text: Varieties Fermented teas can be divided according to how they are produced. Piled teas, such as the Chinese post-fermented teas, and the Toyama  produced in Japan, are fermented with naturally occurring fungus under relatively dry conditions. Other fermented teas, called pickled teas, are fermented in a wet process with lactic acid bacteria. Pickled teas include  from Thailand and  from Japan. A third category, including the Japanese  and Ishizuchi , is fermented with the piled and pickling methods successively.
  China
  Fermented tea originated in China, where it is commonly known as  () or dark tea.  is produced in many areas of China, mostly in the warmer southern provinces. It is commonly pressed into bricks or cakes for ageing.
  The most famous and important producing areas and varieties include:
  Anhui:  (, Anhui Lu'an basket tea)
  Guangxi:  (, Guangxi Liubao tea, often sold as , loose dark tea)
  Hubei:  (, Hubei green brick tea)
  Hunan:  ( (), the famous   “brick tea”)
  Jingyang, Shaanxi:  ( (), the famous   “brick tea”)
  Sichuan:  (, Sichuan border tea)
  Tibet:  (, Tibetan tea, often called Tibetan brick tea)
  Yunnan:  (, either "raw"   or "ripened"  )
  Shapes include:
  Bamboo leaf logs
  Cakes, or  ()
  Bricks, or  ()
  Loose, in baskets
  Bird nests, or  (), usually
  Squares, or  ()