Vicony Tea Directory

Yunnan Black Tea（滇红）

The Name of Yunnan Black Tea

Yunnan black tea is generally called Dian Hong in China. Dian Hong translates literally as 'Yunnan Red.' Dian is another name for Yunnan Province,named after the Bronze Age Dian Kingdom that was later incorporated into the Han Empire. In China,what we refer to as 'black' tea is called 'red' tea because of the reddish brown color of infused liquor.

The History of Yunnan Black Tea

	Photo 1: In 1986,Yunnan Black Tea was presented to Queen Elizabeth the second as a gift during her visit to Yunnan.

Yunnan black tea was developed only 60 years ago,though Yunnan Province is one of the world’s tea original places. At the end of 1938,Shao qiufeng,serving in the tea improvement station of Qimen County,came to Fengqing County of Yunnan Province because Qimen County had been occupied by enemies. He found that Fengqing County is a great source of tea,and firstly managed to produce Yunnan black tea,about 66,700 pounds of which was sold to London via Fuhua Company of Hong Kong at a price of 800 pence per pound. From then on,yunnan black tea becomes well-known,and it is said that the queen of the Great Britain at that time placed yunnan black tea into glass utensils for aesthetic enjoyment. Nevertheless it wasn’t until 1949,with the establishment of the People’s Republic of China and the end of political and economic turmoil affecting the Chinese tea industry,did Yunnan black tea take the stage as one of China’s best black teas. By 1987 Yunnan black tea already made up 20% of Yunnan Province’s total annual tea production. 

Characteristics of Yunnan Black Tea

The main difference between Yunnan black tea and the other Chinese black tea is the amount of fine leaf buds,or "golden tips," presented in the dried tea. It can be easily identified by its luscious soft leaves,and a unique peppery taste. Finer Yunnan black tea produces a brew that is brassy golden orange in colour with a sweet,gentle aroma and slight astringency. Cheaper varieties of Yunnan black tea produce a darker brownish brew that can be very bitter.

Premium Yunnan black tea is hand crafted in areas starting from the Feng Qing County to the south of Dali in Western Yunnan. Only the shoots including one tender leaf and one bud are hand picked,processed,and rolled into tightly shaped product. It is a remarkably refined black tea with characteristic Yunnan malty sweetness in complex,a pleasant and slightly drying astringency,and very little bitterness. This is a tea that can stand up to several brewing. To those who are unfamiliar with Yunnan black tea,we say it is similar in flavor to the tea from Assam region in India. In fact,Yunnan province is located north of Assam India. Many tea experts speculate that this geographic proximity is the reason for Yunnan black tea's tippy character.

Yunnan black tea is also a very forgiving tea;it will not taste bitter when over-steeped. It is arguably the most underrated chinese tea. Quality Yunnan black tea in whole leaf style is almost unheard of in the Western markets. If you wish to have a try,we would recommend it highly.

Growing areas of Yunnan Black Tea

	Photo 2,3 : Jingmai Tea Plantation

Located in the Southwest frontiers of China,Yunnan Provincefeatures rough terrain which is dotted with cloud-veiled mountains and crisscrossed with meandering rivers. The Province has abundant rainfall,mild climate and fertile land,all of which prepare ideal conditions for tea cultivation. Yunnan black tea is made of Yunnan Big Leaf tea bushes which makes it different from black tea from elsewhere. Rich content of polyphenol contributes to Yunnan black tea’s impressive strong taste.

Although Yunnan black tea was first produced in Fengqing and Menghai Counties, most of tea production regions in Yunnan are producing Yunnan black tea now. Among them,western Yunnan is the major Yunnan black tea production region. Yunnan black tea from Fengqing,Yunxian and Changning boasts the best aroma. Yunnan black tea from western Yunnan and southern Yunnan can be differentiated by their tastes. While tea from western region tends to taste thick and mellow with crispy aftertaste,those from southern region are strong and pungent.

With a long history of tea production,Yunnan is an amazing land where I have traveled to on businesss trip for three times(I wish another trip to Yunnan this year). Each time,I was touched by its breathtaking scenery,especially the beauty of tea plantations. Believe it or not,sitting alone in the plantation to watch sunset,I feel I were in paradise.

Photo 4,5 : old tea trees in the Jingmai Tea Plantation.

Yunnan Tea Cultivar

The statistics in 2003 showed Yunnan had registered 199 species of local tea trees in total,including 46 asexual-propagation species and 153 sexual-propagation ones respectively. Yunnan's tea species are known as the "Yunnan large-leaved variety",which along with Assam tea of India and Kenya tea are included into the superb tea species in the world. Comparing to small-leaf ones,Yunnan tea species are higher in polyphenol content by 5-7%,catechin 30-60% and water-soluble substances 3-5%.

According to historic records,Yunnan has a 2,100-year-long history of domesticating aboriginal tea (known as the 'wild tea'). In Yunnan province, the 800-year-old tea tree is still growing in the Nannou Mountain of Menghai County,the 1,700-year-old one in Bada of Menghai County and the 1,000-year-old one in Bangwei of Lincang Prefecture which indicates the transition between the wild and cultivation types. They are believed to be the 'Three Ancient Tea-trees' of the world. Those ancient tea trees are regarded as the 'living fossils' of Yunnan's aboriginal tea plants.

See Also:

• Green Tea
• Ching Wo Tea

• Tan Yang Congou
• Tai Ping Hou Kui
• Chun Mee Tea
• Gunpowder Tea
• Da Fang Tea
• Huo Qing Tea
• Huangshan Maofeng
• Da Hong Pao Tea
• Lapsang Souchong