Ninghong Gongfu Tea

Ninghong Gongfu Tea, referred to as Ninghong, is one of the earliest Gongfu black tea in China, mainly produced in Xiushui County, Jiangxi Province. It started in the Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty and has a long history. It is famous for its tightly knotted strands, dark and moist color, long-lasting fragrance, and heavy and mellow taste. Ninghong Gongfu tea is not only of excellent quality, but has also won many domestic and international awards, and is a treasure in tea culture.

Ninghong Gongfu Tea Details:

Name: Ninghong Gongfu Tea 
Place of Origin: Jiangxi Province, China 
Net Content: 100g 
Shelf Life: 730 days 
Storage: moisture-proof, odor-proof, away from direct light 

Ninghong Gongfu Tea Picking:

Our picking standard for Ninghong Gongfu tea is the first spread of the buds and leaves, which is required to be fine and tender and evenly. The picked leaves will go through a series of refinement processes such as Withering, Rolling, Fermentation, Drying and so on, and finally be made into finished Ning Hong tea. The tea leaves picked in this way are tightly knotted, dark and moist in color, with high and persistent aroma after brewing, fresh and sweet taste, and bright red soup color.

Ninghong Gongfu Tea Production Process:

Ninghong Gongfu production process is mainly divided into the initial production and refining two processes:

Initial production process

Withering: there are natural, sun, heating withering three ways, the purpose is to disseminate water and green odor, etc. The degree of withering depends on the condition of the tea leaves. Withering degree depends on the situation of tea leaves, spring tea water content needs to reach 55% ~ 58%, summer tea needs to reach 58% ~ 60%.

Rolling: To make the Withering leaves tightly rolled into strips, cell rupture, leaf juice overflow, and promote Fermentation. Rolling should be carried out twice, each time for 45 minutes, during which the pressure should be increased or decreased on time.
Break up lumps: Break up lumps of the Rolling embryo, so that the twisted leaves are uniform, and facilitate Post - fermentation.

Fermentation: further enhance the enzyme activity, promote polyphenol oxidation, form a heavy and thick tea aroma, and make the leaf surface and veins red. Fermentation room temperature should be controlled at 24~28℃, relative humidity above 90%.
Hot air drying: Divided into two stages, gross fire and foot fire, the purpose is to inhibit enzyme activity, stop Fermentation, and maintain the unique quality of black tea.

Refining process

Material extraction: according to the grading of refined products, determine the grade and quantity of material extraction for Ninghong Gongfu gross tea.
Screening: Use round sieve machine or shake sieve machine to separate the length, size, thickness, length and roundness of tea blanks.

Wind Selection: Use the wind selector to separate the tea blanks from the light and heavy, and remove the yellow pieces, tea powder, fragments and other light inclusions.

Cutting and rolling: adopt rolling cutting, tooth cutting, round cutting, rolling and crushing to organize the shape of tea blanks and improve the refining rate.

Picking: Through hand picking and machine picking, remove coarse and old stems, fine tendons, loose yellow pieces, tea seeds, tips and other impurities and non-tea inclusions.

Re-fire and make-up fire: The gross tea before refining shall be re-fired when the moisture content is high; after refining, make-up fire shall be carried out to control the moisture content below 6.5%.

After this series of complicated procedures, Ninghong Gongfu tea can show its unique quality characteristics, such as tightly knotted and beautiful, color and lustre, high fragrance and strong taste.

Ninghong Gongfu Tea Brewing Method:

1. Warm the cups: first rinse the tea utensils with boiling water, which will make the tea utensils heated evenly, and also more conducive to the dissemination of tea aroma.
   Add tea leaves to the teapot: Take out about 5 grams of Ninghong Gongfu tea and put it into the teapot.
2. Brewing: Pour boiling water into the teapot, cover the lid and wait for a few moments. The brewing time of Ninghong Gongfu tea should not be too long, generally speaking, about 5 minutes is enough. The tea soup brewed in this way has a heavyflavour aroma and mellow and thick flavor.
3. Tea-tasting: Pour the brewed tea into the fairway cup, and then divide it into individual tea cups, then you can start Tea-tasting.
4. Smelling Tea-tasting: Pick up the tea cup, smell the aroma, and then savor it. Ninghong Gongfu tea aroma is fresh and long-lasting, the flavor is mellow and thick, I believe you will like it.

Ninghong Gongfu Tea Characteristics:

Shape: Ninghong Gongfu Tea's cords are tight, round and straight, just like pine needles, sharp and straight, slightly red. The tea leaves are of moderate length and thickness, and feel heavy in the hand, showing the high density and quality characteristics of the tea leaves. Some varieties, such as “Ninghong Golden Hair”, are even tighter and finer, with the golden hair showing, more fronts, and the color is moist.

Color: The color of Ninghong Gongfu tea is dark and moist, with good gloss, giving people visual enjoyment. Infused leaf is red and even or red and tender with many buds, and the leaves are soft and tough.

Aroma: Ninghong Gongfu tea has a unique and long-lasting aroma that combines heavyflavour, sweet honey and the characteristic “rock bone fragrance”. This aroma comes from the careful Fermentation and roasting of the tea leaves during the production process, which fully releases the aromatic substances in the tea leaves.

Soup Color: The soup color of Ninghong Gongfu tea is red and bright, like a ruby. The degree of redness and brightness of the soup color is closely related to the Fermentation and baking process of the tea leaves. The higher the Fermentation level of high quality Ninghong Gongfu tea, the redder the soup color is; the better the baking process, the higher the brightness of the soup color is.

Taste: Ninghong Gongfu tea has a mellow and thick taste with sweetness and freshness. The tea polyphenols, amino acids and other substances in the tea leaves are fully transformed during the production process, making the tea soup rich and layered.

Ninghong Gongfu Tea Benefits:

Improve digestion: Tea polyphenols and ellagic acid and other components in tea have the effect of astringency and inhibition of intestinal flora, which helps to improve digestion and reduce gastrointestinal discomfort. At the same time, the tea's aromatic substances can also stimulate the appetite, for people with indigestion or loss of appetite, moderate consumption of Ninghong Gongfu tea can play a certain role in relieving.

Antioxidant: Tea polyphenol in Ninghong Gongfu tea is a powerful antioxidant that can neutralize free radicals in the body, reduce oxidation damage, protect cell health, help slow down aging and prevent chronic diseases.

Lowering blood lipids: Tea polyphenols also have the effect of lowering blood lipids, which can reduce the oxidation and deposition of LDL cholesterol, protect the health of blood vessels and prevent cardiovascular diseases.

Enhance immunity: Tea polyphenols and caffeine and other components in Ninghong Gongfu tea have antibacterial and antiviral effects, which can enhance immunity and prevent colds and other diseases.