丨 This article was originally produced by Xiao Chen Tea
丨 First published in the headline number: Xiao Chen Tea Affair
丨Author: Li Mahua
《1》
When I went out to eat, I happened to hear someone in the private room next door chatting about tea in Wuyi Mountain, talking loudly and coming through the wall.
One person said: I just returned from Wuyi Mountain, it turned out that the real Da Hong Pao from beginning to end only had a few trees in the scenic spot, and now it is not allowed to be picked, and what is sold outside is all fooling people, all fake tea. Another person immediately echoed: the rock tea is too deep, anyway, I will drink so-and-so tea, hundreds of pieces a pound, can drink for many months. There is no end to spending spare money, so I go to drink beef and horse meat that are expensive.
Hearing these words, I was speechless for a moment. At that time, I was bored waiting for the dish, although similar evaluations have been heard more than once or twice, but I have heard it in person, and it really makes people have mixed feelings.
Coincidentally, in the previous article, I also saw such a message:
"Mingming Wuyi Rock Tea originally had only one called Da Hong Pao, but later beef, horse meat, daffodils, etc. were added, in fact, to sell for a good price."
Whenever I see such a novice comment, I am angry and laughing, helpless, crying and laughing, and can only reply patiently to the past:
"It turned out that the Big Red Robe in Wuyi Rock Tea was famous, and in order to sell, many varieties of Rock Tea would be labeled "Big Red Robe" for sale. In recent years, rock tea has been on fire, so the original varieties have called back their own names, Da Hong Pao is just a variety of Wuyi rock tea, seriously talking about the varieties of rock tea as many as 3,000 kinds of it!
The big red robe that has been enshrined in the rivers and lakes of the tea world gives people the impression of being too mysterious. Among the public tea customers, there has always been controversy and controversy.
Indeed, it's too messy.
《2》
What exactly is Da Hong Pao?
As mentioned in the previous article, the concept of da hong pao itself is a polysemantic word and has a variety of identities.
In a broad sense, all rock tea can be called Da Hong Pao, and in a narrow sense, it can be the mother tree that is offered on the cliff wall of Jiulong, and it is also a high spiritual symbol of Wuyi Rock Tea, or a collective name for the commodity blending Da Hong Pao.
In the Wuyi Mountain Scenic Area, the six mother trees that are well known to the world have been traced back to the starting point by scientific research experts, which are composed of three varieties, Qidan, Quetong, and Beidou. These six mother trees, which are national treasures and have an incalculable commemorative value, were asked to stop picking in 2006 for the sake of protection, and are now only used as attractions for tourists to see.
When it comes to the question of what is the orthodoxy of the mother tree, there are different opinions and opinions. This intricate history is a long story, and tea lovers who are interested in it can check out the video we shot before to see who is the son of Da Hong Pao.
In short, after the successful study of asexual reproduction, these mother trees gave birth to two more famous cubs. One is Qidan, the other is Beidou, officially introduced to the market, and in the early years, tea farmers were also called on to plant widely. Considering this origin, and out of the need for promotion, they have purebred Da Hong Pao, mother tree Da Hong Pao DongGong Prince and so on.
However, from a rigorous point of view, it is rumored that the "Great Red Robe", which has been extremely popular since the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, has been famous for a long time, but later drowned in the vast sea of tea due to various reasons such as war and chaos. In later generations, in order to commemorate the famous tea of "Da Hong Pao", some people deliberately found several tea trees and cultivated them on the cliff wall.
However, the variety identification of modern science has proved that the six tea trees in the scenic spot are not the same variety at all. Up to now, the real Da Hong Pao in history, until now no one knows what kind it is. Not to mention, the offspring of asexual cuttings propagated from a certain tea tree are not "purebred".
In addition, on the body of the big red robe, there are many stories and legends worth "de-enchanting". For example, the return of the champion to thank the tea tree for the red robe, the treatment of the royal family, the monkey picking tea and so on are circulated. From these popular folk tales, it can be seen that from ancient times to the present, whether it was in the past or now, publicity is a magic weapon for promotion.
