Tea of the Resistance — Dianhong

The intensely golden red liquor of Lincang Gold Needles when both the quality and infusion skill are right. The crystal clear tea not only looks charming, but also smells seductively warm and sweet.

In recent years, with the general awareness-building of gongfu black tea in the burgeoning market in China, more producers have entered the game to make different varieties of the subcategory, and that include Yunnan’s very own Dianhong. Competition is keen. Some of the leaves that used to be sold off for producing the pricier pu’er shengcha have now entered the workflow. Much improved domestic transportation has allowed tea masters even in previously more isolated areas to reach out to exchange experience to improve on their products. What was mostly a commodity aiming at the export market in the past 30 years has come to life, perhaps more akin to what it was like when first created in 1939.

Though the original intent was for export revenue, there had been twists and turns in the development of Dianhong.

This is a special feature dedicated to a tea subcategory that I have previously had not much regard of. Its history painfully related to the fate of the Chinese people, and the resilience of them in search of a better life.