Riyuetan Hong Cha

rìyuètán hóngchá

日月潭紅茶

The black tea of Sun Moon Lake — Taiwan's lakeside red, famous for Hong Yu (Tea No. 18) with its natural cinnamon-and-mint aroma. A smooth, ruby cup with a cool, sweet finish.

Region: Sun Moon Lake, Nantou, Taiwan
Harvest: Spring through summer
Oxidation: Fully oxidised
Cultivar: Taiwan Tea No. 18 (Hong Yu) and assamica

In the cup

A signature cinnamon-and-mint aroma over a smooth malty body, with a ruby liquor and a cool, sweet finish.

What it gives

A warming yet refreshing red — smooth and naturally aromatic, low in astringency, easy to drink without milk.

Riyuetan Hong Cha — the red tea of Sun Moon Lake (Rìyuètán) in Nantou, central Taiwan — grew up around large-leaf assamica planted on the lake’s warm, humid shores in the early 20th century. Its modern fame rests on a cultivar bred there: Hong Yu, Taiwan Tea No. 18, a cross prized for an unusual natural aroma of cinnamon and cool mint.

That aroma is the tea’s signature — not added, but a quality of the leaf itself, lifted by full oxidation. The cup is ruby-clear and smooth, a southern-style red with a fragrance unlike any other Chinese black tea.

In the cup

Brew hot, around 90–100 °C, gongfu or western. The liquor is ruby and bright, smooth and malty, carried by that distinctive cinnamon-mint aroma into a cool, sweet finish. It is naturally aromatic and low in astringency — best enjoyed black, so the scent comes through clearly.

How to brew