Name: Jiu Qu Hong Mei (also known as Long Jing Hong Cha)
Brand: Canton Tea Co
Type: Black tea, Chinese
Form: Loose leaf
Cost: Canton Tea Co is based in the UK, so its prices are in pounds sterling. However, visitors to their website can choose to view the prices in US dollars. A 10 gram sample of this tea is £2.00 and a 50 gram bag is £7.00. Quantity discounts are available.
Review: This is an odd little tea from one of my favorite tea companies. I do love my Chinese black teas (hong cha), and was eager to try this one. According to Canton Tea Co’s website, this tea was developed in the 1980s, and I do confess that there is something weirdly “modern” about it.
The dry leaf is a smoke-brown color, thin, not terribly long, and twisted. The nose on the dry leaf is pungent: Fruity but also quite peppery. The liquor infuses to a medium amber, with a medium-light body and a fruity nose.
On the palate is where this tea gets weird (though not in a bad way). Canton Tea Co’s website notes that the tea has dried fruit notes, which is definitely true (reminds me a bit of dried lycii/goji berries). But there is also an unmistakable smokey quality that dominates the fruit. It is an interesting combination that forced me to pay a lot of attention to this tea while drinking it. I would advise not drinking this tea with food: It needs to be savored on its own.
Incidentally, it is crucial that you let this tea cool down before sipping so that its most interesting qualities can emerge. I recommend pouring this tea out into small tea bowls to permit rapid cooling and proper appreciation of how remarkable it is.
Highly recommended, particularly if you are a hong cha lover looking for something different.
Sample Provided by Retailer?: Yes
Affiliate Links in this Post?: No
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{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
I’d be curious to hear more about what you think about the question of “modern” teas and if there’s anything particular about their flavor or aroma or other qualities that stands out.
I started thinking about this when I started researching the Xue Ya or Snow Buds style of tea. I’ve also seen this question arise in the realm of oolongs, with a number of modern styles of oolong that are extremely green, whereas traditional oolongs, even greener ones, were slightly more oxidized or roasting.
I’ve also thought about Pu-erh…perhaps because I have yet to try a modern Shu / Ripe Pu-erh that I really like, whereas I tend to really like both the older aged, young, and even un-aged Sheng pu-erh very much.
Is it random the way styles of teas change and develop, or is there any sort of pattern?