Golden Needle King Red Tea
2 oz (57g) for $40.00, makes 60+ cups
Ingredients: Organic White Tea Leaves
Name: Golden Needle King Red Tea (Hong Cha) 红茶黄金针
Cultivar: Da Bai, Da Hao
Smooth and elegant, this tea yields a clean, crisp finish with a deep, traditional red tea hue. This high grade tea is harvested and oxidized from the buds of the Da Bai and Da Hao white tea plants (Silver Needles), giving it an earthy and subtly sweet flavor.
2 oz (57g) for $40.00, makes 60+ cups
Ingredients: Organic White Tea Leaves
Name: Golden Needle King Red Tea (Hong Cha) 红茶黄金针
Cultivar: Da Bai, Da Hao
Smooth and elegant, this tea yields a clean, crisp finish with a deep, traditional red tea hue. This high grade tea is harvested and oxidized from the buds of the Da Bai and Da Hao white tea plants (Silver Needles), giving it an earthy and subtly sweet flavor.
2 oz (57g) for $40.00, makes 60+ cups
Ingredients: Organic White Tea Leaves
Name: Golden Needle King Red Tea (Hong Cha) 红茶黄金针
Cultivar: Da Bai, Da Hao
Smooth and elegant, this tea yields a clean, crisp finish with a deep, traditional red tea hue. This high grade tea is harvested and oxidized from the buds of the Da Bai and Da Hao white tea plants (Silver Needles), giving it an earthy and subtly sweet flavor.
Harvest
In early spring, the buds of the da bai and da hao tea plants are hand-plucked while still tender. If chewed raw, the young leaves have a clean and lightly bitter taste with a sweet finish, and almost immediately creates a refreshing moisture in the throat.
Processing
The tea leaves are spread over a cloth in order to wither for a few hours immediately after being harvested. When the leaves become soft enough, they are rolled and placed in a cloth-lined bamboo basket. These baskets are placed on shelves lining the walls of a small room, at the center of which is a charcoal stove and a pot of simmering mountain spring water. This arrangement maintains a hot and humid environment in which the buds can sit for several hours. During this time, the tea is periodically sampled to observe the color and flavor change, as the day’s weather may effect the pace of the process. Once the tea has reached the proper state, it is removed and shaken to cool and fix.
The tea leaves are finished over fir and fruit tree charcoal at a medium/high temperature. This slow process maintains the integrity of the young leaves, while the nearly odorless flames from the sweet wood impart a clean aroma.
Shang Tea is the one of the few producers left in the region that still uses a traditional charcoal oven to cure teas. Most farmers have switched to electric-powered processing factories to save time and money, though many will finish small batches over charcoal for their own collections. For Shang Tea, the clean taste of the tea and the sustainable management of the land are worth the extra time and expense.
