Open Road

Open Road is a 2010 brick black tea from Hunan. There were traditionally three types of black tea produced in Hunan: fu cha (茯茶), or brick tea; qian liang tea (千兩茶), which are giant logs of tea; and tian jian (天尖) tea, which could be translated as “heaven tip” or “heavenly basket,” as these are baskets of all-bud black tea. Most of the black tea produced in Hunan was exported to Tibet, Mongolia and other parts of Central Asia. The trade in black tea has gone on for centuries, but it is unclear when Hunan started producing bricks for export. Hunanese brick tea often includes medicinal “golden flowers (金花, jin hua, Eurotium cristatum),” which used to be a lucky occurrence on a brick, but now with modern science is common on all bricks. It is believed to be effective in treating diabetes, promoting metabolism, and as a digestive aid (more research is needed in this area). This tea is perfect for boiling on a cold afternoon, opening deeply and rooting the whole day.