Dian Hong Tea

Dian Hong Tea

Dianhong tea is a type of Chinese black tea, used as a relatively high end gourmet black tea and sometimes used in various tea blends. The main difference between Dianhong and other Chinese black teas is the amount of fine leaf buds, or "golden tips," present in the dried tea. Fermented with lychee, rose and longan, Dianhong teas produces a brew that is brassy golden orange in colour with a sweet, gentle aroma and no astringency. Cheaper varieties of Dianhong produce a darker brownish brew that can be very bitter.

Teas grown in the Yunnan Province of China prior to the Han dynasty were typically exported in a compressed form similar to modern pu-erh tea. Dian hong is a relatively new product from Yunnan that began production in the early 20th century. The word "Diān" (滇) is the short name for the Yunnan region while "hóng" (紅) means "red (tea)"; as such, these teas are sometimes simply referred to as Yunnan red or Yunnan black. However, such references are often confusing due to the other varieties of teas produced in Yunnan as well as the ambiguous nature of the color classifications.