And it's these original trees that produce the rare and sought-after original tea. Asian Food Asia Politics In 1849, British botanist Robert Fortune came to the Wuyishan mountains on a secret mission, part of the agro-industrial espionage at which the colonial East India Company excelled. Production was tightly controlled – the few hundred grams the trees yielded every year were reserved for the state – and until recently, the trees were under constant armed guard. It’s one of the most expensive teas in the world. Enter Fortune. All Rights Reserved. To preserve the eco-system, not all the land inside the reserve can be tea plants. He … Which means the scattered few grams collectors are lovingly storing, drying them each year to mature their flavour, will be more valuable than ever before. If you liked this story, sign up for the weekly bbc.com features newsletter, called “If You Only Read 6 Things This Week”. Original Da Hong Pao doesn't just cost its weight in gold – it costs more than 30 times its weight in gold: almost $1,400 for a single gram, or well over $10,000 for a pot. That is why Da Hong Pao was only offered to emperors, religious leaders, and governmental visitors due to its expense. Travelling to Wuyishan, I discovered that many Da Hong Pao teas are surprisingly affordable. These precious, ancient bushes, last harvested in 2005, will likely never make tea again. The expensive variety comes from the group of ancient and almost extinct wild “mother trees” from steep Tianxin Rock in the Wuyi Mountains in Jiulongke. Can You Reuse Tea Leaves & Tea Bags Between Steeps? “The original Da Hong Pao is so expensive because there are hardly any of the original tea trees left,” tea master Xiangning Wu explained to BBC Travel. They’re grown inside the protected nature reserve and come in very low supply. The most expensive Da Hong Pao costs more than gold when compared in terms of weight. Due to the unique soil and natural conditions, all teas from the area have a mineral like flavour, which is why they’re also known as Wuyi Rock teas (or ‘yancha’). Fortune hired a servant, cut his hair, affixed a purchased pigtail and embarked for Wuyishan in search of Da Hong Pao. “Back then it was just me,” Zhe explained. But he didn't know how to make the tea so he needed the masters to teach him how.”. I walked past the monastery's vegetable gardens and up and along the narrow, winding mountain paths to the original Da Hong Pao. Due to its quality and price, low-income families are not able to drink the expensive tea in China. Our Teasenz Da Hong Pao, comes from a tea garden in Wuyishan right next to the scenic area and we believe it’s a truly amazing tea with the distinctive mineral character. The tea seeds that previous spies had sourced from Guangdong simply would not grow – and the native Indian tea bushes, a different type of plant to Chinese tea, just didn't taste right. However, since the crackdown on corruption by the Chinese government, the prices have come down a lot. She showed me the dark, tangled, unfinished-looking Da Hong Pao leaves from her family's tea gardens in Wuyishan. Even for the other original trees in the nature reserve, the prices can be very high. But every genuine Da Hong Pao originates with a cutting from a single group of mother trees. “The original Da Hong Pao is so expensive because there are hardly any of the original tea trees left,” explained local tea master Xiangning Wu. More popular for its price than its taste, the extremely rare and original Da Hong Pao (Imperial Red Robe) tea costs about $10,000 per pot, or around $1,400 per gram, according to BBC Travel. Asian Lifestyle Just as they do today, tea gardens clambered up and around the mountains, squeezed into the narrowest of gorges and perched on the steepest of slopes. The very last of these rare tea leaves were harvested in 2005 from the trees, which will never yield again. Even in a culture that’s valued tea drinking as an art form for around 1,500 years (and has a system of tea classification that makes French wine look simple), the price was astonishing. That’s equal to about 1500 USD per gram (0.035 oz)! Why is Da Hong Pao So Expensive: The Most Expensive Tea? Britons were, then, as now, obsessed with tea, and China – from where the Brits also bought silk and porcelain ­– was the only place they could get it. • In the Qing dynasty, Da Hong Pao ranked first in the tea competition and won the title of "King of the tea." JavaScript seems to be disabled in your browser. His aim was to track down China's best tea – Da Hong Pao – and to learn how to grow it. Luckily the area outside the nature reserve have very similar soil and natural conditions, producing excellent tea. Why is da hong pao so expensive? Tea enthusiasts with lots of money to spend may want to head to a town in southern China to find one of the most expensive tea varieties in the world. Da Hong Pao is the most expensive tea sold on the global market and is usually reserved for honored guests in China. They’re grown inside the protected nature reserve and come in … Subscribe & stay up to date with the latest deals and new products or follow us on social media. Not many can. tea master Xiangning Wu explained to BBC Travel. And since almost all of China was closed to foreigners on pain of death, disguise was essential. Keep in mind that prices can fluctuate a lot year by year based on how successful the harvest is. Read more here: pu erh tea prices explained. More popular for its price than its taste, the extremely rare and original Da Hong Pao (Imperial Red Robe) tea costs about $10,000 per pot, or around $1,400 per gram, according to, Due to its quality and price, low-income families are not able to drink the expensive tea. The trees looked tired and spindly. Asian Entertainment News Nevertheless, as a tea lover you shouldn’t be too worried if you can’t afford these figures. Beautiful women dressed in traditional costume will ascend the mossy steps and perform a ritual. How Choosing The Right Coffee Beans Can Make or Break Your Brew. View image of In China, drinking tea is considered an art form (Credit: Credit: Kevin Zen/Getty), View image of Wuyishan is a misty riverside town in Fujian, southern China (Credit: Credit: Hamish Symington/Wikipedia), View image of All types of tea leaves are picked across the Fujian province, but Da Hong Pao leaves are the most coveted (Credit: Credit: Kevin Zen/Getty), View image of “Wuyishan's startling karst landscape has been famous for tea for centuries” (Credit: Credit: 老过/Wikipedia), View image of Tea gardens and terraces clamber up the Wuyishan mountains (Credit: Credit: Christian J Kober/Alamy), View image of Tea terraces can be found all over the Fujian province (Credit: Credit: Cyril Hou/Alamy), View image of “It looks fit for a beggar, but it's priced for an emperor” (Credit: Credit: Kevin Zen/Getty). Another legend that took place that surrounds the Da Hong Pao is in the year of 1972 the then President Nixon, was given 5 grams of Da Hong Pao as a gift. Or, as Zhe Dao, now abbot of Tianxin Yongle told me: “In the 19th Century, some plant hunter came and took the seeds. The price of the legendary tea, which dates as far back as the early 18th century (Dao Guang Era), will only get higher as m. erchants and tea collectors have hoarded the remaining antique tea leaves. These days, most Da Hong Pao on the market is produced from clippings of the original bushes, resulting in similar grades. “The original Da Hong Pao is so expensive because there are hardly any of the original tea trees left,” tea master Xiangning Wu explained to BBC Travel. “It looks fit for a beggar, but it's priced for an emperor and has the heart of the Buddha,” said Xiao Hui, a tea maker in Wuyishan, a misty riverside town in Fujian, southern China.

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