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“I remember having a not-very-enjoyable example of this tea a few years ago, but I’ll usually try a tea again to see if my tastes have changed. This is related to dragonwell, which I’m beginning to...” Read full tasting note
Jiuqu Hongmei is a type of black tea (red tea as it’s known in China) that originates from Hangzhou, China. It’s often overshadowed by its much more prestigious and famed counterpart, Xihu Longjing Green Tea, but Jiuqu Hongmei is still well-known mostly across mainland China. This tea is known for its red plum flavour, with its name being derived from it as Hongmei (红梅) directly translates to “red plum”.
This Jiuqu Hongmei we have is made under the supervision of Mr Lou, who is the fourth generation cultural inheritor of Jiuqu Hongmei tea. In China, this tea is classified as 特二级, which means “No. 2 special grade”, which is why it is more expensive compared to other Jiuqu Hongmei teas in the market today. However, we feel that it is worth the price, owing to its unique milky quality that pairs with the red plum fruity and woody notes of the tea. A juicy texture and a strong permeating aftertaste, coupled with an impressive steep longevity, makes this tea a no-brainer to have in our store. Honestly, we recommend you to ignore the “special grade” classification and just try the tea out yourself. The tea itself can do the talking!
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I remember having a not-very-enjoyable example of this tea a few years ago, but I’ll usually try a tea again to see if my tastes have changed. This is related to dragonwell, which I’m beginning to drink more of during the spring. I steeped 5 g of leaf in 120 ml of 195F water for 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 50, 60, 90, 120, and 240 seconds.
The dry aroma is of plum, wood, and malt. The first steep has notes of plum, plum skin, wood, milk, honey, tobacco, and malt. The next steep has more wood and minerals, with a thick, fuzzy texture. The soft plum is noticeable in the next couple steeps, as are minerals, wood, honey, tobacco, and malt. I get some tannins, but not much astringency. There’s a more milky aroma in steeps five and six, with softer plum notes coupled with more wood, honey, minerals, and tannins. The plum aroma is very distinct in the next few steeps, though the tea mainly features wood, malt, honey, minerals, and tannins. I get some grass and floral hints in the final steeps, though only at the bottom of the cup.
Because of its malt, minerality, honey, and unassuming character, this tea has some superficial similarities to mass-market teabags, though it’s a lot more nuanced. It doesn’t get overly astringent and the plummy fruitiness is elegantly in the background (though maybe a bit too elegantly for me). I like flavours that are a bit more in your face, but I think that speaks to my preferences rather than to the quality of the tea.
Flavors: Floral, Grass, Honey, Malt, Milk, Mineral, Plum, Smooth, Soft, Tannin, Tobacco, Wood
