After drinking tea for many years, many tea lovers will have the same doubt:
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In Chinese, black tea, literally translated, should be Red Tea, but its globally recognized English name is Black Tea;
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Looking solely at the literal English translation, “Black Tea” is equivalent to “dark tea”, yet the dark tea referred to in China is a completely independent tea category.
Behind this seemingly contradictory translation lies a long history of tea trade and completely different observation logics of Chinese and Western cultures.
⏳ Tracing the Origin of Time: Black Tea emerged much earlier than the Chinese term “hongcha”
The two did not first have a Chinese name and then be translated into English; instead, the Western naming came first, and the local term “black tea” took shape later.
📖 1. The Chinese term “black tea” was recorded very late.
According to the “Chinese tea” 2015 No. 5 “ ‘black tea’ English translation discussion” (Hou Caiyun) research:
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The earliest written record of “black tea” comes from 1866 “Chongyang County Annals” : “In the late years of Daoguang, tea merchants picked fine leaves, sun‑dried and rolled them, tin cans were sealed for export, and named black tea” ;
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After that, records related to “black tea” successively appeared in <i>Ba Ling County Gazetteer</i>, <i>An Hua County Gazetteer</i>, and <i>Yi Ning Zhou Gazetteer</i>.
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Wu Juenong “Commentary on the Classic of Tea” mentions the term “black tea” appearing in earlier ancient books, but currently there is widespread controversy in the academic community, and it cannot be used as a reliable basis for origin.
🌍 2. English Black Tea has been used in tea trade since the 17th century
As early as the second half of the 17th century, the term “black tea” appeared in European tea trade documents with China. The time difference is sufficient to prove the core fact.
When Europeans used “Black Tea” to refer to Chinese tea, the term “Hongcha” had not yet been uniformly adopted in China.
Therefore, “Black Tea” is not the English translation of the Chinese term “Red Tea”; it is a tea name independently created by Europeans based on their own visual observations.
📜 Trade history: Wuyi tea (Bohea) is the naming foundation of Black Tea
🏷️ 1. Wuyi tea monopolised the early Sino‑European tea trade
The underlying origin of the name “Black Tea” : Bohea Tea
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From the 17th to the 19th century, dark fermented teas sold to Europe were collectively known as Bohea tea. Bohea was derived from the Minnan dialect pronunciation of “Wuyi” and was the core category in overseas tea trade at that time. Europe had no modern classification system for the six major tea types then, only a simple binary division: Green Tea and Black Tea, the latter referring to the dark‑coloured tea produced in Wuyishan.
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Li Yuese “History of Chinese Science and Technology” Volume 6, Chapter 40 clearly records that Black Tea in the trade context of the 17th and 18th centuries refers to all dark fermented teas produced in Wuyi Mountain, Fujian, collectively known as Bohea Tea, not specifically referring to today’s narrow fully fermented black tea. In 1607, the Dutch East India Company first imported Wuyi tea, which was the trade basis for the formation of the Black Tea naming system.
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Zhengshan Xiaozhong belongs to the Wuyi tea branch and is the world’s first fully fermented black tea. Its export accounts for a large proportion of the total export volume of Wuyi tea. It uses the smoking process with pine needles and pinewood, resulting in dry tea that is black and shiny. Visually, its “black characteristic” is much stronger than other Wuyi teas of the same period, continuously strengthening the Europeans’ intuitive impression that “this tea is black” and making the term “Black Tea” deeply rooted in people’s minds.
Zhengshan Xiaozhong
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The trade records of the East India Company from 1720 to 1840 and historical materials from domestic tea shops in the 1960s referring to black tea as “Oolong” also confirm that the concepts of early Wuyi fermented tea and Lapsang Souchong were interchangeable, and Zhengshan Souchong is the most typical representative of Black Tea.
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According to Eucus “Book of Tea” “Chronology of Tea”, by 1705, the price of black tea in London had reached 30 shillings per pound.
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Qian Jianping Analysis of the Connotative Differences between Chinese and British Tea Cultures (Fujian Tea, 2018) proposed that the unique dark and dry appearance of Zhengshan Xiaozhong is the key visual incentive for Westerners to continue using the term “Black Tea”.
🔍 2. Early Black Tea generally referred to the dark fermented tea from Wuyi Mountain
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Li Yuese, a science and technology historian from the United Kingdom, clearly stated in <i>Science and Civilisation in China</i>:
Black Tea in the 17th‑18th centuries did not solely refer to the black tea in today’s classification, but rather Wuyi tea produced in Wuyishan, Fujian, which is semi‑fermented and has a dark colour when dry.
Compared to Green Tea exported to Europe during the same period, this tea has a black dry colour and a red tea soup after brewing, hence the name Black Tea. -
Hou Caiyun’s supplementary interpretation in “Discussion on the English Translation of ‘Black Tea’” :
At that time, there was no tea cultivation in Europe, no professional knowledge of tea classification, and no intention to match domestic tea names;
As long as the dry tea is dark in colour and has a distinct flavour from green tea, it is all uniformly classified as Black Tea, and the early category even included various dark fermented teas.
🧐Naming Logic Discrepancy: Chinese and Western Observation Perspectives Are Completely Opposite
🇨🇳 1. China: named after the colour of the brewed tea soup
The six major tea categories classification system of Chen Chuan, the master of tea science, classifies tea based on production techniques and the degree of tea polyphenol oxidation (fermentation).
