Have you wondered what are the most famous and revered premium teas out there?! I did and so I started researching. Quality, scarcity and price are the key criteria I used in my selection.
Here are my top 10 most famous teas (coming from the Camellia Sinensis plant):
- Anji White (Anji Bai Cha)
- Big Red Robe (Da Hong Pao)
- Darjeeling First Flush
- Dragonwell (Long Jing)
- Gyokuro (Jade Dew)
- High Mountain (Gao Shan) Oolong
- Matcha (ceremonial grade)
- Sheng Pu-erh
- Tie Guan Yin (Iron Goddess of Mercy)
- White Hair Silver Needle (Baihao Yinzhen)
I will split this series into 5 blogs, each covering 2 famous teas.
A few general remarks to start with. The best quality teas are normally consumed locally by tea connoisseurs who can afford them, the remaining are exported. The most expensive of them are still handmade, although Japanese teas are mostly machine-processed. A lot of skill and time is required to make them. They are usually produced in small quantities by small farmers. All these factors determine the quality of the teas and thus their price.
Anji White
Anji White is a green tea coming from Anji County in Zhejiang Province. It is together with Long Jing the most renowned tea from this province.
The tea dates back to the Song Dynasty (960-1279) where it was considered the best green tea. But soon, the tea stop being produced – but we do not know why. Fortunately, its production was revived in the 1990s, after an Anji Bai Cha tea bush was discovered in the 1970s and cultivated further. Its increasing popularity in recent years has determined other Chinese regions to start producing the tea.
‘Bai’ means ‘white’ due to the very pale green appearance of the young leaves harvested in early spring (late March to late April). The cold spring weather is responsible for the tea leaves losing their chlorophyll content, while at the same time increasing the amino-acid content. Amino-acids make the tea sweet and umami. Moreover, the high content of L-theanine helps us relax.
The very short harvesting period means that the tea is produced in limited quantity, thus explaining its high price. A bud and 1-2 leaves are picked to make the tea.
The leaves are shaped in the form of pine-needles. The tangy liquor has a vegetal, nutty and sweet taste, with a prolonged aftertaste.
Big Red Robe
Big Red Robe is probably the most expensive tea in the world if made from the ancient tea bushes growing in a protected area of Jiu Long Ke in China’s Wuyi Mountains in Fujian. According to BBC Travel, in 2002 a wealthy buyer paid around $28,000 for only 20g of this tea.
The tea dates back to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). It is claimed that only 6 mother trees have survived from that period. Those are the ones from which the most expensive Da Hong Pao is made. Only designated tea masters are allowed to harvest those trees.
From those original bushes, tea masters have cultivated cuttings to propagate the production of this lovely tea. The real Big Red Robe is made from the Qi Dan cultivar.
However, around 80% of so-called Da Hong Pao teas are blends made from various oolong teas, whose combined taste resembles the original taste. Those blends are the ones we can purchase and enjoy in the West.
Traditionally, this is a dark, ‘rock’ oolong highly oxidised at around 80%. However, in recent years, less oxidised versions have been produced to give the tea a more floral profile. The more oxidised the tea, the longer it can maintain its aroma and taste.
The tea tastes fruity and toasty and leaves a long, lingering aftertaste. Given that the plant grows in rocky soil, it is impossible not to detect some mineral notes while tasting.
