Black teas are made from tea leaves that have been quickly and heavily oxidized. This gives the leaf and liquor a dark appearance and significantly changes the aroma and flavor - most notably in the strong body of breakfast teas. Chinese gongfu black teas are less concerned with strength and focus on more subtle characteristics.
Mr. Tang Shuang Jiang (nicknamed "Mr. Soup" by his friends) is a tea-maker by happenstance. His father sent him to the Fujian tea college after high school. It was free and they were poor. After graduating, he got a job roasting oolong at a big tea company, but the politics of a large organization didn’t suit him and he soon quit and found work outside of tea. But he didn't stay away for long. When asked why he stays with tea, he smiles and says “I don’t know other stuff better than tea."
