Da Hong Pao (大紅袍)
archetype: Old dragon in the cliff
An old dragon sleeping in the red cliff. He does not flare up — he breathes through the stone in rare warm pulses.
History
Da Hong Pao is the chief of the 'four famous Wuyi yancha' (cliff teas of the Wuyi Mountains in Fujian). The leaf is gathered from old bushes growing in the crevices of red rock, oxidised to 40–60 %, rolled into long strands and roasted many times over charcoal until it reaches a deep mineral sweetness. A few surviving 'mother bushes' more than 350 years old still grow on the Jiulongke cliff; modern gardens are propagated from their cuttings and carry the same character.
Terroir
The best terroir falls into three zones: 'zheng yan' (the central gorge, the strongest minerals), 'ban yan' (half-cliff) and 'zhou cha' (garden perimeter). Price and character drop in exactly that order.
Leaf
mineral power above, dark chocolate and fig in the body, a long incense echo; in mature roastings, dark caramel and a note of dry wine appear very long, settling in the chest and the lower back; the aftertaste holds for an hour or more, leaving the 'yan yun' — a salty-sweet mineral trail
Properties
rich in polyphenols, roasting melanoidins and minerals (Fe, Mn, K); gives long focus without nervousness, supports metabolism and the digestion of rich food thick, settling in the lower body; felt as a warm heaviness in the lower back and a calm strength in the chest moderate (45–60 mg), the action softened by the roast
Brewing ritual
a yixing pot of 120 ml in zhu ni (red clay) — it holds the fire; 100 °C, mineral; 8 g / 120 ml. 8s — the first breath: warm stone, a faint roast; 10s — the dragon wakes — dark chocolate, dry fig; 12s — mineral power: wet cliff, leather, warm wood; 18s — depth: dark caramel, incense, a long echo; 25s — a slow exhale: vanilla, dried fruit, warm ash; 40s — late depth — a barely perceptible floral trail; 60s — the last sigh — warm stone, like a memory.
When to drink
day and early evening; do not drink hungry, or it will sit on the stomach. late autumn and winter — when the body asks for fire and a base. when scattered attention needs to be gathered, when long work has to be borne, when the body needs to be warmed from within after cold