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“Well, whaddya know…after all my trash talk about my hometown’s lack of tea sophistication, we stumbled on to a lovely pot of this Gao Wen at a coffee shop nestled inside a local nursery and...” Read full tasting note
GAO WEN is our flagship black tea from central Yunnan province, China. A dianhong (“Yunnan red”) production from da ye (“big leaf”) cultivar bushes, this lot is distinguished by a unique processing step atypical of most dianhong production: several rounds of high-heat roasting to finish. Through on-site collaboration with the tea makers of Ma Wei Shan, we developed this process to smooth out the bright fruit notes of dianhong in favor of the malty and complex floral qualities older tree Yunnan black tea is lauded for. The result is an ideal breakfast tea we’ll bring back year after year (Yunnan weather pending).
Our annual dinahong is produced in late spring from high-mountain rows of young tea trees. Ma Wei Shan, situated just outside Simao, is foremost a pu’er producer—like their sheng productions, their dianhong is produced with a mix of tips and 2-3 leaves down the shoot that are hand-plucked, sorted, withered in the sun, snail-rolled and bruised to high oxidation, and twice baked to dry. The final bake, at 500ºF, is a process we developed in partnership with the factory to accentuate the material’s malty sweetness. Earlier in the spring, the same garden’s buds and first 1-2 leaves are used to produce our annual yue guang bai.
On the mountain, our producers steep a healthy pinch for a few seconds at a time, coaxing out roses, cherries, and deep sweetness. Push this tea for 2-3 minutes with water just off the boil for a classic black tea profile of malt and roast. Excellent candidate for jianshui zitao (purple clay) teapot seasoning.
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Well, whaddya know…after all my trash talk about my hometown’s lack of tea sophistication, we stumbled on to a lovely pot of this Gao Wen at a coffee shop nestled inside a local nursery and greenhouse, of all places!
The cup smells toasty and malty—-the scent that makes me all gooey and goofy, and that’s what I noticed first, but there’s a little floral happy dance at the end. Hugo’s description mentions roses; I’ll go with orchids or something a little less cloying. Very, very good, and the fun setting made it even more tasty.
So far, every Hugo tea I’ve sampled has been excellent—now that I know where to find some locally, I’m looking forward to trying more.
What a nice surprise!
It’s always nice to find a local source for good tea!
The little shop bags of its coffee for sale, but alas, I saw no tins of tea.
This one had a sweet/floral finish as it cooled, a bit like an oolong.
I was so excited when I zeroed in on this one, I have completely spaced off the other varieties they offered…all the more reason to visit again :)