KUURA 2025 ‘Dark Red' Black Tea

SOFTER SAYS:

Let’s just say we shed a tear when we drank the last of our personal supply of 2020’s Dark Red… that tea was so enjoyable straight out of the gate, but 2+ years in was starting to develop such depth, and a fascinating dried leaf mulch undertone… worth stashing up on this for sure. 

More notes to come.

KUURA SAYS: 

Another crowd favourite from years past, ‘Dark Red’ is a sun-dried ‘dianhong’ (滇红 diānhóng) Yunnan black tea, made from large-leaf material grown in the forests of Xishuangbanna.

This black tea - commonly known as hongcha (红茶 hóng chá) - was made with a high ratio of golden buds, giving it a strong fragrance and thick mouthfeel. When brewed, this hongcha has a rich, fruity fragrance and sweet, malty sweetness reminiscent of ripe stone fruit. It has a thick and smooth body with far less tannic bite than you might be used to with typical 'breakfast-style' black teas from elsewhere. 

As is characteristic of many Yunnan teas, 'Dark Red' can be re-steeped many times in a single brewing session. It's versatile and dynamic - when brewed lighter, it results in a very gentle, sweet, and soft tea. When brewed stronger, it yields rich stone fruit flavours and a satisfyingly thick body with no drying tannins or harsh astringency in the aftertaste.

This is one of our favourite Yunnan hongchas of all time. Use the leaves for an afternoon gongfucha (工夫茶 gōngfū chá) session in the park; cold brew it overnight for a delicious iced tea; or add milk (and optional boba) for a fragrant, caramel-malty, and rich milk tea. If you can manage to hold off drinking it for now, this tea will continue to change and evolve as it ages; developing deeper aromatics and more chocolate-like flavours over time.

Wrapper artwork by Jon Marshall.
Pictures by Pingle Pictures.

2025 tea material produced in Yunnan, China.

200g per compressed cake, with 5 cakes per traditionally wrapped bamboo tong.

25g samples are broken from the cakes and sealed into bags by Softer Drink in Victoria, BC, Canada.