Dark tea refers to any tea type that undergoes a “post fermentation” process (like ripe puer tea). We are associating it here with the pile-fermented tea from Hunan province. Hunan dark tea has a long history going back to the trading routes of the ancient Tea Horse Road. These dark teas tend to have a mild, earthy-sweet, pine/hay-like character.
Smoked teas, such as Lapsang Souchong, are traditionally made by drying tea leaves over smoldering wood fires. This imparts the tea with its distinctive smoky aroma and rich, campfire-like flavor.