When naming the six major tea categories, the Chinese people’s core basis is the colour of the tea soup :
According to the <Baling County Gazetteer>, the tea made by sun‑drying has a slightly reddish liquor after brewing, hence the name “black tea”. This naming convention reflects the aesthetics of Chinese tea‑drinking, which emphasises the sensory experience of tasting and focuses on the charm of the tea liquor.
🌍 2. Western: named directly by the appearance and colour of dry tea
Europeans only intuitively saw the black appearance of the finished dried tea, thus creating the name “Black Tea”. Among them, Zhengshan Xiaozhong, due to its smoking process with pine wood and pine needles, has dried tea that is black and shiny, further deepening the Westerners’ ingrained impression of “black tea”.
“Fujian Tea” Multiple journal articles provide evidence that there is a cultural gap in the understanding and observation focus of colour vocabulary between China and the UK, which is also the core cause of the misplaced translation of black tea. “Fujian Tea” Published in 2017 “On the Differences in Connotation of Color Words under the Influence of Chinese and English Cultures from the English Translation of Black Tea” The article also points out that correctly understanding the cultural connotation of colour words plays an important role in correctly understanding and translating tea names.
⚖️Academic Discussion: Should black tea be translated as Red Tea or Black Tea?
✅ Black Tea: A commonly accepted and widely used term
Hou Caiyun’s view: Black Tea is just a common name passed down through long‑term trade, not a standard translation strictly corresponding to “Hong Cha”.
National standard evidence: In 2014, the implementation of the “Tea Classification” GB/T 30766‑2014, the official use of Black Tea as the common English name for black tea, recognised this historical custom usage.
📖 Red Tea: An academic translation that aligns with the original Chinese meaning
Li Yuese Science and Civilization in China specifically devotes a chapter to comparing the two, with the title <Red tea (hung chha) and the black tea of maritime trade>, clearly distinguishing the two concepts:
He believes that the standard translation that aligns with the Chinese character meaning and the characteristics of tea soup should be Red Tea, which is also another mainstream view in the academic community.
🔄 3. Derivative Dispute: Early on, Black Tea once referred to oolong tea
Some research on trade historical materials has put forward new arguments:
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In the trade records of the East India Company from 1720 to 1840, the so‑called “black tea” actually referred to semi‑fermented Wuyi Oolong;
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Supporting clues: In domestic tea shops during the 1960s, Keemun Black Tea was still referred to as “Keemun Oolong”, and Jiuqu Hongmei as “Jiuqu Oolong”, which indirectly confirms that the origin of Black Tea is deeply linked to Wuyi fermented tea.
🚀Core Pitfall Avoidance: Never Confuse Black Tea with Chinese Dark Tea
A cognitive misconception that 90% of tea lovers will fall into, clarified in one sentence:
✅ English “Black Tea” = Domestic Black Tea
❌ Chinese Dark Tea ≠ Black Tea, the exclusive standard translation for Dark Tea is Dark Tea
The two types of tea are completely distinct in terms of craftsmanship, variety, and flavour, with the detailed distinctions as follows:
🏷️ 1. Differences in Product Categories and Processes
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Black Tea: A fully fermented tea with the core process being full fermentation; when brewed, the tea liquor is red and bright, with a high aroma and a sweet, mellow taste.
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Dark Tea: A post‑fermented tea with the core processes of piling fermentation and long‑term ageing; representative varieties: Pu’er ripe tea, Anhua Dark Tea; dry tea is dark brown and thick, the tea soup is dull, featuring aged mellow medicinal aroma and aged fragrance.
📋 2. China’s Recommended National Standard GB/T 30766‑2014 English Name
China has clearly defined the standards for the tea industry, with no mixing:
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Black Tea is uniformly labelled as: Black Tea
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Dark Tea is uniformly labelled as “Dark Tea”
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Green tea (Oolong tea) : Oolong Tea
Simple summary: The “black‑and‑white misplacement” in Chinese and foreign tea names is merely due to different perspectives, with no confusion of tea categories, and is an interesting cultural detail left over from over a century of tea trade.
💡 Summary of the full text: A tea name reveals the difference between Chinese and Western tea charm
By sorting out the complete traceability context, we can clarify this interesting misunderstanding of the translated name. Here are three key points to keep in mind:
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Root of naming divergence: Chinese people look at the tea liquor and name it “Hong Cha”; Westerners look at the dried tea leaves and name it “Black Tea”.
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Historical origin of the name: Wuyi Zhengshan Xiaozhong, the world’s first black tea, with its dark dry tea and pine‑smoked processing technique, is the starting point of the term “Black Tea”.
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Key Points to Remember to Avoid Pitfalls: Black Tea does not equal Dark Tea. The standard English term for domestic Dark Tea is Dark Tea, and the two should not be used interchangeably.
A simple English name for tea, linking the history of nearly 400 years of maritime tea trade, highlights the two completely different observational aesthetics of China and the West.
Chinese people value the inner charm and flavour when drinking tea, naming tea based on the tea soup; Westerners, upon first seeing tea leaves, focus on the external appearance, naming tea based on the dry leaves. This subtle difference is precisely the unique romantic detail of tea culture.
💬 Interactive Message
Have you ever been misled by the English name of black tea? Welcome to share your tea‑drinking experiences and insights in the comments section!
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