As fully fermented tea, "Tanyang Kungfu" got its name due to its origin from Tanyang Village on the bank of Qinghong Brook at the foot of Baiyunshan, Fu'an. With Baiyunshan acting as the natural barrier, Tanyang Village holds forth exceptional natural environment, thus making it rather suitable for planting tea trees.

During the reign of Xianfeng and Tongzhi in the Qing Dynasty, a Hu family in Tanyang Village produced quality black tea through manual rubbing, fermentation and baking and then counties in eastern Fujian began to produce it gradually. Thereafter, Tanyang Kungfu Black Tea rose to fame. In the heyday, a one less than 1km street had 36 tea shops, employing over 3,000 employees per year and producing over 50,000 packages of tea, amounting to over one million silver dollars. From the sixth year of Guangxu to the 25^th year of the Republic of China (A.D.1881-1936), Tanyang Kungfu Tea exported over 10,000dan tea to Netherlands, UK, France, Japan and over 20 countries and regions in Southeast Asia and was rather favored by Dutch and British royal families. In 1915, "Tanyang Kungfu" black tea, together with China's Moutai, was awarded the golden prize at Panama Pacific International Exposition, and thus gained a position in the list of top international well-known tea.

Tanyang Kungfu Tea comes into being after deterioration, rubbing, fermentation and drying in order. First, polyphenols in fresh tea leaves are properly oxidized and then tea leaves are made into well-striped black semifinished tea with both buds and leaves intact to render red liquid. Then, after screening, cutting, winnowing, trimming, re-firing, piling and other processes, commercial tea of different grade comes into being. Rigorous material blending and selection for Tanyang Kungfu Tea guarantees "bright color and strong fragrance, and fresh, pure and sweet" quality. Its stripes are plump and straight. Pitch-black and bright color, well-colored and water-tolerant leaves, bright and golden liquid, and rich aroma of sweet-scented osmanthus as well as fresh, heavy, plump and sweet taste make it not only suitable for drinking but also blending with sugar and milk. Tanyang Kungfu Black Tea is called by local tea growers as "oolong" and "Wu tea". It has such health functions as pleasing the mind and benefiting the brain, helping maintain beauty and keep young, reducing blood pressure, decreasing blood glucose and warming the stomach and promoting digestion.

"Tanyang Kungfu" has a long and brilliant history. As early as in the Tang Dynasty, there were wild tea trees for making Kungfu black tea and also tea made through such a way were sold to over 20 countries and regions, leading to a huge tea market. "Tanyang Shrub Tea" is a major variety. Its unique quality has been deeply favored by consumers in Western Europe, Russia, Arab region and countries in Southeast Asia.

The making process of Fu'an Tanyang Kungfu Tea has been enrolled in the List of Nonmaterial Cultural Heritage of the province.