Congou


Congou is a description of a black Chinese tea variety used by 19th-century tea importers in America and Europe. It was the base of the 19th-century English Breakfast tea blend.

Name

The etymology of the tea is the same as kung fu, from the Chinese for "skill", via the Hokkien pronunciation kang-hu. This is the same word as in the Gongfu tea ceremony, and congou is locally drunk in this style.
The popular variety Panyang Congou is a corruption of Tanyang, the name of a small village in Fu'an, Fujian that popularized the style. Once the most expensive style of black tea in the West, with exports to over twenty countries and a gold medal at the Panama–Pacific International Exposition in 1915, a state-owned factory established in 1958 continues to produce small amounts.

Identification

The source the importers called "Cangou" was Amoy Kanghu tea, or Teochew Kanghu tea, the 'espresso' of Chinese teas, or Keemun Gongfu or Congou made with careful skill to produce thin, tight strips without breaking the leaves.