The film starring Nina Mélo and Chang Han is about an Ivorian woman in her 30s who immigrates to China and falls in love with a 45 year old Chinese man.

The film previously titled The Perfumed Hill directed and co-written by Abderrahmane Sissako stars Nina Mélo, Chang Han and Wu Ke-xi.

The director was inspired to write this story after discovering a restaurant called "La Colline Parfumée" (The Perfumed Hill) run by an Afro-Chinese couple.

"[16] Guy Lodge writing in Variety gave negative review and said, "The film aims for woozy sensualism but falls way short on the ambient richness and X-factor chemistry required to sell such an essentially confected exercise.

"[17] Jordan Mintzer reviewing the film for The Hollywood Reporter dubbed it as "Enigmatic to a fault," and opined, "Black Tea fails to live up to that standard, taking an intriguing character like Aya to a fascinating place, only to lose us along the way.

"[22] Nicholas Bell in Ion Cinema rated the film with one star and said, "Shockingly dull and overtly ludicrous, it’s a far cry from Sissako’s Cesar-sweeping third feature, Timbuktu.