Dian Hong Jin Luo

diānhóng jīn luó

滇红金螺

"Golden spirals" of Yunnan — a premium Dian Hong rolled by hand into little golden coils. Rich with downy buds, it gives a honeyed, fruity, velvety cup with a long sweet trail.

Region: Yunnan — high-grown assamica, 1000 m and up
Harvest: Spring — golden buds, hand-rolled into spirals
Oxidation: Fully oxidised
Cultivar: Yunnan broad-leaf (assamica)

In the cup

Honey and ripe fruit over malt and cocoa, with a velvety body and a long, smooth, sweet finish.

What it gives

A warming, energising red — fuller-bodied than a green and naturally sweet, with no need for milk or sugar.

Dian Hong Jin Luo — golden spirals — is a premium grade of Dian Hong, the great red tea of Yunnan. Made from the same broad-leaf assamica trees that give us pu-erh, it is rich in fine, downy golden buds, which here are rolled by hand into small tight coils — the jīn luó, golden spirals — that glow amber in the dry leaf.

More bud means more sweetness and more of that honeyed, malty character Dian Hong is loved for. The careful hand-rolling and high-grown leaf lift it above everyday Yunnan reds into something velvety and aromatic.

In the cup

Brew around 85–95 °C, gongfu or western — a quick rinse, then short steeps that open into a deep golden-red liquor. Expect honey and ripe fruit over malt and cocoa, a velvety body and a long, smooth, sweet trail. It is naturally sweet and forgiving, and gives several generous rounds.

How to brew