Wuyi Dahongpao is a strange flower in the Chinese Mingyuan. It is known as the "top scholar in tea". It is the king of rock tea. It can be called a national treasure. It is produced in Wuyi Mountain in Fujian Province. It is specially made with exquisite work. The finished tea has a strong aroma and a mellow taste, with obvious "rock rhyme" characteristics. It leaves a fragrance after drinking, and is known as the "Wuyi Tea King". The Dahongpao tea tree is shrub-shaped and is a thousand-year-old tree. There are only 4 trees left on the steep cliff of Jiulongke, with a rare yield and is regarded as a rare treasure.

The origin of Dahongpao

About the origin of the name Dahongpao. In the Ming Dynasty, a juren who went to Beijing to take the exam suddenly fell ill when he passed by Wuyi Mountain and had unbearable abdominal pain. He happened to meet a monk who took the Dahongpao tea he had hidden and gave him to drink, and the pain stopped. After passing the top scorer, he came to thank the monk and took Dahongpao to the capital with tin cans. After the top scholar returned to the court, he happened to meet the queen's illness and the doctors failed, so he took out the can of tea and presented it to him. After the queen drank, she gradually became healthy. The emperor was very happy and gave her a red robe. He ordered the top scholar to go to Jiulongke to put it on the tea tree to show the dragon. Well, at the same time, someone was sent to take care of it, and all teas were collected and paid tribute, and they were not allowed to be hidden privately. From then on, Wuyi Rock Tea Dahongpao became a tribute tea exclusively for royal enjoyment.

Legend has it that every year the officials sent by the court wore big red robes and hung them on the trees of tribute tea, so they were called big red robes. What is more widely circulated is that whenever you pick tea, you should burn incense to worship the sky, and then let the monkey wear red vests and climb onto the tea tree on the cliff to pick tea leaves. Therefore, this kind of monkey tea is called "monk tea" in Cantonese (Guangdong people call monkeys a monkey). Because of its rare quantity and difficulty in picking, this kind of tea is an expensive treasure in the market.
Quality characteristics of Wuyi Dahongpao

The quality characteristics of Wuyi Dahongpao: the shape and rope are tight and knotted, the color is green and brown, and the soup is bright and orange after brewing, and the leaves are red and green, and the typical leaves have the beauty of green leaves and red borders. The most prominent feature of Dahongpao's quality is that it has a rich orchid fragrance, which is high and lasting, and has obvious "rock rhyme". Dahongpao is very resistant to brewing, and it still has a fragrance after brewing seven or eight times. To taste "Dahongpao" tea, you must follow the "Kungfu Tea" small pot and small cup to taste the slow drink program in order to truly taste the charm of the rock tea.
Pay attention to the characteristics of: lively, sweet, clear and fragrant.
The taste should be observed from several aspects: appearance, soup color, aroma, taste, brewing times and leaf base. Among them, the focus is on aroma and taste.
Scent: The fragrance is refreshing. After inhaling, take a deep breath and come out of your nose. If you can smell the faint fragrance, the fragrance is the best. Cooked aroma (foot roasting) tea is mainly fruity and creamy. For tea with a light fragrance (light roasting) it is floral and peach fragrance.
Taste: Sweet, smooth and smooth in the mouth, and those with bitter, astringent, numb, and sour are inferior. Tea has no texture, and those with weak water are inferior. The severity of bitter taste often determines the quality of rock tea. The number of brewing times is usually about eight bubbles, and it is better for those with more than eight bubbles. Good tea has the saying "seven and eight brews will have a lingering fragrance, nine and ten brews will have a lingering fragrance."
High-quality tea should have: no obvious bitterness, texture (the tea in the mouth feels sticky and consistency), lubricating, sweet and full aftertaste (it is not easy for beginners to grasp the characteristics of this rock rhyme).
The history of the development of Wuyi Dahongpao

Dahongpao is the king of Wuyi Rock Tea and is the best among oolong tea. Dahongpao has a long history of development. Here is a brief introduction to the development history of Dahongpao.
In the spring of 1962, researchers from the Tea Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences cut the branches of Dahongpao from Jiulongke, Wuyi Mountain and brought them back to Hangzhou to produce cuttings as a breeding plant. (At the turn of summer and autumn in 1992, they were also from the famous group of Wuyishan Tea Institute. Many famous Wuyi clusters were cut in the observation garden, and the summer shoots such as Dancang were brought back to cut, including Dahongpao, which was marked as from Wuyushan Tea Research Institute No. *** Dahongpao No. 17 November 17, 1985).
In the spring of 1964, Xie Qingzi, a researcher at the Cultivation Office of Fujian Tea Research Institute, and two others brought their letter of introduction from their unit to Wuyi Mountain to cut the branches of Dahongpao in Jiulongke back to Fu'an to carry them into cuttings and breed. The person who came was my classmate, and he accompanied him to the county government all the way. The office, the county comprehensive farm completed the procedures and then took them to Jiulongke. After verification and approval from the caregiver, the two of them climbed up to the tea field of Dahongpao to cut the ears. When they were cut, I asked my classmates for a few cuttings. Thinking of being rejected by Treasurely, to be honest, I was interested in Dahongpao at that time, but I didn’t care, so I didn’t mind either.
From the end of 1978 to 1982, when the Municipal Tea Research Institute carried out continuous excavation, sorting and breeding of Wuyi famous congregations, somehow did not regard breeding Jiulongke Dahongpao as an urgent matter or a major matter, and always believed that Dahongpao tea tree had already been There was someone to take care of it, and it was fine. In addition, Dahongpao was often promoted, so that it felt out of reach. Over time, he stayed away from it.
In November 1985, it was the occasion of attending the 40th anniversary of the Provincial Tea Research Institute (this is a rare opportunity). As soon as I arrived at the institute, I privately asked Huang Xiuyan, the director of the cultivation room, to bring a few Dahongpao tea seedlings back to Wuyi Mountain to plant when I returned to Wuyi Mountain. The classmate said, "You no longer work in the Municipal Tea Research Institute. Is the management convenient? "I said, "In order to take the overall situation into consideration, I will treat it as a big thing." Maybe the classmate out of sympathy, "Okay, when you take the bus back, I will send the tea seedlings to the door of the car to You bring it back." When I made an appointment to go back to Wuyi Mountain, the next day, Director Huang Xiuyan really brought me five original Dahongpao tea seedlings, which were packaged in a very hidden way. He repeatedly told me to plant them OK! At that time, I felt like I had a treasure and wished I could reach Wuyi Mountain in one step! Finally, it was planted in the famous congregation observation garden of the Imperial Tea Garden on November 17, 1985. Looking back at that time, I wonder why I only brought back five Dahongpao from the province, but not more? I only learned many years later! These five Dahongpao were "secrets", so the leader didn't know, so I didn't know. Is it similar to stealing? The mystery of Dahongpao once again interprets a mysterious story. Five Dahongpao seedlings are growing vigorously in the imperial tea garden! They undertake the task of accelerating breeding. From the late 1980s to the early 1990s, the seedlings they have grown have been planted inside and outside the rock. From then on, the area of ​​the pure-bred original Dahongpao has been expanding year by year. Because the quality characteristics of Dahongpao are relatively stable and can be recognized by most people, the planting area will definitely not be extended (it turns out that these five Dahongpao plants are now being maintained and maintained. During the period, it means rest and recuperation for viewing). Dahongpao, Wuyi Mountain, mysteriously walked out of Jiulongke in the early 1960s. After waiting for more than 20 years, he took a big turn and secretly walked back to Wuyi Mountain. Looking back on the extraordinary experiences over 40 years, I feel a lot of emotion.