Da Hong Pao
The flagship Wuyi rock tea: a heavily roasted, mineral-driven oolong with a long, warming finish, and one of the most heavily imitated names in tea.
Character
Roast first, then fruit underneath it, then minerality that lingers. A well-made example is smooth rather than smoky — harsh char usually means a roast used to cover thin leaf.
- Flavour
- Roasted, Mineral, Woody
- Aroma
- Caramelised, Toasted
- Mouthfeel
- Full bodied, Rich, Smooth
- Complexity
- Layered
- Notes
- charcoal, dark caramel, stone fruit, wet rock, cocoa
- Aftertaste
- Long and warming, with a returning sweetness that builds over a session.
Moderate intensity: noticeable weight or grip, but neither dominates the cup.
Provenance and production
- Origin
- China
- Region
- Wuyi Mountains
- Cultivar
- Shui Xian
- Oxidation
- Partially oxidised
- Roast
- Heavy
- Harvest
- Spring
- Processing
- Withering → Bruising (shaking) → Oxidation → Kill-green (fixation) → Strip rolling → Drying → Charcoal roasting
Authenticity: Almost no tea sold as Da Hong Pao comes from the original mother bushes, and it does not need to: the name has for decades meant a blended, roasted Wuyi oolong made to a house style, and good examples are made that way deliberately. What buyers should be wary of is not the blending but the pricing — the mother-tree story is routinely used to justify prices that bear no relation to what is in the packet.
History
The four surviving mother bushes on a Wuyi cliff face have not been commercially harvested since 2006 and are protected by the state. Every Da Hong Pao sold is either a blend or leaf from propagated cuttings — usually the Qi Dan or Bei Dou cultivars. The robed-monkey and scholar’s-gratitude legends attached to the name are traditional stories rather than record.
Brewing
Gongfu brewing (gaiwan)
5–8 g/100 ml · 95–100 °C · 7 authored infusions
Western brewing (teapot or mug)
1.5–2 g/100 ml · 95–100 °C · 1 authored infusion
Gongfu brewing (Yixing pot)
5–7 g/100 ml · 98–100 °C · 6 authored infusions
Common mistakes
- Brewing it like a delicate oolong, with too little leaf and water off the boil
- Skipping the rinse, which leaves the first drinkable infusion dusty and closed
- Judging it on the first infusion, which is rarely the best one
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.
- Rou Gui
Da Hong Pao is a name applied very broadly. Rou Gui is a specific cultivar with a recognisable cassia signature, which makes it easier to buy honestly.
- Zheng Yan yancha
Core-zone rock tea and the most famous name in the category, which is usually a blend of exactly this material.
Similar sensory profile
Shares controlled flavour, aroma and mouthfeel descriptors. A looser match — two teas can share descriptors and still taste nothing alike.
- Wuyi rock tea (yancha)
Shares 8 descriptors with Da Hong Pao: roasted, mineral, woody, full bodied, rich, smooth, caramelised and toasted.
- Lao Cong Shui Xian
Shares 7 descriptors with Da Hong Pao: mineral, woody, roasted, full bodied, rich, toasted and caramelised.
- Nong Xiang Tie Guan Yin (roasted)
Shares 7 descriptors with Da Hong Pao: roasted, woody, full bodied, rich, smooth, caramelised and toasted.
- Tie Luo Han
Shares 7 descriptors with Da Hong Pao: roasted, mineral, woody, full bodied, rich, caramelised and toasted.
- Ba Xian
Shares 6 descriptors with Da Hong Pao: roasted, woody, full bodied, rich, toasted and caramelised.
- Dong Ding
Shares 6 descriptors with Da Hong Pao: roasted, full bodied, smooth, rich, toasted and caramelised.
Written comparisons
Where TeaHQ has set this tea against another in full, rather than deriving the comparison.
- Tie Guan Yin vs Da Hong Pao — The two most famous oolongs in China, from provinces that border each other and traditions that do not. One is rolled, floral and lightly oxidised; the other is strip-rolled, roasted and mineral.
- The four famous Wuyi bushes compared — Da Hong Pao, Tie Luo Han, Bai Ji Guan and Shui Jin Gui carry the reputation, and only one of them is easy to buy honestly.