tea is eaten as a vegetable.[11]

A similar pickled tea is eaten by the Blang people of Xishuangbanna in Yunnan, China, on the border with Myanmar and Laos.[32] The tea, known locally as miam and by the Chinese as Suancha (酸茶), is first packed into bamboo tubes, then buried and allowed to ferment before eating.[33]