Zhu Cha tea comes from the Chinese province of Zhejiang to the south of modern day Shanghai and the largest growing region of tea in China. Zhu Cha literally translates as bead tea however in the west the tea is most commonly known as gunpowder owing to the dark almost charcoal colour and pellet like shape of the rolled leaves. During the 19th century gunpowder tea was the most popular form of tea worldwide as the tightly rolled pellets maintained their freshness far longer than leaf tea and even toden today gunpowder tea remains very popular in Morocco and other North African countries. The traditional Moroccan method of preparing gunpowder tea uses a half spoon of tea leaves (remember they will uncurl and expand quickly) brewed with a few fresh minsh mint leaves and then poured from as great a height as you can manage into a glass rather than a cup or mug. The pouring distance allows the tea to aerate while producing an incredible and almost frothy brew.