Hmong Gold Tea (Ki Kub Hmoob)
Loose-leaf tea, 100 grams
Hmong Gold Tea, produced from the Baojing Gold Tea Leaves, has been admired for almost half of a millennium as “a gram of tea for a gram of gold.” It is a kind of ancient, distinctively rare tea variety, native to the Hmong of Hunan, who are the descendants of the legendary King Chiyou, and grown mainly in the area of the Golden Village of Ludong Mountain, Baojing County.
According to the Records of Emperor Shi-zong Jiajing of 1545 of the Ming Dynasty, the Imperial Supervisor of Hu-Guang Region and Guizhou Province, Lu Jie, made an inspection tour of military defense by way of Luqi Town (located in today Hulu Town, Baojing County), an area known for thick forest mountains. Hundreds of inspectors were sick with the poisonous miasma when they came through the area, and most could no longer move. Seeing the suffering of the Ming officials, an old Hmong granny, with the family name of Xiang, picked up leaves from her hundred-year-old tea trees, boiled the leaves and offered them her tea. Miracle happened. The suffering officials were soon recovered from their illness. To express his great appreciation, Lu Jie gave a piece of gold bar to the granny, and he recommended the Hmong tea as an imperial tribute. Henceforth, the Xiang descendants called their tea the “Baojing Gold Tea.” The story of “a gram of tea for a gram of gold” has since been passed down for generations. Today, the Golden Village still survives with a history of over 400 years, and the old tea garden is being called as the “drinkable heritage” by people.
Hmong Gold Tea’s black tea, also known as red tea in China, is adopted with an elaborate process instructed by the Tea Master Ding Defu, who has concentrated in the study and tea ceremony for decades. Based on solid theoretical knowledge and years of practical experiences, Master Ding shows his own ingenuity with this black tea of Hmong Gold Tea. Hmong Gold Tea has an untouchable milk honey flavor with its certain nature, which notably exceeds other brands of black teas and enjoys great popularity.
Brewing instructions:
(1) Water must be around 175-180 degree Fahrenheit (too hot will ruin the tea);
(2) Water must be very clean or distilled;
(3) Fill the brewing tea pot or cup with one or two teaspoon of tea;
(4) Steep the tea for only 10 seconds, then empty the tea out into a different cup to be served and keep the tea leaves dry until the next steep. Repeat this process for as many as 15 steeps.
NOTE: If the color of your tea is pure yellow as gold, it is good. If the color is dark red, then either you keep the tea leaves in the hot water for too long or the water is too hot, and your tea will not be as tasty.