Product Overview
Type: Black Tea
Origin: Taiwan
Description: Hong Yu which translates as “Red Jade” and is also referred to as Ruby Black tea, is Black Tea Number 18 in the tea varietals numbering system developed by Taiwan’s Tea Research and Extension Station (TRES). A small tea-growing region in Yuchi district in Central Taiwan, close to the internationally famous Sun Moon Lake in Nantou county, is the source of Hong Yu – one of the most amazing black teas in the world. It has been the new darling of the modern era Asian black tea drinkers. Hybridized from Assam and Oolong teas, this bold new tea boasts a remarkably long, twisted leaf that resembles a well made Puchong or Wuyi Oolong.
This area has been successfully producing high-quality Assam black tea for many years. It was originally introduced in the early 1900s from Assam, India. The Japanese administration that occupied Taiwan at the time – wanting to grow black tea in Taiwan – carefully studied various geographical, environmental, climatic, and soil conditions to find the most suitable location to produce black tea. Finally, the hills surrounding Sun Moon Lake were chosen. The area has an altitude of 600-800 meters (1,950-2,650 feet) and its stable humidity levels and diverse landforms help to create the ideal growing conditions.
In recent years, Taiwan’s TRES has worked with local tea farmers to further develop and improve production of the black teas in the area, as well as experiment with cultivating new strains. An Assam tea strain from Burma was crossed with a local wild tea strain to produce Hong Yu black tea. This organically grown black tea has since been carefully refined by TRES and is now an excellent quality and a much sought-after premium-grade black tea.
Yuchi Red Jade black tea has large twisted leaves that produce a dark amber red liquor. It has a savory profile that is verging on having a medicinal kind of taste. This is attributed to the spicy, peppery and menthol flavors that this type of tea is famous for. There is hardly any astringency in this tea, only a slight dryness on the aftertaste. There are very pleasant jammy fruity notes and hints of mint and eucalyptus. Yuchi Red Jade is a very complex tea and the clean yet thick liquor combined with these unique flavors make this a truly captivating tea!
Our supreme Hong Yu is wafting with an inviting, fruity aroma. The incredibly full bodied texture and its almost minty finish is unique only to itself. This intriguing Taiwanese black tea with its luxuriously deep red liquor certainly deserves your full attention.
Brewing Guide: The preferred method of brewing is an Yixing teapot or a gaiwan. After boiling the water to 212°F ( 100° C) rinse the gaiwan or teapot once. By rinsing we ensure the teaware is free of any unwanted matter as well as create optimal heat conditions for brewing. We suggest 5-7 grams of tea per 150 ml of water. However, these parameters have more to do with personal tastes than any sort of scientific groundings. The lengths of the infusions are also dependent upon personal preference for either a weaker or stronger infusion. As such we suggest starting with shorter infusion times of up to one minute for the first and second brews while gradually increasing infusion times by one minute for each consecutive brew.
