Description

Da Hong Pao

Cultivated in the Wuyi Mountains region (Fujian), Da Hong Pao is considered by many tea lovers to be one of the most prestigious teas in China. Its reputation is such that it is not uncommon to see certain vintages sold at exorbitant prices. Like most great Chinese teas, Da Hong Pao has its origins in myth. Legend has it that during the Ming Dynasty, a high-ranking person afflicted with a rare disease (some say the emperor’s mother, others the emperor himself) was cured with an infusion tea leaves from shrubs growing on the rock in the heart of the Wuyi Mountains. Grateful, the emperor has the tea trees from which the miraculous leaves come covered with red togas. The name Da Hong Pao means “great red toga” and refers to this fabric with which the six tea trees dating from the Song Dynasty still alive in Wuyishan Park are ceremonially covered.

The legend, however, is not the only one to inflate the importance of this tea. The entire terroir has ideal geographical and climatic conditions for growing tea, with rocky soil rich in minerals and natural irrigation by mountain streams flowing between limestone gorges. Wanting to take advantage of the prestige of such a name, but stuck with the impossibility of cultivating the original tea plants themselves, the farmers of the region are trying to recover the appellation by transplanting cuttings from these tea plants elsewhere in the park. The cultivation of these cuttings is difficult, the results rather disappointing. To keep the name alive, it slowly translates its meaning from the tree’s ancestry to the style of tea it produces: a dark, roasted wulong with a rich, complex taste. Soon, market demand led producers to name various Wuyi crus produced in this style Da Hong Pao.