Jiu Qu Hong Mei Nine Bend Red Plum | Longjing Black Tea Spring Tea
Encounter a heart-warming tea container, taking a sip or two of light and elegant tea in the middle of a busy schedule; between touch and vision, clearly comprehend heaven, earth and people of nature and ingenuity.
Frequently Bought Together
- Chinese: jiǔ qǔ hóng méi hóng chá lóng jǐng hóng chá chūn chá
- Translation: Jiu Qu Hong Mei Black Tea Zhejiang Red Tea Spring Tea
- Type: Black Tea
- Cultivar: Qunzhong
- Origin: Hangzhou, Zhejiang
- Harvest Date: 2026/05/10
- Storage Methods: Sealed, Prevent moisture, Vacuum, Alone.
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Why This Tea Exists (and Why You Haven’t Heard of It)
You know Dragon Well (Longjing). It’s famous. But almost nobody knows that the same tea bushes, picked a little later and processed completely differently, can produce one of the most quietly stunning black teas in the world.
This is Jiu Qu Hong Mei — “Nine Bend Red Plum.” It’s the only traditional black tea made in Zhejiang province, the home of twenty-seven famous green teas. That alone makes it an outlier. It comes from the misty hills of Da Hu Mountain, just outside Hangzhou’s West Lake district. The same Longjing #43 cultivar that gives you that clean, chestnut‑sweet green tea? This is its black tea sibling. Same plant. Different season. Different craft.
No flowers are added. No flavors. No scents. What you smell and taste—plum, honey, dried apricot, a whisper of cocoa—comes entirely from the leaf, the oxidation, and the skill of the people who make it.
- Jiu Qu Hong Mei is sometimes Jiu Qu Oolong, and is a relatively unknown black tea produced in the Da Hu Mountain area, not too far from the West Lake region of Zhejiang. Jiu Qu Hong Mei (九曲红梅) means Red Plum from Jiu Qu, and is called "Red Plum" because the tea soup is a lovely red and the taste and aroma of the tea reminds one of plum fruit. There is also a thick honey and apple taste with little or no astringency at all. The aroma is strong and heady with a pleasant character. Jiuqu Hongmei is a rare black tea, first developed in 1926.
- Jiu Qu Hong Mei leaves are long and thin and the taste is sweet with a hint of dried fruits. This tea produces a bright liquor and has a wonderful fruity flavour and refreshing mouth-feel. This Jiu Qu Hong Mei tea is featured by its tight fishhook like leaves with luster black color and brewed in a bright reddish infusion releasing a fresh aroma, look like red plum in the water, smooth aftertaste lingered.
- Jiu Qu Hong Mei originated in the Jiu Qu area of Wuyi Mountain. It was brought to the West Lake area of Zhejiang by a farmer from northern Fujian who moved north and settled in the Da Hu Mountain area to grow this tea. Gradually, the popularity of this varietal grew as other local growers began to cultivate and process this tea.
- Jiu Qu Hong Mei Red Plum Chinese Black Tea is medium amber in color, clear and smooth texture, sweet, fruity taste. The bright red infusion has an appetizing, honeyed sweet aroma while the taste is wonderfully smooth. Try our selected fresh Jiuqu Hongmei black tea with an indescribable flavor, with the most delicate hints of pine, orchid, crushed apple and a rich, floral, sweet underlying taste.
- Whether the Jiu Qu Hong Mei Black Tea is picked at the right time or not is related to the quality of the tea. Before and after Guyu is the best, the quality is lower when the garden is opened before and after the Qingming Festival. The picking standard of Jiuqu Hongmei requires one bud and two leaves to develop; it is made by finishing, kneading, fermentation, and drying (baking). The key is fermentation and drying.
- Jiuqu Hongmei is called jiǔ qǔ hóng méi because of its red color and fragrance. It has a sweet taste and warms the stomach. Jiu Qu Hong Mei Tea has been produced for nearly 200 years. It became famous more than a hundred years ago. As early as 1886, it won the Panama World Expo Gold Medal, but it's a relatively unknown tea, especially compared to West Lake Longjing Tea.
- The preferred method of brewing is a Yixing teapot or a gaiwan. After boiling the water to 212°F ( 100° C) rinse the gaiwan or teapot once. By rinsing, we ensure the teaware is free of any unwanted matter as well as create optimal heat conditions for brewing. We suggest 5-7 grams of tea per 150 ml of water.