Origin: Cangyuan county, Yunnan province, China
Cultivar: Mengku Da Ye Broad Leaf + Fengqing Da Ye Broad Leaf
Elevation: 1600-1800m
Harvest:
March-April 2022 This tea has a ripe and fruity flavor with a robust sweetness and malty finish. The unique fragrance of this tea reminds one of aromatic fox grapes, wild rose and classic muscatel.
Shaihongcha means “Sun-dried Red Tea” and is probably the original way of producing red tea using the Sun’s light and energy to finally dry the tea. This natural drying method predates the modern and more widespread practice of oven drying tea. The sunlight and slow rate of natural drying creates a uniquely sweet fermentation taste and aromatic profile that only the Sun’s natural UV can produce in tea.
This Sun-Dried Red Tea Cake is from a Wa ethnic village on the border of Lincang, Yunnan and Burma that we have worked with for the past decade for red tea and Pu’er tea. This region is remote and has some very old trees. The local people established a larger plantation by planting the seeds from ancient trees in 1903, so most of the trees are widely spread out and more than 100 years old. Some Yunnan tea experts we traveled with in this area mentioned that most of this plantation is related to the Mengku Da Ye Zhong type of broad leaf tea.
Add 8 grams of tea to a Gaiwan or Gongfu Teapot (per 150 ml).
Use water cooled to 200°F. Don’t rinse this tea. Infuse for 1 minute. Repeat up to 3-5 times, until taste is diminished.
