Chi Gan is an unsmoked red tea from the same prestige terroir as the famous smoked red tea - Zheng Shan Xiao Zhong (Lapsang Souchong). It is sophisticated and sweet.
Chi Gan is an unsmoked version of this Red tea. Zheng Shan Xiao Zhong was the tea that Robert Fortune took from the still off-limits-to-foreigners origin of Tong Mu to India and what later became Darjeeling, ending China's monopoly over tea in the late 1800s.
Chi Gan showcases the sophisticated sweetness and unique brightness of a high mountain tea. Chi Gan means red and sweet, which speaks truthfully of what the tea is. We taste a bright and tender sweetness of yams and dried Chinese bayberry.
Red tea is wilted, then after the stems have lost enough moisture to snap, the wilted leaves are rolled vigorously to break the membranes sufficiently. This step allows complete oxidation that will facilitate the fermentation later on. Red tea is rolled for the most extended amount of time among all teas, often for over an hour. The rolled leaves are shaken loose and evenly layered into a bamboo basket and then covered with wet clothes to ferment. Greener leaves are picked out in a tedious picking step before baking dry over charcoal ash. Ti Xiang is a baking technique designed to enhance and purify the tea's aroma without altering its original flavor profile. It is usually done at least three weeks after the tea has been baked. It is a tricky step that many opt to skip because, if not done correctly can quickly ruin an otherwise mediocre tea.
