Natural Loose Chinese Black Tea Yunnan Imperial Tea With Protein And Saccharide

yunnan imperial tea
 
Yunnan black tea is produced in most of the tea producing counties of southern and western Yunnan. Menghai County and Fengqing County are two big production centres.

History

The production of black tea on a large scale in Yunnan dates back to the 1930s. The province’s ideal tea producing conditions were used for making black tea. At first, it that was mostly designed for export. It has now become one of China’s famous black teas.

Production steps

The process for making Yunnan black tea was mostly borrowed from Qimen black tea. Its main production steps are the following:

• Spreading out
• Rolling
• Withering
• Baking

Appearance

A particularity of Yunnan black tea is, that it is made with tea plants from the big leaves varietal. They are the same plants used for making Pu’er Tea. Depending on the grade of leaves used, the appearance will change a little bit. Jinzhen or “Golden Tips” is a type of Yunnan black tea only made with the thinnest tips. As indicated in its name, these are partially or completely golden. Dianhong made with leaves (not buds or tips) is darker, but will also show some golden colour.

Flavour

The big leaves material is what gives black tea from Yunnan its unique flavour among all the different types of black tea. Its perfume is floral, while its taste is both sweet and fruity
According to historic records of China, the ethnic Pu people in Yunnan began to grow tea and served it as tribute to the emperors as early as in the Chinese Shang and Zhou Dynasties (1600 – 1046 B.C.). In the West and East Han Dynasties (202 B.C. – 220 A.D.) tea was grown in river valleys and by the mountain trails of Yizhou. In the Three Kingdoms Period, The Nanzhong tea-seed was widely popularized. In the Tang Dynasty (618 – 907), tea produced in Xishuanbanna was marketed to Dali area and became the favorite drink of the noblemen of the Nanzhao Kingdom. In the Song Dynasty (960 -1279), Pu-erh County became a famous market for trading tea and horses. In the Yunnan Dynasty, tea had become the most important commodity in the transactions undertaken by people of all ethnic groups. In the former part of the Qing Dynasty (1636 – 1912), reputation of the Pu-erh tea reached its climax. The years starting in 1926 and ending in 1936 which were on the eve of the War of Resistance Against Japan marked the most prosperous period of production and sales of Yunnan tea, during which more than 5,000 tons of tea were yearly sold to Sichuan and Tibet, while over 500 tons were exported to foreign countries.
Dianhong is a relatively new product from Yunnan. It was invited in November 1938 by Feng Shaoqiu(1900 – 1987) who is also regarded as the first person using tea-processing machine to produceteas in China. The appearance of Dian black tea caused a sensation in China at that time and it became more and more famous with the time pass by till now.

Main Varieties of Yunnan black tea (Dianhong)

The two most commonly consumed Dian black teas on the market are Dian Congou black tea and Dian broken tea . The former is made with one bud with one, two or three leaves and the main producing methods include withering, rolling, fermentation, drying. The main steps for making Dian broken black tea are withering, cutting, rolling, fermentation, drying. Generally, the unshredded Dian black presents more sweetness and richness in taste when compared with broken black tea which has strong flavor and taste. This is one of the reasons why Congou black tea is often used as senior gifts. Dian Black tea is good to enjoy with the additions such as sugar, or milk.
Yunnan Gold A Dianhong tea with fewer golden buds and more dark tea leaves. It is on par with the pure gold, and is priced similarly, but makes teas with slightly different characteristics. The brew presents a brassy red color different from other black teas and a vivid sweetness not quite as intense as “Yunnan pure gold”. Classified in Orange pekoe grading from OP to TGFOP.
Broken Yunnan: A cheap tea used for blending which contains very few golden buds and is generally bitter on its own. This tea is easily identified by the largely black dried leaves with only a few bursts of golden tips. The brew is dark and not brassy but reddish-brown. The taste can sometimes be as strong as cooked pu-erh tea. Classified in Orange pekoe grading as BOP.

Main Dianhong producing areas in Yunnan

The main Dian black producing areas in Yunnan are Lincang, Baoshan, Xishuangbanna, Dehong, Honghe, including more than 20 counties. The main tea producing areas in Yunnan spread along 23°27 N where scientists believe that the climatic conditions are beneficial for biological diversity.
Geographically, the producing area of Dianhong black tea in Yunnan can be divided into 3 main parts: West tea-area of Yunnan, South tea-area of Yunnan and Northeast tea-area of Yunnan. The west tea-area is primarily located in 4 cities of Lincang , Baoshan, Dehong, Dali; the total planting area is about 52.2% in Yunnan province with the 65% of the total production in Yunnan. The south tea-area is slightly smaller than the west tea-area; however, it is regarded as the birthplace of tea and tea culture in China. The main tea producing counties in this area are Simao, Xishuangbanna, Wenshan and Honghe, the tea area and tea out account for 32.7% and 30.8%.
 

 
Brewing guide
 
1.Generally use 4g black tea per 200ml (7oz) water.
2.The water temperature for brewing green tea should be around 80 degree celsius.
3.Pour the hot water over the tea leaves, and wait for about 2 minutes' infusion.
4.Then enjoy the tea. could brew 3 or 4 times.