Da Hong Pao, or "Big Red Robe," is a legendary tea that needs no introduction. A tea shrouded in many beautiful legends. A tea about which songs are written.

Da Hong Pao grows in the Wuyi Mountains in northwestern Fujian Province—a wondrous place reminiscent of paradise: clean air, verdant slopes, and clear mountain streams.

Modern Da Hong Pao is primarily either tea harvested from clone tea bushes grown from cuttings taken from the mother bush, or a high-quality blend from bushes growing in the Wuyi Mountains, where oolong tea was first invented in the 16th century.

The mother bushes can still be found on the northeastern cliff of Mount Zhu De beneath the Tianxin Nunnery (Yongle Zen Temple). Three scarlet characters for "Dahongpao" are inscribed on the rock wall next to the bushes. These six low bushes in a small garden are considered a national treasure, part of China's cultural heritage, and the ancestral material for modern Da Hong Pao. Since 2007, the plucking of tea leaves from the mother bushes has been prohibited. However, there is a small exception. Occasionally, to mark important events, tea leaves are still plucked from them, and skilled Fujian tea masters transform them into precious oolong tea. It is usually reserved for high-ranking government officials and as gifts for foreign delegations.

Premium Big Red Robe is closely related to the mother bushes. Propagated by cuttings taken from the most fragrant of these bushes, known as "Qi Dan," since 1985, producers have been using raw material from these clone tea bushes as the basis for Da Hong Pao. Cuttings from the parent material were grafted onto nearby bushes growing on the Wuyi cliffs. This rare tea is still hand-picked by family farmers and tea masters. However, the yield of these bushes is small, and today, in addition to the identical "pure-bred" variety, commercial Da Hong Pao is also produced. It is a blend of Qi Dan leaves and other high-quality Wuyi tea varieties, primarily Wuyi Rou Gui and Shui Xian. Moreover, the volume of Da Hong Pao leaves in the blend exceeds the volume of all its constituent parts. Overall, the result is a soft, aromatic blend with the unique, complex character of Wuyi oolongs.

Another interesting fact about Da Hong Pao

During US President Richard Nixon's visit to China, Mao Zedong gave him a truly royal gift, presenting him with either 50 or 200 grams (accounts vary) of this extremely rare (from the mother bushes), tea with amazing properties. History has it that Nixon was offended by receiving "mere" tea, and in such a small quantity. Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai had to pull the president aside to avert a diplomatic crisis, explaining that the box not only constituted half of the country's supply of the most valuable tea but was also worth $200,000 (about $1.4 million in 2022). Reassured, Nixon continued his visit, and soon the outside world learned of Da Hong Pao.