The Mid-Autumn Festival, as a traditional holiday, is a time when, alongside mooncakes, we also bring other gifts for our family elders and in-laws. Common choices include tobacco, alcohol, and Tea. Nowadays, with increasing emphasis on health, fewer people smoke or Drink excessively, while more are turning to tea and goji berries for their wellbeing. When choosing gifts for the festival, replacing tobacco and alcohol with tea, fruits, and milk can be an excellent choice.
Is it good to send black tea as a gift to elders? The answer is certainly yes. After the Mid-Autumn Festival, autumn brings cooler weather, making a cup of warming black tea perfect for dispelling the chill. However, with so many varieties of black tea available, such as Yunnan Black (Dian Hong), Keemun (Qi Hong), Ningzhou Black (Ning Hong), Sichuan Black (Chuan Hong), and Lapsang souchong, how do we make a selection? Below, I will recommend some black tea brands that I frequently purchase and enjoy, which may serve as useful references for gift sets.
1. Yunnan Black (Dian Hong)
Dian Hong, or Yunnan Black Tea, is popular among tea enthusiasts due to its high cost-performance ratio. There are several well-known brands, including Feng Brand and Fengninghao, with Feng Brand being one of my favorites. Among their offerings, Classic No. 58 is often considered a beginner-friendly black tea, priced at 180 yuan for 380 grams, with a sweet and mellow taste and noticeable floral and fruity aromas.
For gifting purposes, the Special Grade Golden Bud gift set from Feng Brand is recommended. Compared to the iron canister Golden Buds I have pictured, the gift set uses only buds as raw material, while the iron canister contains a mix of buds and leaves. The taste is richer, sweeter, and more concentrated than the canister version. If you're giving a casual gift where a gift box isn't necessary, opting for the iron canister Golden Buds or Golden Needles from Feng Brand would be more economical.
Even with the same tea inside, packaging it in a gift box significantly increases the price. For better value, I suggest choosing standard packaging instead.
The Feng Brand tea I'm currently enjoying
2. Zunyi Red (Zunyi Hong)
Zunyi Hong originates from Zunyi, Guizhou Province, and has been developed since 2008, based on Mei Hong. Two brands I often consume are Gui Tianxia and Lanxin Jinchian. For gifts, I recommend Gui Tianxia, which has higher brand recognition.
Zunyi is located on the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, with tea gardens situated between 1,000 and 1,500 meters above sea level, surrounded by lush greenery and mist. This favorable geographical environment contributes to the production of high-quality tea. The tea uses a mix of buds and leaves as raw material, with dry tea featuring dense golden tips, tight and fine strips, and a dark brown luster. Its aroma is pure and pleasant, and a brewed cup offers a sweet and mellow taste, retaining fragrance even after seven infusions. A distinctive feature of Zunyi Hong is its cigarette-box-style packaging, containing individual 4-gram packets for convenient use. You might consider a 80-gram gift set priced at 518 yuan. For everyday gifting, there's also a 120-gram option available for 198 yuan, which is great for regular consumption.
Zunyi Hong Dry Tea 1935 Special Grade
3. Sichuan Black (Chuan Hong)
Sichuan Province boasts a long history of tea culture, with renowned teas like Mengding and Emei Mountain tea. It is also one of the leading tea-producing regions in China, truly deserving the title of “Land of Abundance.” Among Sichuan black teas, I particularly recommend Honggui Ren, which comes from Yibin, an early spring tea production area. Due to its unique geographical location, the spring tea harvest in Yibin is about 30 days earlier than in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, providing a competitive advantage for Sichuan teas in the market.
The tea leaves for Honggui Ren come from tea gardens at altitudes between 800 and 1,200 meters, using a mix of buds and leaves as raw material. The resulting black tea has a rich flavor and a lasting floral aroma.
4. Ningzhou Black (Ning Hong)
Ning Hong, one of China's earliest black teas, hails from Xiushui, Jiangxi Province. The region's high altitude and abundant rainfall make it ideal for tea cultivation. Historically, Ning Hong was exported abroad and held a significant market share. However, the continuous wars at the end of the Qing Dynasty led to a sharp decline in production. After liberation, the output gradually recovered. Currently, the largest brand is Ning Hong Group.
Ning Hong Group is also a partner of next year's Asian Games in Hangzhou, providing an excellent platform for showcasing Ning Hong.
5. Keemun (Qi Hong)
Qi Hong, a specialty of Qimen County, Anhui Province, is renowned for its unique “floral, fruity, and honey-like” Qimen fragrance. Brands like Xiangyuan Tea and Tianzhihong, both with Qimen black tea intangible cultural heritage inheritors, ensure quality. In 1915, Qi Hong won a gold medal at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, and this gift set of Qi Hong is named Classic 1915.