Product Overview
Yunnan is a region in China known for producing excellent black tea. Yunnan black is famous for its fat golden buds and our Yunnan Black Tea has a high concentration of these golden buds. Tea brewed from our Yunnan Black Tea has a reddish brown color. The aroma is strong sugary and floral with a slight roasted undertone. The taste is smooth and sweet and the aftertaste is refreshing and clean.
During third century BC, the central area of Yunnan, around present day Kunming (major city), was known as ‘Dian’. The name Dian Hong means "Yunnan Black tea". Often Yunnan black teas are referred to as Dian Hong teas. Yunnan black teas vary in their flavor and appearance. Some grades have more golden buds and a very sweet and gentle aroma without astringency. Others make a darker, brown brew that is bright, uplifting and slightly sharp. You may add milk to this tea (a longer steeping time is needed to acquire enough astringency to balance the milk).
Yunnan Dianhong Group Co., Ltd was founded on Mar. 8, 1939. It was originally named as Shunning Experimental Tea Factory and then renamed as Fengqing Tea Factory when the county’s name changed from Shunning into Fengqing in 1954. Dianhong Congou is designated by the States council as gift tea for states foreign affairs. Nowadays Dianhong has existed 76 years as the biggest private share-holding tea manufacture in China.
It smells strongly of chocolate and malt. Once infused to a rich, honey-gold, the nose takes on caramel and vanilla notes. It is slightly sweet, spicy tea with its finish of burnt caramel. Very smooth, minimal astringency.
The water used to steep this tea should be at the boiling point. Use about 2 teaspoons (3 grams) of tea leaves for about every 5 ounces (150 milliliters) of water. A steeping time of about 3-5 minutes with more or less time is recommended depending on the desired concentration.
*****Black tea is a completely oxidized (fermented) tea. Black tea, or as it is known in China - hong cha (red tea), was originally only for export to the foreign markets. In China it is called red tea in reference to the color of the infused liquid or to the red edges of the oxidized leaves, as opposed to the color of the main body of the processed tea leaves. At one time, black tea was considered of lesser quality and not desired by the Chinese themselves and therefore, was exported. Which is why, to this day, black tea is what everyone outside of China thinks of when talking about tea, whereas, tea in China is understood to mean green tea.
Black tea is also known as "Congous" in the international tea trade business. The name Congous is actually taken from the Chinese term Gongfu or Kung-Fu. Northern Congous are also referred to as black leaf Congous, "the Burgundy of China teas", and southern Congous as red leaf Congous, "the Claret of China teas".
Black tea leaves come from the same tea plant, Camellia sinensis as does all real tea, but probably the best comes from the Assam subvariety of the plant, Camellia sinensis Assamica, or a hybrid. The infused leaf is a reddish copper color and the liquor is bright red and slightly astringent but not bitter. The important difference is in the processing of the tea leaves, which makes black tea different from the other kinds of tea.
Black tea's caffeine is approximately 3 %, which is the highest of all the different kinds of tea, but still lower than coffee.