She was on her death bed.The mother of a Ming dynasty emperor lay dying.  The emperor is weeping, desperate to save his dear mother’s life.

A man approaches the palace. He gifts the emperor with what he calls a “special tea.”  With nothing to lose, the emperor feeds it to his mother at once.

Miraculously, she comes back from the brink of death.  In an expression of profuse gratitude, the emperor sends four “great red robes” to clothe the four bushes where this life saving tea was grown.

Or so the story goes.  And that is the legend of Da Hong Pao tea (the best of Wuyi Rock tea，also known as Wuyi Oolong tea), literally translating to “Great Red Robes”.  Six of these ancient bushes, which are over 1,050 years old, survive today and produce tea which is valued at over $1,000,000 a pound.

“Da Hong Pao from ancient tea trees costs 30x more than gold, pound for pound.  Da Hong Pao produced with cuttings from the original mother trees, though, is surprisingly affordable – only $200 per pound.”

—The Pristine Land of Wuyi Mountain

True “Da Hong Pao” is grown and produced in Wuyi Mountain, in the northern part of the Fujian Province in southeast China. This area is famous for its beautiful scenery, and the tea plants grown in the rock seam.

Wuyi Mountain is an area of exceptional beauty and ecological purity, which has been protected by the Chinese government for more than 12 centuries.  It was home to many religions including Zen, in 221 BC, Taoism coming later and even later became the land where Confucian scholars gave their lectures.

Because Wuyishan is a natural and cultural heritage, protected by China, it is free from the use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers. This kind of tea is completely natural, with no harm to the human body but only benefits.

— Taste That’s Been Honored For Centuries

Wuyi Rock Tea is a semi fermented tea, and is processed traditionally, the way it has been done for centuries — naturally, by hand.

The finished product is Da Hong Pao — which forms in thin, jet-black strips and is deep baked with fire.  The smell is rich and thick on the nose, comfortable, and lightly scorched, yet sweet.  When brewed the tea concentrate is orange-yellow to orange-red, and even dark red. Da Hong Pao is very resistant for brewing, having lingering fragrance and taste after even nine brews. One of Da Hong Pao’s most notable features is a sweet and pleasant, rich after taste that lasts long after you have finished your cup.

Wuyi Rock Tea has the fragrance of green tea, the sweet and mellow taste of black tea, and is the highest grade of the Chinese oolong teas.

“Because Wuyi Mountain is a natural and cultural heritage protected by China, it is free from the use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers.”

—Health Benefits

Some of the health benefits related to drinking Da Hong Pao tea is that it helps produce saliva and quenches thirst, it can refresh us from a hangover, and be used as a diuretic for detoxification. It also can be used as an anti inflammatory agent, improve eye sight, prevent tooth decay, help digestion, lower blood pressure, enhance the flexibility of capillaries, combat aging and prevent cancer, as well as to help clear skin problems.

With all these health benefits, it’s no wonder why this tea saved the life of that Ming dynasty emperor’s mother, way back when.

P.S.  Order 15g of true Da Hong Pao here now, or 250g for our more experienced tea drinkers.