River Red (川紅, Chuān Hóng, “River Red”) - The Chinese name of this tea is a short for of Sìchuān Hóngchá 四川紅茶 ("red tea from Sichuan province"). The name Sichuan means "Four Rivers." It is produced by tea master Heng Yi of Mabian county. Heng Yi works primarily with wild tea plants that have been growing on his ancestral land since the mid 20th century and possibly earlier. Heng Yi started his career in tea by producing green tea from these feral plants which is traditional in the region, however, his interest in other types of tea has led him to study the techniques for making white, yellow, and red tea from these same feral plants. He learned his red tea processing technique from a female tea master from Wuyi in Fujian who processes Jīn Jùn Méi, a very fine and famous red tea. Red tea processing is the most divergent from the traditional green tea process that Heng Yi’s career is based in and so for many years Heng Yi referred to River Red as his “experiment.” The result of his efforts is a roasted burnt sugar sweet, tawny colored red tea with strong hints of cacao and Jamaican pipe tobacco. Sourcing leaves from feral plants provides a calm, stable, uplifting Qi characteristic of our other Mabian teas. River Red is made from wild Mabian tea plants growing at 900 meters.
