Chuan Hong Gongfu
Sichuan’s gongfu black tea, made in the province’s south from early-budding local stock. Its selling point is timing: Sichuan’s mild winters allow one of China’s earliest spring harvests, so Chuan Hong reaches the market weeks before comparable teas elsewhere.
Character
Sweet and gently citrusy, with a golden-tipped leaf and a rounder body than its delicacy suggests. A good demonstration that early-season timing is a commercial variable as much as a quality one.
- Flavour
- Citrus, Sweet
- Aroma
- Honeyed
- Mouthfeel
- Medium, Smooth
- Complexity
- Moderate
- Notes
- orange peel, honey, sweet potato
- Aftertaste
- Sweet and citrus-edged.
Moderate intensity: noticeable weight or grip, but neither dominates the cup.
Provenance and production
- Origin
- China
- Oxidation
- Fully oxidised
- Harvest
- First flush
- Processing
- Withering → Rolling and shaping → Oxidation → Drying
History
Sichuan black tea production was established in the mid-twentieth century as part of a state programme to expand black tea for export. It is one of several Chinese black teas that exist because of twentieth-century trade policy rather than local tradition.
Brewing
Western brewing (teapot or mug)
1–1.5 g/100 ml · 88–93 °C · 1 authored infusion
Gongfu brewing (gaiwan)
4–5 g/100 ml · 90–95 °C · 5 authored infusions
No caffeine estimate is authored for this tea. TeaHQ does not infer one from its category, because category predicts caffeine poorly — matcha and gyokuro carry more than many black teas.
If you like this
Grouped by why they were suggested, strongest reason first. Nothing here is a blended score — a suggestion appears under the best reason that exists for it, and never under a weaker one as well.
Editorially linked
Someone wrote down why these two belong together. The note below is theirs.
- Ning Hong
Two twentieth-century Chinese black teas created for export, from different provinces and to a similar brief. Both are sweet and dark and neither has a strong regional identity in the market.
- Yi Hong
Two mid-century Chinese export black teas that are difficult to distinguish blind. Both were state-programme products rather than inherited local traditions.
- Yingde Hong
Two mid-century Chinese black teas created by state programmes to compete on the export market, and both engineered rather than evolved.
Similar sensory profile
Shares controlled flavour, aroma and mouthfeel descriptors. A looser match — two teas can share descriptors and still taste nothing alike.
- Bai Mudan
Shares 4 descriptors with Chuan Hong Gongfu: sweet, medium, smooth and honeyed.
- Bai Mudan Wang
Shares 4 descriptors with Chuan Hong Gongfu: sweet, medium, smooth and honeyed.
- Bailin Jin Hao
Shares 4 descriptors with Chuan Hong Gongfu: sweet, medium, smooth and honeyed.
- Balhyocha
Shares 4 descriptors with Chuan Hong Gongfu: sweet, smooth, medium and honeyed.
- Cream Earl Grey
Shares 4 descriptors with Chuan Hong Gongfu: citrus, sweet, smooth and medium.