TeaHQ

Yingde Hong

A Guangdong black tea developed in the 1950s on large-leaf stock, bred deliberately to compete with Assam in the export market. It is fuller and brisker than most Chinese blacks, with cocoa and malt where Fujian teas go honeyed, and it takes milk more happily than they do.

Black teaBold intensityAccessible to appreciateForgiving to brew英德紅茶
Brew at 95–100 °CUse 1–1.5 g per 100 mlFirst steep 180sWestern brewing (teapot or mug)Full schedule and equipment →

Character

The most Assam-like Chinese black tea, which was the point of breeding it. Fuller and more astringent than Fujian or Yunnan blacks and the one Chinese black that is genuinely at home in a mug with milk.

Flavour
Chocolate, Roasted
Aroma
Malty, Caramelised
Mouthfeel
Full bodied, Drying, Rich
Complexity
Straightforward
Notes
cocoa, malt, dark caramel
Aftertaste
Brisk and cocoa-sweet.

Bold intensity: full-bodied, astringent or bitter enough to lead the cup.

Provenance and production

Origin
China
Oxidation
Fully oxidised
Harvest
Spring
Processing
Withering → Rolling and shaping → Oxidation → Drying

History

Created in Guangdong in 1959 at a state tea research station, using large-leaf stock brought from Yunnan. It was engineered specifically to compete with Assam and Ceylon on the export market.

Brewing

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.

  • Dian Hong

    Both Chinese large-leaf black teas, and Yingde was bred using Yunnan stock specifically to compete with the same markets. The resemblance is by design.

  • Chuan Hong Gongfu

    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.

  • Ruhuna

    Shares 6 descriptors with Yingde Hong: chocolate, full bodied, rich, drying, malty and caramelised.

  • Scottish Breakfast

    Shares 6 descriptors with Yingde Hong: chocolate, roasted, full bodied, rich, drying and malty.

  • Assam

    Shares 5 descriptors with Yingde Hong: chocolate, full bodied, drying, rich and malty.

  • Assam second flush

    Shares 5 descriptors with Yingde Hong: chocolate, full bodied, rich, malty and caramelised.

  • English Breakfast

    Shares 5 descriptors with Yingde Hong: roasted, chocolate, full bodied, drying and malty.

  • Irish Breakfast

    Shares 5 descriptors with Yingde Hong: chocolate, full bodied, rich, drying and malty.

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