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Da Chigan Hongcha 2024
20.00€
Tea- Black Tea (Not Smoked)
Harvest – Spring 2024
Origin – Tongmuguan, Wuyishan
This black tea comes from Tongmuguan, a remote and pristine part of the Wuyi Mountains, protected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Situated at a much higher altitude than other areas of Wuyi and surrounded by forests, Tongmuguan provides a special environment for tea cultivation.
This tea is grown in the yesheng, or “wild growing” style, referring not to truly wild plants, but to the natural style of cultivation. The tea trees are grown without the close pruning and organized rows typical of big farms. Instead, they are allowed to grow more freely, resulting in irregular shapes and more biodiversity.
While the area is traditionally known for smoked version (often called Lapsang Souchong in the west), this version is made from high-quality leaves dried without smoke. The result is a pure expression of the tea, showcasing the character of Xiaozhong with full clarity.
This tea is called a 大赤甘 (da chi gan) meaning it was picked after the leaves open. The flavor profile is very balanced, with a rich but delicate sweetness. Unlike many Chinese black teas which can be heavy, malty, or even cloying, this tea is lighter in color and fragrance, leaning instead toward woody notes with a cozy but also a clean and refreshing taste and smooth mouth feel.
I don’t drink black tea often but I have to say I really enjoy this one whenever I brew it.
Price is for 50 g.
Out Of Stock
Yesheng Hongcha 2022
21.00€
Tea- Black Tea (Not Smoked)
Harvest – Spring 2022
Origin – Tongmuguan, Wuyishan
This tea was produced in Tongmuguan, a Unesco world heritage protected area where tea trees grow in a pristine environment, situated at a much higher altitude than other parts of the Wuyi mountains. The name Yesheng Hongcha meaning “wild growing black tea” as usual refers more to the style of cultivation that is not in the typical farm pruned rows but rather planted more sparsely and “left to grow”. These trees are not “wild plants”, they are tea trees but they adapt to the environment and produce irregular and ugly leaves with a quite an interesting flavor.
While famously the black tea from this area was smoked over pine trees (the original so called zhengshan xiaozhong/lapsang souchong), this version is produced from high quality material grown in this area but dried without smoke. As a result the tea has a very clean flavor expressing the character of Tongmuguan Xiaozhong. As a result it has a balanced taste with a very clean, delicate sweetness and a smooth and cozy mouth feeling. It is low in fragrance and a bit different in taste compared to most chinese hongcha/black tea. The tea soup is a lighter shade not deep red color. Its qualities are in the balance of flavor, subtle fragrance and soft mouthfeel.
Price is for 50 g.
Yanxun Xiaozhong 2018 (Smoked)
17.50€
Tea – Smoked Black Tea
Harvest – Spring 2018
Origin – Tongmuguan, Wuyishan
This tea was produced in Tongmuguan, a Unesco world heritage protected area where tea trees grow semi-wild in a pristine environment. Unlike most areas of Wuyishan that are at relatively low elevation, Tongmu is situated at a much higher altitude and access there is restricted.
The traditional production method is quite unique among other black teas because of the use of smoke. In a building the leaves are placed on the upper floor while on the ground floor pine wood is burned. This process dries the leaves giving the tea a characteristic smoked flavor and is still carried out today by a very few farmers making it somehow hard to find.
This tea has a smoked flavor that has already settled quite a bit after a few years of aging making it lighter and balanced with the tea sweetness. The leaves are broken as it is characteristic of more common productions since this was not considered a fancy tea. The smoked flavor is quite interesting but it divides tea drinkers between those who love or hate it making Xiao Zhong one of the most unique black teas to try.
Price is for 50 g.