Hunan is the native place of world dark tea and the ancestor of China dark tea. More than one thousand years ago, Hunan dark tea was widely spread in the world. It grows at the northern section of the Xuefeng Mountains and the inner side of the Wuling Mountains, which benefit from favorable soil, distinct four seasons, plentiful rainfall, abundant sunshine, warm and moist climate (annual average sunshine time of 1,339 hours and annual average temperature of 16.2oC). The exploration data shows that the crustal movement which happened 600 million years ago made the Xuefeng Mountains become an area gathering the most tillites in the world. In this area, the reserves of tillites account for 85% of the total reserves of the world (in South Africa, it accounts for
about 10%). For completely weathered soil, plentiful gravels and excellent ventilation, the tillites are rich in organic matters and mineral substance nutrient elements. Enjoying exceptional advantages of tillite soil and unique ecological environment, this area is recognized by the world tea experts as the best place for the growing of dark tea, therefore it is only in Hunan that top-quality dark tea is produced. China’s first brick dark tea, first Fu brick tea, first Flower brick tea and first Qianliang tea were all born in Hunan. It is well known: “Only China has dark tea in the world, only Hunan has dark tea in China”, “Hunan dark tea is exclusive in the world, Hunan dark tea is the most valuable in the world”.