Fengqing Dian Hong

A longtime favorite at Nannuoshan has been the aromatic black teas from Fengqing that forgo pretty golden-haired buds in favor of an intense aroma of roses and red fruit. This 'Ye Sheng Hong Cha' is particularly special, harvested from uncultivated tea trees supposedly some 500 years old, and offers a wild-smelling smoky edge, as if adulterated by a drop of mesquite honey, next to the more familiar character. A tempered brewing allows the soft creaminess of a cherimoya to come through; a stronger hand, meanwhile, releases cacao bitterness. It's a tea that the connoisseur can appreciate deeply, yet by which even the novice cannot fail to be impressed.