# Da Hong Pao (大紅袍) *Dà Hóng Páo · Oolong · Fire* **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. > Tradition tells that this tea cured the Ming emperor's mother of a grave illness. In gratitude the son sent great red robes to the Wuyi Mountains, to wrap the bushes that had saved her. Since then the tea has been called the 'Big Red Robe'. In 2006 the Chinese government officially banned the picking of leaves from the six remaining mother bushes; a few dozen grams sent as a gift were valued, by weight, more dearly than gold. ## Terroir 300–700 m, narrow gorges between red cliffs. red sandstone and basalt scree, rich in iron and manganese — the source of the famous 'yan yun', the cliff note. abundant mists; the narrow gorges hold the warmth, and the leaf gets little direct sun — hence the density and the mineral layer. 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 - **dry leaf:** long dark-brown twisted strands with a coal-like sheen — the trace of repeated roasting; dry and springy in the hand, smelling of embers and dried fig - **warmed:** the warmed leaf smells of warm stone after sun, dry sweet wood, and a faint note of burnt sugar - **after pour:** after the infusion — a wet cliff, cocoa, leather, dried fig, and a thin orchid through the smoke of roasting - **taste:** 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 - **finish:** 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 - **TCM:** warm by nature, yang; warms the middle, moves qi, supports the kidneys and lower back, dispels cold damp - **Modern:** rich in polyphenols, roasting melanoidins and minerals (Fe, Mn, K); gives long focus without nervousness, supports metabolism and the digestion of rich food - **Cha qi:** thick, settling in the lower body; felt as a warm heaviness in the lower back and a calm strength in the chest - **Caffeine:** 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. 80 %+ dark chocolate, aged cheese, dry meat snacks, roasted nuts, incense as a background scent. a conversation with someone in whose presence silence is not frightening; or solitary deep work ## Tea meditation 1. The dragon is old. Do not hurry him to wake. 2. Take the first sip on a heavy in-breath. 3. Hold it in your mouth for three counts. Let the stone touch your tongue. 4. When you exhale, exhale with him — slowly, as if down a mountain. ## Questions and answers ### How do you brew Da Hong Pao? 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. ### What does Da Hong Pao taste like? 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 ### How much caffeine is in Da Hong Pao? moderate (45–60 mg), the action softened by the roast ### What are the effects of Da Hong Pao? rich in polyphenols, roasting melanoidins and minerals (Fe, Mn, K); gives long focus without nervousness, supports metabolism and the digestion of rich food ## Related teas - [Rou Gui](https://www.dao-cha.info/en/tea/rou-gui) - [Shui Xian](https://www.dao-cha.info/en/tea/shui-xian) - [Tie Luo Han](https://www.dao-cha.info/en/tea/tie-luo-han) - [Oolong](https://www.dao-cha.info/en/class/oolong)