One fine day, after a deep morning meditation up in the mountains of Yunnan, the Wise Tea Master Lao Cha spoke to his disciples:
— Being present in the moment doesn't mean forgetting about your past or not caring about the future. It is simply being. Let the Red Dragon show you.
The young monks each took a sip of Red Dragon Black Tea. Flowing through them, it showed its past, the ancient Yunnan soils in which the tea grew. The future, the innovative use of modern tea cultivars. Then, it settled in the now, the soothing energy of invigorating black tea.
Deep in the mountains of China's southern province Yunnan, tea partners Mr. Zhang and Mr. Yang love experimenting with Taiwanese cultivars on Yunnan soil, creating new and unique teas.
This time, the masterful tea artisans took two well-known tea cultivars: Jin Xuan, best known for the famous Milk Oolong, and Ruan Zhi (also known as Qing Xin) – one of the highest quality and most popular Taiwanese cultivars, used for producing many high-mountain oolong teas (Gao Shan), such as Dong Ding or Li Shan.
Mr.Yang and Mr.Zhang transplanted the two Taiwanese cultivars into the rich Yunnan soil – full of history, minerals, and mystical energy that any tea enthusiast taking a sip of Yunnan tea may feel.
Mr. Yang & Mr. Zhang
The multi-layered combination of the Taiwanese oolong tea cultivars, Yunnan terroir, and Chinese black tea processing produced a tea truly incomparable to any other. Many layers come into play here — the sweet creaminess of the Jin Xuan cultivar, the unforgettable floral and fruity scents of the Ruan Zhi, and the maltiness of a skillfully processed Hong Cha. The tea craftsmen process this Chinese black tea in the traditional Yunnan manner and ferment it in small bamboo baskets.
The resulting "Red Dragon" Hong Long Black Tea is incredibly rich with bright notes of tropical fruits. When brewing the tea according to the ways of Gong Fu Cha, the first few brews will be floral and incredibly aromatic. Then, you'll get an unmistakable taste of fruits, like lychee and red berries, starting from the third brew and up. The brews are tied together by an overall elegance that Chinese black tea brings — sweet and malty, with dark cocoa tones.
The tea garden of Yang & Zhong
Dahei Mountain rises at more than 2600 meters above sea level in Yunnan province, near the border with Burma. It is blessed with abundant rainfall and green peaks. Many consider this ancient forest being the best preserved in the border area. The entire region enjoys a wild and pristine landscape. The dense forest is a unique biodiversity mix between broad-leaved species and ancient tea trees. Here, people discovered the largest tea tree ever measured - a giant arbor 20m high, 1,9m in diameter, with a crown surface of 78.5 sq. meters. The wild tea trees are tall, arbor-shaped, with trunks covered in moss. The local Lahu people usually climb tall branches to collect the leaves. A walk in this ancient forest wakes up the senses and lets you smell the unique fragrance of pure tea, as nature intended it.
Brewing guidelines:
1g per 50ml 3-4min
1g per 20ml 5sec + 5sec for each subsequent infusion