Anhua Qianliang tea
Anhua dark tea compressed into a large bamboo-bound cylinder, named for a traditional weight of one thousand liang.
- Category
- Dark teaDark tea 黑茶
- Part of
- Anhua dark tea
- Forms
- Cylinder
- Region
Notes#
Retail slices and smaller cylinders#
Retail slices are cut from a larger cylinder. Their net weight and packing date describe the portion being sold; the original cylinder's production and batch details help trace it back to manufacture. Smaller cylinders likewise need their own stated weight. Compare Fu brick tea for a different compressed-tea route centred on controlled flowering.
Compression followed by prolonged drying#
The heritage account describes two stages: making the dark rough tea, then screening and blending it for the cylinder. The softened tea is packed, bound and compressed, then cooled and dried outdoors for more than fifty days in the traditional route described. Pressing is therefore an intermediate step, not the end of manufacture. That drying period describes this recorded method, rather than a fixed schedule for every modern product.
The older weight behind the name#
In the monograph’s account, the large Huajuan cylinder was called Qianliang because it held one thousand liang measured on the older sixteen-liang-to-one-jin scale. Reading the name through a different modern weight convention would distort that historical description. The same passage links the cylinder’s form to compressing tea within palm-fibre and bamboo wrapping; packaging was part of shaping the tea (p. 578).
Where to buy#
Price ranks compare recorded retail offers for the same tea, including offers outside the current delivery filter. Shipping and import charges are excluded.
| Product | Vendor | Price | Per 100 g |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gao Jia Shan Waffle Cut Qian Liang Hei Cha Tea | Yunnan SourcingSelected destinations |
$78.00 / 600 g | $13.00 ≈ $0.91 a session |
Taishunhe Aged Qian Liang Cha (300 g)
Details and price notesCompare the details Recorded seller claims; a blank means unrecorded here, not necessarily absent from the seller’s page. Matching production does not establish identical storage or condition.
Shop base currency USD. Customs duties, taxes, and import fees are excluded ('not included in the shipping cost'). Excludes shipping. |
Quiche TeasSelected destinations |
$58.20 / 300 g | $19.40 ≈ $1.36 a session |
| Qian Liang Cha | Länggass-TeeSelected destinations |
CHF 185.00 / 850 g | $26.43 CHF 21.76 / 100 g ≈ $1.85 a session |
2018 Honey-Aroma Anhua Qianliang Heicha Cubes (100 g)
Details and price notesCompare the details Recorded seller claims; a blank means unrecorded here, not necessarily absent from the seller’s page. Matching production does not establish identical storage or condition.
Shop base currency USD. The seller's pages do not state whether this price includes tax. Excludes shipping. |
Tea & WhiskSelected destinations |
$35.00 / 100 g | $35.00 ≈ $2.45 a session |
| Big Ol' Liang | MeeteaSelected destinations |
CZK 460.00 / 50 g | $42.41 CZK 920.00 / 100 g ≈ $2.97 a session |
2018 Qian Liang Cha Anhua Dark Tea Slice (100 g)
Details and price notesCompare the details Recorded seller claims; a blank means unrecorded here, not necessarily absent from the seller’s page. Matching production does not establish identical storage or condition.
100 g slice from a pressed log cake (variant 43095496818917) at £34.00 GBP; 600 g whole cake slice also available at £180.00. |
The Chinese Tea CompanyWorldwide |
£34.00 / 100 g | $45.38 £34.00 / 100 g ≈ $3.18 a session |
| Shi Liang Cha | Länggass-TeeSelected destinations |
CHF 210.00 / 500 g | $50.99 CHF 42.00 / 100 g ≈ $3.57 a session |
2008 Qian Liang Heicha (28 g / 1 oz)
Details and price notesCompare the details Recorded seller claims; a blank means unrecorded here, not necessarily absent from the seller’s page. Matching production does not establish identical storage or condition.
Sale price $15.30 (regular $18.00) for 1 oz (28 g) sample (variant 46971125924083); 2 oz ($28.90), 4 oz ($55.25), and 500 g full basket ($204.00) also available. |
Tea & WhiskSelected destinations |
$15.30 / 28 g | $54.64 ≈ $3.83 a session |
Prices recorded on the dates checked. Conversions use ECB rates dated 2026-10-20; original prices appear alongside. Origin, age and cultivar are stated by the vendor.
Prices by sales channel#
Show as table
| Product | Vendor | Channel | per 100 g |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gao Jia Shan Waffle Cut Qian Liang Hei Cha Tea | Yunnan Sourcing | International retail | $13.00 |
| Taishunhe Aged Qian Liang Cha (300 g) | Quiche Teas | International retail | $19.40 |
| Qian Liang Cha | Länggass-Tee | International retail | $26.43 |
| 2018 Honey-Aroma Anhua Qianliang Heicha Cubes (100 g) | Tea & Whisk | International retail | $35.00 |
| Big Ol' Liang | Meetea | International retail | $42.41 |
| 2018 Qian Liang Cha Anhua Dark Tea Slice (100 g) | The Chinese Tea Company | International retail | $45.38 |
| Shi Liang Cha | Länggass-Tee | International retail | $50.99 |
| 2008 Qian Liang Heicha (28 g / 1 oz) | Tea & Whisk | International retail | $54.64 |
Sources#
What these sources support
In the monograph’s account, the large Huajuan cylinder was called Qianliang because it held one thousand liang measured on the older sixteen-liang-to-one-jin scale. Reading the name through a different modern weight convention would distort that historical description. The same passage links the cylinder’s form to compressing tea within palm-fibre and bamboo wrapping; packaging was part of shaping the tea (p. 578).
中国农业出版社 / China Agriculture PressFull text · Printed pp. 578–578; PDF pages 657–657 (1-based) · checked 2026-10-20
Scope and limits: This monograph was published in 2000. Its account does not establish universal or present-day practice, or the requirements of modern standards.
- 王镇恒、王广智主编. 中国名茶志. 中国农业出版社, 2000年12月第1版. ISBN 7-109-06510-3 / 9787109065109.