Discovering the Exquisite Flavor of Yingde Black Tea

Produced in Yingde City, Qingyuan City, Guangdong Province, Yingde Black Tea is hailed as the "rising star of Chinese black tea."

It originated in 1959 when the famous Yunnan large-leaf tea tree was successfully cultivated in Yingde City, and the fresh leaves of this variety were used to produce Yingde Black Tea.

One prominent characteristic of Yingde Black Tea is its strong aroma, which is exceptionally enduring and rich. It stands out among loose leaf black tea. Another notable feature is its ability to withstand multiple infusions. After brewing, the tea exhibits a vibrant and bright red color, maintaining its rich and mellow flavor even after several infusions.

During its peak, Yingde Black Tea had an annual production of over 4,000 tons and was exported to more than 70 countries and regions, including Western Europe, North America, Oceania, and the Middle East.

Yingde Black Tea boasts excellent quality, primarily using the Yunnan large-leaf tea tree for black tea production, complemented by traditional large-leaf tea trees such as Phoenix Narcissus and Liannan large-leaf.

The high-quality tea tree varieties lay the foundation for the superior aroma and taste of Yingde Black Tea, earning it a reputation as one of the best loose leaf tea.

The large-leaf tea trees are characterized by rich content of leaf oxidants and aromatic alcohols. Based on these inherent substances, when the fresh leaves of these varieties undergo moderate fermentation to produce black tea, it significantly enhances the content of substances like theaflavins and thearubigins (which affect the color and aroma of black tea).

Yingde Black Tea, thus produced, has a rich and enduring flavor, with pronounced floral and fruity notes. Its high and sharp aroma, along with a robust and mellow taste, surpasses that of typical medium and small-leaf varieties such as Qihong and Souchong Black Tea.

The tea has a full-bodied taste, a strong aftertaste, and remains smooth on the palate, making it normal to brew it repeatedly over a dozen times. Yingde Black Tea is particularly suitable for making milk tea and flavored tea, as its unique color, taste, and aroma are not easily overshadowed by added ingredients. The distinct characteristics of Yingde Black Tea make it an ideal choice for festive occasions, such as Christmas tea or New Year's tea.

Yingde City in Guangdong belongs to a subtropical monsoon climate with a long frost-free period and an average annual temperature of 21°C, making it especially suitable for tea cultivation.

With a lengthy tea production cycle, tea can be harvested throughout the year, and Yingde Black Tea exhibits specific characteristics depending on the season. However, these patterns are general and may not strictly apply to every variety of Yingde Black Tea.

Tea harvested before the end of May is classified as spring tea. Spring tea has a high amino acid content, offering a fresh, silky, and sweet flavor with a full and mellow taste. Yingde Black Tea, when harvested in spring, has a pronounced floral fragrance, excellent quality, and a full-bodied red tea flavor. Spring tea is further categorized into early spring, pre-Qingming, and second spring, with later batches having lower inherent substances.

Tea harvested from June to the end of August before the beginning of autumn is known as summer tea. Summer tea has a strong black tea flavor but lacks the silkiness, sweetness, freshness, and infusion endurance found in spring tea. Yingde Black Tea varieties harvested in summer do not have a prominent floral fragrance and may exhibit a subtle sweet potato aroma.

Autumn tea generally refers to tea harvested between the end of August (before autumn begins) and early October (before the cold dew). Autumn tea has a high fragrance, a sweet and mellow taste, a soft texture upon consumption, and a distinctive sweet potato aroma. However, the tea aroma is less pronounced, and the taste is relatively single. Yingde Black Tea varieties harvested in autumn may not have a prominent floral fragrance.

Winter tea is harvested in November and December. Winter-harvested Yingde Black Tea is the most fragrant, sweetest, with the least bitter substances throughout the year. It is rich, enduring, and less bitter, though production is limited.

General rules may not completely cover individual cases, and the taste of each tea depends on factors such as tree age, raw materials, soil, plantation management practices, growing weather, batch, growth cycle, time, and processing. These criteria apply not only to Yingde Black Tea but also to other high-quality loose leaf tea.

Yingde Black Tea exhibits excellent adaptability, whether brewed in glassware, ceramic lidded bowls, or Yixing clay teapots. Using a lidded bowl with a capacity of 110ml is recommended for brewing, as a white porcelain lidded bowl can enhance the fresh and elegant characteristics of Yingde Black Tea without overpowering its tea aroma.

It is suggested to use 5g of tea leaves with water temperature set between 90-95°C. After rinsing the tea leaves, the first infusion should last for 10-15 seconds, followed by 15-20 seconds for the second infusion. Subsequent infusions should have an additional 10-15 seconds added to the brewing time.

Once the tea liquor reaches a comfortable temperature, it is ready for consumption. Yingde Black Tea is known for its freshness and richness. Tea drinkers should take the time to savor and appreciate the tea's full flavor by sipping slowly and paying attention to the details, discovering the richness of Yingde Black Tea through careful observation and enjoyment.

It's worth noting that if Yingde Black Tea becomes cloudy when cooled, it indicates high quality. Many people notice that the tea liquor becomes cloudy when the tea cools.

This phenomenon is attributed to the presence of tea polyphenols, and during fermentation, some of these polyphenols convert into theaflavins, thearubigins, and theabrownins. At higher temperatures, caffeine remains in a free state with them.

As the temperature drops, they form complexes, exhibiting colloidal properties, causing the tea liquor to change from clear to cloudy, known as the "cloudiness after cooling" phenomenon. This is related to the freshness and intensity of Yingde Black Tea; the stronger and fresher the tea, the more pronounced the cloudiness after cooling.

To fully appreciate the exquisite flavor of Yingde Black Tea, it is recommended to taste and compare different varieties. iTeaworld offers a high-quality iTeaworld Loose Leaf Tea sourced from the core production area in Yingde City, Guangdong.

Additionally, iTeaworld provides a Black Tea Sampler, allowing you to easily sample the taste of some of China's most classic red teas through tea samplers.

Compared to other well-known black teas, Yingde Black Tea not only surpasses Qimen black tea while approaching Dianhong, Assam, Kenya black teas in "concentration," exceeds Qimen, Dianhong, Darjeeling to reach Uva and Hainan black teas in "intensity," but also possesses a freshness, floral aroma, and a bright golden-ringed tea liquor that are unique and unmatched by Qimen, Dianhong, Haihong, Vietnamese, Malaysian, and other black teas.

Understanding why Yingde Black Tea's flavor is so popular is not difficult. Hopefully, everyone can find their favorite variety of Yingde Black Tea and fully experience its beauty.