Da Hong Pao
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Overview
Da Hong Pao is by far the most famous, popular, and expensive of the yancha ("rock teas") from the Wuyi Mountain region.
Da Hong Pao Legend
According to legend, an ancient Chinese emperor (or official or a member of his family) was restored to health by drinking tea made from certain bushes growing on a nearly inaccessible rock cliff. To honor and bestow the protection of his office on these bushes, he wrapped them in some of his red robes, symbols of his powerful position.
Original Da Hong Pao Bushes vs. Clones
Supposedly, these same original bushes (variously counted as 3 to 6) are the ones that can be seen at Tian Xin Yen cliff, a popular tourist destination honoring the Da Hong Pao tradition. Small amounts of tea are harvested occasionally from these bushes and sold for enormous sums of money. This special harvest aside, even the best Da Hong Pao available grows on bushes that are clones of originals, that is bushes that have been propogated by cuttings rather than from seed. As clones, these bushes are exact genetic duplicates of their parent. Teas from plants that are more genetically distant from the originals are sometimes termed Xiao Hong Pao, or "Little Red Robe."
