Discovering the world of Black Tea is an exciting and varied adventure, taking you from the foothills of the Himalayas, to the deep wilds of China’s Yunnan province, or the mountainous island of Sri Lanka. Let’s explore in this Black Tea Guide, starting in the home of tea: China

Chinese Black Teas  

China is the birthplace of tea, with the Yunnan province pinned as the place of origin. So it is said that it was here, thousands of years ago, that while an emperor was sitting beneath a tree enjoying a drink of hot water, some tea leaves fluttered into his cup, and the rest is history. While we’ll never know the exact truth, we do know that China produces some of the best black teas available.

Should you like to find out for yourself, why not start with our accessible Organic Golden Yunnan, which is made from beautifully twisted dark leaves and golden buds, producing a deep, amber infusion with bold, sweet aromas and a wonderfully honeyed, malty infusion. If you would like to try something more premium, our Platinum Yunnan Golden Buds have a similar character only clearer, more pronounced and with a beautifully velvety mouthfeel.

From Yunnan, you might like to travel eastwards to taste our Organic Lapsang Souchong. This organic black tea originated in Wuyi, Fujian where it is traditionally smoked over barkless pine wood gathered from the mountains. Ours is made from a blend of blacks teas from neighbouring provinces. When enjoyed, it evokes the sense that you’re sitting next to a warming, open fire. There’s nothing quite like a Lapsang Souchong that has been smoked naturally for an immersive, sensorial tea experience. 

Fujian is a well-famed region for other black teas, too. Our outstanding Jin Jun Mei black tea comes from Tongmu. These magnificent buds are tended to by Tea Master Mr Shi on the slopes of Wuyi Shan mountainside, protected by wild trees and fog.

Due to the unique conditions, the tea produced here is of sublime quality and flavour. This tea is commonly known in Tongmu as ‘Golden Beautiful Eyebrows’. In fact, many tea varietals have quirky names like this. Our Wild Wuyi Black is another outstanding example of black teas from Fujian.

To find out more about rare Chinese Teas and their famous tea producing regions, be sure to read our ‘A True Taste of China’ tea guide. 

Heading slightly further north, we come to our Organic Royal Keemun, from Qimen in the Anhui Province, which has long been respected for its green tea production. This famous black tea, however, emerged in the late 1800s and has become one of China’s most-loved teas owing to the fact that it was a favourite among European royals. The infusion is smooth and almost tobacco-like, with fruit, floral and pine notes. 

Indian Black Teas

Moving westwards to India, we discover teas that don’t have the long tea history that China has, but with those that perhaps the Western world is more familiar with enjoying. Tea cultivation for the West began in the early 1800s and by the turn of the next century, Assam was one of the biggest areas of production in the world, and continues to be so, though Kenya is now thought to have taken the lead. 

We have secured the best that Indian terroir has to offer such as our strong, assertive and sensationally malty Assam English Breakfast (as well as a lighter, sweeter expression of Assam through our Golden Assam).

Moving west, we come to Darjeeling in the foothills of the Himalayas, where the flavour of black tea transforms from malty to superbly fruity – Darjeeling teas, in fact, are often referred to as having a distinctly ‘muscatel’ flavour, This sweet, grape-like note shines through our Darjeeling Spring Selimbong, which is a finely balanced tea with a fresh, citrusy aroma. Darjeeling Teas are one-of-a-kind owing to their unique growing conditions.

Follow our Ultimate Guide to Darjeeling to really understand this special black tea.

Sri Lankan Black Teas 

Ceylon was once the name of Sri Lanka, which is why these teas are named as such. Commercial production began in the mid 1800s when James Taylor started industry here, inspired by excellent conditions (high humidity, cool temperatures and good rainfall) that could produce high quality black teas.

At AVANTCHA, we offer what is considered the most famous of Ceylon Teas: our Ceylon Orange Pekoe from the Nuwara Eliya Estate, 8000 feet above sea level. This tea captures the best of Ceylon with a unique, full and rich taste. Expect wonderful, fruity aromas, and a distinct citrus aftertaste.

We’re pleased to also offer our Decaffeinated Ceylon Orange Pekoe, which has all of that distinct flavour, and none of the caffeine. 

Organic Black Teas

We will prioritise organic teas where possible, and our range encompasses a balance of organic certified teas and those that are naturally farmed by the same organic principles though without the accreditation. Why’s that? There isn’t a short answer, so we put together a guide on ‘Examining Organic Tea‘ so that you could brush up on the details.

Blends and Flavoured Black Teas 

While we enjoy tea that expresses a single origin, there is much that can be gained by blending teas together to create stunning flavour profiles. Our Organic English Breakfast, for example, contains the very best of black teas grown in China, Assam and Sri Lanka to create a perfectly balanced breakfast infusion. Of course perhaps Majestic Earl Grey (ours is naturally farmed) is the best example of a flavoured tea, pairing rich black tea with the highest quality bergamot essence. Or Chai black tea (also organic) with its whole spices underpinned in our version with malty Assam tea.

A Range of Different Chai Teas - loose leaf chai, chai teabags, chai tea caddies, chai herbal and more

At AVANTCHA, we take great pleasure in producing a number of unique flavoured blends too, from our smooth Vanilla Excelsior made with the finest Madagascan vanilla, to our Keemun Imperial Saffron highlighted with Iranian saffron and aromatic green cardamom. Our Chocolate Chilli is also popular, with its unexpected kick of heat. 

We recently added three more indulgent flavoured black teas that have proven to be quite popular. Don’t miss our Besos de Cafe coffee flavoured tea, as well as our Velvet Salted Caramel and Midnight Chocolate Mint.

Flavoured Black Teas

Iced Black Teas

Let’s not forget that black tea is excellent for iced teas, especially with our flavoured black tea range. Our Summer Tea Drinks Guide will talk you through how to make syrups, shrubs and cold brew black teas, as well as including our recipe for Iced Wild Strawberry Black Tea, which is a really fruity treat on a hot summer’s day.

AVANTCHA Iced Strawberry Black Tea


Have we piqued your interest? Explore our full range of Black Teas, or simply get started with our brilliant Breakfast Collection with 24 tea bags filled with some of our most popular teas for daily drinking.

A gift box of Breakfast Teas in biodegradable silk teabags