Black tea and dark tea have different nomenclature in the West and China, which can lead to some confusion. In China, black tea and dark tea are two different types of tea that differ significantly in terms of production process, taste characteristics, and degree of fermentation.
Black tea (known as black tea in the West):
Production process: Black tea is a fully fermented tea, and the production process includes withering, rolling, fermentation, and drying.
Taste characteristics: It has the characteristics of unique red soup and red leaves, rich in taste, mellow in taste, with fruity, floral or sweet flavor.
Representative teas: such as Qimen black tea, Yunnan Yunnan red, British breakfast tea, etc.
Black tea (PU'er tea is one of a kind).
Production process: Black tea is post-fermented tea, and its production process includes initial green tea, Wudui fermentation, pressing and molding, etc. Wodui fermentation is a unique process for black tea, which causes microbial fermentation of tea leaves.
Taste characteristics: mellow taste, with a unique aged or earthy taste, old tea usually has a more rounded taste.
Representative teas: Pu'er tea (including raw Pu'er tea and ripe Pu'er), Liubao tea, Anhua black tea, etc.
Overall, black tea is a fully fermented tea with a mellow taste, while black tea is a post-fermented tea made through a special fermentation process, which is very different in taste and flavor from black tea. Which tea you choose depends on personal taste preference. Internationally, Chinese black tea is called black tea, while Chinese black tea, such as Pu-erh, usually retains its original name or is called dark tea.