Golden Ox Red

Golden Ox Red

　　Golden Ox Red, the first black tea from the Hanzhong tea region, is primarily produced in Ningqiang County — known as the "First City along the Three-Thousand-Li Han River." It was developed over three years starting in 2009 by Hanzhui Chun Tea Co., Ltd. of Hanzhong City, Hanzhong Vocational and Technical College, Hanzhong Plant Research Institute, and Tianyuan Tea Processing Factory in Ningqiang County. It went into mass production and sales in 2012, and was included in the Hanzhong Science and Technology Development Plan. In September of that year, a municipal technical appraisal was convened by the Hanzhong Science and Technology Bureau, bringing together tea experts from across the province. The attending experts unanimously agreed that Golden Ox Red has excellent selenium-rich qualities and reaches the mid-to-high-end quality level of domestic strip-style black teas.

　　In November 2012, Golden Ox Red won the Jizi Award at the 19th China (Yangling) Agricultural Hi-Tech Fair and was awarded the second prize for scientific and technological progress in Hanzhong City for the year 2012.

　　Golden Ox Red is sourced from tea gardens near the Jinniu Ancient Road, located in the middle section of the ancient Shu Path. With an already well-known market presence of the "Jinniu Zao" green tea, the name "Golden Ox Red" was chosen to help establish a clear market image and build a brand. The tea is mostly made from small-leaf tea varieties grown in high-altitude mountain tea gardens above 800 meters. The picking standard mainly consists of one bud and one leaf in early unfurling. It undergoes processing procedures such as natural withering — hand rolling — moderate fermentation — initial firing and shaping — and final drying for aroma enhancement. The dry leaves are tightly rolled, slender, and curly, with a dark, glossy appearance and visible fine hairs. The brewed tea offers a high, sharp, and lasting fragrance, a bright crimson-red liquor, a rich, mellow, and refreshing taste, and tender, red, intact leaves. Its production technology fills a gap in Shaanxi’s tea industry, changing the previous situation where only green tea was produced in the province. It plays a positive role in enriching the Shaanxi tea market and promoting the development of the local tea industry. (Source: Hanzhong Daily)