When it comes to the world-renowned Dahongpao, we won't retell that old story about the scholar. Instead, let's talk about the plants themselves—the venerable matriarch trees of Dahongpao. These grow at Jiulongkeng in Tianxin Rock, Wuyi Mountain Scenic Area. In the early 1980s, asexual propagation of the mother Dahongpao trees was successfully achieved, indicating that these Tea plant varieties (six trees, three strains) could be cultivated on a large scale. (There is not much difference between the mother trees and their asexually propagated offspring, but good quality is more crucially determined by a favorable terroir and the age of the tree.)
Currently, the production of Dahongpao tea in Wuyi Mountain has reached a considerable scale, with over 40,000 mu of available tea gardens in the city for making Dahongpao.
The Sensational Stories of the Mother Dahongpao Trees
1. In 2003, the Wuyi Mountain municipal government took out a product liability insurance policy worth 100 million RMB with China's People Insurance Company for the existing six mother Dahongpao trees.
2. At the 7th Wuyi Mountain Tea culture Festival in 2005, 20 grams of tea from the mother Dahongpao trees were auctioned off for an astronomical price of 208,000 RMB.
3. As an integral part of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage Site of Wuyi Mountain, the mother Dahongpao trees have been placed under special management since 2007, and the picking of their leaves has been stopped to ensure their healthy growth.
4. The last 20 grams of tea harvested from the 350-year-old mother Dahongpao trees in Fujian Province were officially gifted by the Wuyi Mountain Municipal Government to the National Museum of China for preservation.
Today, Dahongpao can only simply represent a product name. There are three concepts of Dahongpao in the market: first, ordinary rock tea made using the Dahongpao method (collectively referred to as such); second, a blend of different teas that possess the best characteristics of liveliness, dryness, and fragrance; and third, pure Dahongpao obtained through asexual propagation from the varieties Beidou, Qidan, and Queshi (the varieties of the mother trees).
High-quality Dahongpao should possess the following: no noticeable bitterness or astringency, a substantial mouthfeel (the tea feels viscous and has thickness), smoothness, and a lingering aftertaste. It should have floral and fruity fragrances, a milky aroma, and a sufficient aroma left in the Cup even when cold. It should also exhibit characteristics such as a three-color grading, toadskin-like appearance, and a ratio of three reds to seven greens.