Red Cliff

Red Cliff is a wonderful gongfu red tea from Wuyi mountain. This tea garden is located in the Wuyi Mountain Ecological Reserve of Tongmu. This special eco-arboreal red tea is from a garden protected by Master Tsai Yizhe’s Tea Mountain Preservation Association. The garden is, of course, free of any chemical pesticides, fertilizers and herbicides, and the trees are 80 to 100 years old. The tea leaves are handpicked, and the temperature of the withering room is raised by burning pine wood in the traditional way of producing Lapsang Souchong. After withering for a certain period, the tea leaves are rolled, oxidized and finally dried by burning pine wood. For the sake of the health of the drinkers, the wood used for burning is of high-quality and the dryness is controlled so that the tea leaves are not intentionally heavily smoked. Most farms use their highest-grade raw material for the tea that the region is famous for and then second flushes for red tea, which is easier to make and cheaper. When the first, premium flush is used to make red tea, this is called a “gongfu red tea,” since it must be crafted with more skill since it will be sold at a higher price.