Big Red Robe (Da Hong Pao)

"One sip of the mountain tea sets your mind free." - Fan Zhongyan (989-1052 CE) Da Hong Pao Oolong Tea

A classic Fujian oolong, grown among the cliffs of Mount Wuyi, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in China. Da Hong Pao is truly an outstanding example of how terroir —soil, topography, and climate—impacts the taste and flavor. In this case, it's the unique organic materials found at Mount Wuyi and the minerals from the surrounding rocks that give Da Hong Pao its unique flavor and taste. Da Hong Pao, also known as Big Red Robe, is one of the Rock Oolongs. Legend has it that monkeys were trained to climb the steep mountain sides to pluck tea from wild tea trees. The Wuyi Mountains, an area 100,000 acres larger than Yellowstone National Park, feature narrow canyons with very steep sides, with seemingly every area possible under tea cultivation. 

According to signage in Wuyi itself, Da Hong Pao is considered the best tea from Mount Wuyi and is therefore sometimes called "the King of Teas". The Nine-Dragon vale, where the tea is grown, has an east-west geographical orientation and is surrounded by nine large cliffs in the shape of coiled up dragons that seem to be about to fly up into the air at any time.

Ingredients: Wuyi Mountains (Fujian Province, China) Oolong Tea