Since, what kind of real Da Hong Pao is, it is impossible to know. And in the folk has a high popularity and high visibility of the "Da Hong Pao", as an important IP, naturally extradited, in order to promote Wuyi rock tea, glowing. Based on this background, take the rock tea varieties, blend out the tea with the flavor of "rock bone flower fragrance", in the definition of the product name, it is logical to become "blended da hong pao", circulating in the market.
Basically, the big red robe that we can buy and drink now is made by blending.
The blending of rock tea is not indiscriminate, making a high-quality blending of da hong pao, very exquisite technology.
From raw materials, to the consistency of fire, to the coordination of flavor, so that the aroma is good and the taste is good, under the premise of learning from each other's strengths, the advantages are comprehensive, and the big red robe with fragrance, water and rhyme is made, which captures the hearts of many tea customers. It's not a small amount of difficulty.
The famous and unassociable production of the blend of Da Hong Pao, sales gradually increased. It can be said that the advent of the blending of Da Hong Pao has further promoted the development of Wuyi Rock Tea, or the fame of "Da Hong Pao". So many tea drinkers only know that there is a big red robe, but do not know the existence of Wuyi rock tea, let alone know that there are daffodils, cinnamon, iron luohan.
Backed by a large tree to cool off, in order to save the cost of publicity, Da Hong Pao has become a collective name for rock tea. The three golden glittering characters of da hong pao have become the golden signs in Wuyi Rock Tea, and they have been named the King of Tea, and they have made great contributions to the historical development of Rock Tea.
After reviewing the history of the development of Da Hong Pao, it is not difficult to explain why Da Hong Pao has become a polysemantic word and has many concepts!
《3》
How chaotic is the big red robe on the market?
On the ancient early version of the "Wuyi Rock Tea Sky-high Price Tea List", at the top of the list, it is the mother tree Da Hong Pao, and the price is 5.2 million yuan a catty. Seeing this price, let people inhale a breath of cold air, so expensive? Can you become a fairy with one sip? For a time, it caused many waves and discussions.
It is rumored that the list price of 5.2 million yuan is well documented.
According to the auction price of the mother tree Da Hong Pao, it was auctioned for 198,000 yuan at the 12th Shanghai International Tea Culture Festival on April 13, 2005, and 208,000 yuan at the 7th Wuyishan Red Robe Festival in 2005. (Note: The above auction price units are all 20 grams)
According to the "price per gram" converted to "price per kilogram", it is not exaggerated to obtain such an astronomical figure.
However, the majority of tea friends should be clear that the mother tree Da Hong Pao has been discontinued for many years. Considering that Wuyi Rock Tea is used as a roasted fire tea, it is not recommended to store old tea. The real mother tree, the Big Red Robe, has long been valuable and marketless, even if it is rich and invincible, it may not be able to buy it.
The current Da Hong Pao is more of a "general reference" meaning.
Pay more attention to the rock tea packaging on the market, you can find that those who directly mark the three words "Da Hong Pao" have long been the conventional general packaging, and any rock tea can be loaded into it.
Based on the characteristics of blending Da Hong Pao, many novices reflect that every time they drink Da Hong Pao, they feel that it is not a taste, which is normal.
《4》
Wuyi rock tea itself, tea plant varieties are rich in resources, only the local native varieties, including many excellent bushes.
Drinking Wuyi rock tea, from the source, should not be too old to deify the Great Red Robe.
After all, in rock tea, in addition to the big red robe, there are many excellent players. For example, cinnamon, daffodils, iron arhats, water turtles, short-legged oolongs, Mei Zhan and so on.
The flowers are like a sea of flowers, and the excitement is not to be missed.
The golden sign of the Da Hong Pao is a symbol of the height of rock tea.
But after you really enter the world of rock tea, you will find that the varieties of Wuyi rock tea are wonderful, far more than just Da Hong Pao.
To be fair, if you really love Wuyi Rock Tea, then you shouldn't stay in the old era of Da Hong Pao! Only recognize the big red robe, wronged other varieties, think it is all "fake rock tea"!
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Xiao chen tea village gu Chen, columnist, tea industry original new media "Xiao Chen tea matter" chief writer, has published a white tea monograph "White Tea Tasting Notes", 2016-2020 has written more than 4,000 original articles.