Yesheng Hongcha 2022

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.