Chinese: 外山大红袍
Origin: Wuyi, Fujian, China
Vintage: 2025
Cultivar: Wuyi Da Hong Pao
Harvest: Early May
Tea family: Wuyi Yancha / Rock Oolong
Processing: Plucking → Sun Withering → Indoor Withering → Bamboo-Tray Bruising → Wok Fixation → Rolling → Roasting
Da Hong Pao — “Big Red Robe” — belongs to the Wuyi Yancha tradition of northern Fujian.
Yancha processing is considerably more intensive than white or green tea production. Leaves are withered and repeatedly bruised in bamboo trays to control oxidation before heat fixation stops enzymatic activity. Rolling follows, then a prolonged roasting stage.
This lot is slowly charcoal-roasted. Immediately after production, charcoal aromatics can be relatively prominent. With resting, those volatile roast notes diminish and the underlying fruit, mineral and woody characteristics become more apparent.
The historical Da Hong Pao name is connected to the famous mother bushes at Jiulongke in Wuyi. Harvesting from those protected mother plants was stopped in 2007. Contemporary Da Hong Pao therefore refers to propagated plant material and/or teas produced in the established Da Hong Pao style.
This is a Waishan tea: produced within the broader Wuyi Yancha region but outside the core Zhengyan area.
Profile: Roasted cacao nibs · Hazelnut · Charcoal smoke