Tea cultivar used to make Da Hong Pao

[Rui]

That is because high grade Da Hong Pao is very very rare, and if found, extraordinarily expensive. This somehow proves the point i was making - one is better off with better grades of more common Yancha than with the pale reflections of the real thing that are generally sold as Da Hong Pao. If you ever have the chance to drink high grade Da Hong Pao you will understand why it is one of, if not the top Oolong in China.

Yes, I believe the tea leaves from the three original surviving trees go for thousands of dollars per kilogram.

[theredbaron]

Yes, I believe the tea leaves from the three original surviving trees go for thousands of dollars per kilogram.

These are more or less unobtainable. But even the best cultivars from those, grown in the best places, are very rare. And then, it is not just the leaves, it is also the skill of the producers, from picking to drying, oxidizing and roasting.

[MySundayTea]

That's true. That's why maybe it is a better option to try other rock tea instead. I personally love Best Narcissus (Shui Hsien)!

For your interest - Extracted from: http://red-luxury.com/trends/chinas-lat ... e-tea-rage
According to some reports, Mao Zedong (the Former President of China) gave President Richard Nixon 50 grams of Da Hong Pao during his visit to China in 1972. As the story goes, Nixon was apparently insulted with such a “small” gift. That is, until someone pointed out that 50 grams represented 50% of all the Da Hong Pao harvested that year."

[theredbaron]

That's true. That's why maybe it is a better option to try other rock tea instead. I personally love Best Narcissus (Shui Hsien)!

I also love the lowly Shui Hsien. Good Shui Hsien ages wonderfully as well, with much increased depth and complexity.

[kuánglóng]

That's true. That's why maybe it is a better option to try other rock tea instead. I personally love Best Narcissus (Shui Hsien)!

I also love the lowly Shui Hsien. Good Shui Hsien ages wonderfully as well, with much increased depth and complexity.

One more SX fan here. It was the first yancha I've tried and my system automatically compares any other rock tea to that reference memory - can't help it

[kyarazen]

That's true. That's why maybe it is a better option to try other rock tea instead. I personally love Best Narcissus (Shui Hsien)!

For your interest - Extracted from: http://red-luxury.com/trends/chinas-lat ... e-tea-rage
According to some reports, Mao Zedong (the Former President of China) gave President Richard Nixon 50 grams of Da Hong Pao during his visit to China in 1972. As the story goes, Nixon was apparently insulted with such a “small” gift. That is, until someone pointed out that 50 grams represented 50% of all the Da Hong Pao harvested that year."

i hope Nixon didnt crush that into teabags and then drank it with milk and sugar...

[Math]

i hope Nixon didnt crush that into teabags and then drank it with milk and sugar...

Now that's a horrible picture!

[john.b]

My friend Cindy Chen and her family won first place for Rou Gui in the annual Wuyishan tea producer competition, winning second place for Shui Xian. Cindy said it was a big achievement just making the cut to the top 50 and the second round given how many producers were involved, but in the end they did a lot better than that.

Of course this thread had started out about Da Hong Pao, but a lot of discussion drifted towards other types being just as good or better depending on the grade. Of course I've tried samples of all three (perhaps not the versions they submitted, but different teas), and they were awesome. But then what do I know; I may or may not have ever tried any of the teas from those other 50 producers in those categories.

[john.b]

It took awhile for that post to go up related to this discussion point, on TChing, but here it is:

http://www.tching.com/2015/12/the-real-da-hong-pao/

We'd already talked through all the points in it here already, so there are only a few extra links there, besides a summary of this earlier discussion.

It turned out in one reference the real Da Hong Pao cultivars include Qi Dan and Bei Dou, which we already discussed, and one other, per the Seven Cups vendor (Austin Hodges).

The facts of the matter are an interesting thing, related to what people are actually buying as Da Hong Pao. Some of that would clearly be other teas, Shui Xian, or Rou Gui, but it seems possible some could be tea of genetic origin that's not so easy to pin down, since the plants can cross breed to a certain degree. I'm no expert to offer final thoughts on this; it was just an interesting subject I looked into a bit, and wrote up.

[john.b]

I wrote a review comparing a Qi Dan and a blended Da Hong Pao, here:

http://teaintheancientworld.blogspot.co ... -what.html

Qi Dan is one of the original Da Hong Pao plant types / cultivars, along with Bei Dou, which per my understanding is a plant type made from cuttings of an early generation derived plant. Put another way, they're like brothers.

This post goes into a bit about all that, but it's more about comparing a blend, what is typically sold as Da Hong Pao now, with a more original single plant type. Both are from Cindy Chen's family, a Wuyishan producer.

[ethan]

John B.,

Thanks for the blog. Some comments from me who has not drunk much qi dan or da hong pao but some.

About the dhp as a blend: Don't mind a blend if it tastes good & is affordable. Good affordable dhp is hard to find. Like you I go light on leaf, but unlike you, I never got so many infusions. Your phrase for the taste of char, "not burned, well-integrated" is a phrase I wish had come to my mind a few times. I drink some teas from Taiwan for which this phrase is perfect. I would guess that many of us share your experience of drinking very good tea & still wanting a better one.

Last summer I drank an organic qi dan that was flavorful but a bit too subtle for me to get excited over it. Now I seem to be appreciating gentle but flavorful tea as well as bold-flavored. (Fortunately, because it is very expensive.)

Not sure I understand "wispy" but the blog is interesting. thanks

[jayinhk]

Good post! There are some good blended DHPs out there that are a real pleasure to drink. I'd rather drink a good blended DHP than a mediocre Qidan, that's for sure!

[kyarazen]

dahong pao cultivar is used to make da hong pao. origin, origin of cultivar : tianxin yan 9 dragon nest, late period harvest plan, usually sprouts for harvest from 1st week of to mid may.

beidou cultivar is used to make beidou. beidou feng (beidou peak). usually considered to be mid period harvest plant, approx april last half.