Mei Zhan Hongcha

Mei Zhan Hongcha is a red tea from the Mei Zhan cultivar, a bush native to Anxi in Fujian and famous for its versatility — from the same leaf a maker can draw an oolong, a green or a red. As a red it is made above all in the Wuyi mountains, where it lends high-grade material to the classic Bai Lin Gongfu, and around Fuding. Tea folk call it a chameleon of the tea world.

Its signature is fragrance: a high, almost piercing scent of orchid and meihua plum blossom over honey and dried fruit, the Wuyi versions adding a faint mineral edge. The cup is full and velvety, the orchid and plum carried over honey, caramel and a touch of chocolate, with a silky, moderate astringency and a long, sweet finish. The cultivar is prized too for not “stealing” aromas — it holds its own clear character.

In the cup

Brew it gongfu, around 93 °C and short, for a layered, fragrant cup, or three minutes Western for a smooth mug. The orchid leads the early steeps; honey and caramel deepen as it opens, and it gives several good infusions.