Organic Red Tea: Hongcha Black Tea from Old Shan Trees

Goo Farm Tea Vietnam now supplies organic red tea, a fully oxidised tea made from the buds and young leaves of old Shan tea trees in northern Vietnam. It comes from the same organic partner garden as our Organic Snow Shan green teas and our Organic Spike Bud Tea, and it is the black tea of that range. The full specification and the indicative FOB price are on the Organic Red Tea page.

Red tea or black tea?

Both names describe the same kind of tea. In China a fully oxidised tea is called hongcha, "red tea", after the colour of its liquor; Western markets call the same tea black tea, after the colour of the dry leaf. Red tea in this sense is not rooibos: rooibos is a herbal infusion from a South African plant and contains no tea leaf.

How organic red tea is made

The buds and young leaves are picked by hand from old Shan tea trees (Camellia sinensis var. assamica) growing above 1,000 metres in the mountains of northern Vietnam. The partner garden is farmed organically, with no synthetic fertilisers or chemical pesticides. The fresh leaf is withered, rolled to break the leaf cells, left to oxidise fully until it turns a deep copper colour, and then dried. That full oxidation is what turns a green leaf into a red tea.

Leaf and cup

• Dry leaf: long, twisted, dark brown leaf with golden tips.
• Liquor: clear, bright orange-red.
• Aroma: warm and sweet.
• Taste: smooth and mellow, with little astringency.
• Infused leaf: an even copper brown.

How it compares with our other black teas

Our orthodox black teas, from OP and Pekoe down to fannings, are made in our own factories from regular garden leaf for tea blenders and tea bag packers. Organic Red Tea differs in three ways: it comes from old Shan trees, the garden is farmed organically, and it is made in small lots. The result is a smoother, naturally sweet cup that works plain or with milk, for specialty tea shops, gift tins and premium private labels. For green tea from the same garden, compare Organic Snow Shan Premium.

Testing, samples and orders

The garden is farmed to Vietnam's national organic standard (TCVN 11041-6:2018). The tea does not hold EU or USDA organic certification, and each shipment can be tested for pesticides and heavy metals by an independent laboratory on request.

Organic red tea is a small-harvest tea, supplied in smaller lots than our standard grades and packed in vacuum aluminium bags or private-label retail packs. Ask for a sample of Organic Red Tea and we will confirm the available volume and lead time.