Dianhong Congou Black Tea
Origin Of The Name
Investigation of Yunnan Black Tea Producing Areas
In the spring of 1938, Shou Jingwei and Wu Juonong of the old Chinese tea company were invited to Hankou to participate in the company’s work. Tea company moved to Chongqing. In mid-September, he was sent to Yunnan to investigate the production and marketing of tea.It is understood that at that time, all tea areas in Yunnan only produced green tea. After being killed by high temperature, it is twisted and dried, and then purchased by tea merchants at high stations in the production area, transported to the tea distribution market, and set up factories to suppress various “tight teas” for transportation and sales. Tea was sold domestically, and Yunnan never produced black tea.
Can the trial production in Yunnan, which has never produced black tea, produce good black tea? From the survey, it is completely possible. If you can use large leaf tea to create good black tea, the development prospect is incalculable.
The tea plantation took a sample of “one bud and two leaves” to observe its quality and find out the problem. Everything is very good, two tea samples, one red and one green, like one gold and one silver, make people very happy.
Name “Dianhong Black Tea” Officially
In 1939, the first batch of “New Dianhong” was finally successfully produced. At that time, there were no wooden cans or aluminum cans. Immediately ship Hong Kong with a tea basket, then change to a wooden box and aluminum can for export.”Dianhong” was created. At that time, it began to be named “yunhong”.Because Qihong was named after Anhui(安徽)province, and Huhong was named after Hunan(湖南)province. So, the black tea which was produced in Yunnan(云南) province could also be named Yunhong. However, they borrowed the meaning of red clouds every morning and every nights and the short name of Yunnan province, which is Dian, to name this kind of new black tea. Dianhong was created at this time.
Producing Areas
The main Dianhong Congou black tea producing areas in Yunnan are Lincang, Baoshan, Xishuangbanna, Dehong, Honghe, including more than 20 counties. The main tea producing areas in Yunnan spread along 23°27 N where scientists believe that the climatic conditions are beneficial for biological diversity.
Geographically, the producing area of Dianhong black tea in Yunnan can be divided into 3 main parts: West tea-area of Yunnan, South tea-area of Yunnan and Northeast tea-area of Yunnan. The west tea-area is primarily located in 4 cities of Lincang (临沧), Baoshan(保山), Dehong(德宏), Dali; the total planting area is about 52.2% in Yunnan province with the 65% of the total production in Yunnan. The south tea-area is slightly smaller than the west tea-area; however, it is regarded as the birthplace of tea and tea culture in China. The main tea producing counties in this area are Simao(思茅), Xishuangbanna(西双版纳), Wenshan(文山) and Honghe(红河), the tea area and tea out account for 32.7% and 30.8%.
Main Characteristics
Due to different harvesting periods, the quality of Dianhong Congou black tea has seasonal changes. Generally, spring tea is better than summer and autumn tea.
The spring tea strips are plump, with strong bones, good clarity, and a soft and even leaf base. Summer tea is in the rainy season. The buds and leaves grow fast and the internodes are long. Although the buds are slightly exposed, the purity is low and the bottom of the leaves is slightly hard and mixed. The autumn tea is in the dry and cool season, and the growth and metabolism of the tea tree is weakened. The tea body is light, the purity is low, and the tenderness is not as good as the spring and summer tea.
Dianhong Congou is rich in aroma and flavor. Congou tea in the southern Yunnan producing area has a strong taste and strong irritation, while the Congou tea in the western Yunnan producing area has a rich taste and weak irritation, but has a fresh aftertaste.
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Edited By Ziwei Chen/陈紫薇
