BLACK PEARL

Black Pearl Gunpowder teas may be a recent import to the West, but its storied history dates back to the heyday of the seafaring scoundrels. According to oral histories from Yunnan, back in the day, a European pirate ship sailed over the East China Sea and docked at a rural port with a crew of hungry, bloodthirsty pirates. The pirates terrorized the villagers as soon as they arrived, demanding supplies to sustain them on their journey of plunder. The elders of the community brought a meeting to order and gave the villagers 24 hours to comply with their requests.
At the conference, the elders resolved to feed and water the swashbucklers, but they concluded that it would be unwise to give them weapons. helping them out. They reasoned that if they did so, the pirates may use their guns against them. A tea farmer who was clearly struggling to find a solution finally spoke out. He reasoned that his newly harvested black tea might be curled to resemble gunpowder and stored in containers. The town could buy time till the pirates realized they’d been misled by turning up the tea.
Villagers began their labour of rolling and packaging the black gunpowder. It’s incredible, but the pirates took the tea and decided to sail. When the pirates realized they had been tricked, they sailed back to the hamlet, but by that time, the garrison had arrived and promptly put an end to the threat.
Black gunpowder is being made the same way it was centuries ago. Hand-rolling wet leaves into the familiar gunpowder form requires picking, drying, and sifting through many tea leaves. The tea is golden and brilliant in the cup, with a trace of earthiness and a little astringency. The old adage goes that vengeance tastes even better the second time around.