Big Red Robe oolong

DA HONG PAO OOLONG 

Origin: China, Wuyi Mountains, Fujian

Harvest: Summer 2022

The Da Hong Pao has long been considered one of the most renowned and certainly the most expensive teas. It grows on the slopes of the Wuyi Mountains in the Fujian region of China. Its notes of orchid, with a mineral background, are unique among the rock teas of the Wuyi Mountains. Today, the Chinese tea bushes from which the Da Hong Pao oolong was harvested are protected as a national treasure. The Da Hong Pao harvest comes from tea bushes reproduced over time from the original bushes by cuttings.

Like other rock teas such as Shui Xian, Da Hong Pao can also be aged over time to further refine its unique notes.

Terza Luna's Review

Da Hong Pao is one of our teas that we recommend drinking in the winter season due to its warming properties derived from its oxidation (60%), leaf roasting, and mineral richness.

Da Hong Pao is not only a relief in the cold of harsh winter days: beyond the brown leaves lies the charm of a precious tea, a fragment of stories that transcend time. Echoes of the past, where myth and reality seem one, testify that in 1385, during the Ming Dynasty, a young student, Ju Zi Ding, embarked on a long journey to take the imperial exam and secure a prominent position at the emperor's court. However, when he reached Wuyishan, he fell ill and could not continue his journey. Fortunately, a monk came to his aid and offered him a special tea with therapeutic effects: Ju Zi Ding immediately recovered and set off promptly. He achieved the best results and received an imperial robe as a gift.

Grateful for what had happened to him, he returned to visit the monk as a sign of gratitude and to ask where the tea plantations that had miraculously cured him were. Once there, he stripped off his scarlet robes, placed them around the bushes as a tribute, and took some leaves with him, which have since been named Da Hong Pao, meaning 'Great Scarlet Robe'. Some time after his return, the emperor's mother fell seriously ill, and all attempts at treatment by doctors proved futile, so the student offered her the tea he had brought with him. After drinking it, she recovered, and her health conditions improved significantly. The emperor then ordered his servants to visit the plantations every year to wrap them in red cloths.

The ancestral Da Hong Pao bushes - of which there are only six - are now a national treasure: protected by the Chinese government, rarely used for production (it is estimated that they can yield just over 1kg each year), and carefully tended to. Different types of this tea can be found on the market: some are the result of a careful blending process, while others are direct descendants of the mother plants, from which in the 1980s some cuttings were taken for reproduction. The majestic setting in which Da Hong Pao is cultivated enjoys a unique terroir which, combined with a meticulous production and roasting process, makes this rock tea unique and gives each infusion a deep, mineral, and complex body: in the cup, the scent of fresh tobacco, wood, and the taste of bitter cocoa, burnt caramel, and violets unfold.

Brewing tips

Oriental method preparation

• Free leaves in Zhong or teapot;
• Water temperature 95°C;
• Zhong 10cl, 4g, 10 seconds;
• Teapot 15cl, 7g, 30 seconds;
• From 5 to 8 infusions maintaining the temperature and times constant.

Western method preparation

• Free leaves in teapot;
• Water temperature 95°C;
• Teapot 50cl, 7g, 2 minutes;
• Up to three infusions maintaining the temperature and times constant.