> None of these is compelling, though I'd favor hei cha. Following on
> Lew's point, it's a pronounceable term that might carry the cachet of
> exoticism before becoming a mainstream term.

Oooooh, exotic, I like that! :-)

> However, there seem to remain plenty of alternatives. In the West,
> more usually equates to better. What about twice-cured, fully cured,
> perfectly ripe, 100% ripe, mature, complete, etc.?

Very good point, I will run that by the Chinese. This guy added on his
QQ, so we chat often. He did say Hei Cha is not well understood even
in the Chinese market. So not only do they have to develop the Chinese
market and educate people, they also want to explore market
opportunities abroad. The problem though, lies in what to name the tea
- and be acceptable and embraced by the foreign market. Which is
precisely why I ask all of you for your input, since everyone here is
pretty knowledgeable about tea. So in effect, you're all helping to
shape the history of "hei cha" in the Western world - by deciding and
advising on an acceptable alternative name/names.

> Seems like a good place to look for market-embraced terminology would
> be other affordable-luxury consumables that have undergone somewhat
> similar processing like wine, spirits, cigars, c***** and cheese.

Another good idea. I don't work for this company so I don't want to
get into advising about marketing etc. They will have to figure out
how to market hei cha themselves, and how it's described in appealing
terms.