Dianhong tea 滇紅茶 | |
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Type | Red |
Other names | Yunnan tea Yunnan red tea Yunnan Red tea |
Origin | Yunnan Province, China |
Quick description | Robust and malty, some types are very fine while others are used for blending. High quality leaves are uniformly covered in golden-orange bud hairs. |
Dianhong tea (Chinese: 滇紅茶; pinyin: Diān hóng chá; lit. 'Yunnan red tea'; pronounced [tjɛ́n xʊ̌ŋ ʈʂʰǎ]) is a type of relatively high-end, gourmet Chinese red tea sometimes used in various tea blends and grown in Yunnan Province, China.[1][2] The main difference between Dianhong and other Chinese red teas is the amount of fine leaf buds, or "golden tips," present in the dried tea.[2] Dianhong tea produces a brew that is brassy golden orange in colour with a sweet, gentle aroma and no astringency. Cheaper varieties of Dianhong produce a darker brownish brew that can be very bitter.
Teas grown in Yunnan prior to the Han dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE) were typically produced in a compressed form similar to modern pu'er tea. Dian hong is a relatively new product from Yunnan that began production in the early 20th century. The word diān (滇) is the short name for the Yunnan region while hóng (紅) means "red (tea)"; as such, these teas are sometimes simply referred to as Yunnan red or Yunnan black. However, such references are often confusing due to the other varieties of teas produced in Yunnan.