Rougui

Rougui (肉桂, Ròu guì) is one of the five product categories recognized under China’s geographical-indication standard for Wuyi Rock Tea (GB/T 18745-2006), alongside Da Hong Pao, Mingcong (named cultivars), Shuixian and Qizhong. Unlike Da Hong Pao, which can be a single cultivar or a blend, Rougui has its own dedicated national product standard (GB/T 30357.5-2015) that defines it specifically as tea made from the Rougui tea-plant cultivar — the name refers to a cultivar, not a flavor added afterward.

That last point matters because “Rougui” is also the Chinese word most commonly translated as cassia bark, which English speakers often round off to “cinnamon.” The standard’s own aroma descriptor for the tea — something like a cassia-bark or ripe-peach-like note (“似有乳香或蜜桃香或桂皮香”) — is a natural characteristic of the cultivar itself, produced through processing, not a spice added to the leaf. Nothing in the documented standards supports treating Rougui as a cinnamon-flavored tea; if a seller frames it that way, that’s marketing shorthand, not a production fact.

Processing follows the general Wuyi Yancha sequence shared with Da Hong Pao and Shuixian: withering, the alternating bruising-and-resting stage (做青, zuoqing) that partially oxidizes the leaf and helps build the roasted, mineral “rock” character the region is known for, then kill-green, rolling and a baking stage that’s often repeated. Top-grade dry leaf is described in the standard as tightly knotted and heavy, with a partial-oxidation pattern on the wet leaf edge that tends to be more pronounced on Rougui than on some lighter Wuyi products — though grade and producer style still vary this considerably.

A useful beginner habit: treat “Rougui” the way you’d treat a grape varietal name on a wine label. It tells you which cultivar the tea is made from and grounds it in the Wuyi Rock Tea standard, but it doesn’t by itself guarantee roast level, vintage or where within Wuyishan the leaf actually grew — ask for that separately.

See the Oolong Tea guide for how Rougui, Shuixian and Da Hong Pao fit together as the Wuyi Rock Tea family, and Shuixian for the closest comparison — a different cultivar processed the same way.

Look · Dry leaf

China's national standard for Rougui (GB/T 30357.5-2015) describes top-grade dry leaf as tightly knotted and heavy ("肥壮紧结"), consistent with the broader Wuyi Rock Tea standard's description of the category as robust and compact. Color and knotting alone do not prove cultivar or roast level.

Smell & taste

Typical aroma: cassia-bark-like, floral, roasted, mineral. Flavor tendencies: roasty, mineral, sweet, full. Body: medium-full. These vary by batch, storage and brewing.

Brew · A starting point

Try 5 g in 150 ml water at 95–100°C for 15–30 seconds. Fully decant before tasting.

Read the wet leaves

Opened leaves typically show the partial-oxidation "green leaf, red edge" pattern common across Wuyi Yancha, though how visible the red edge is varies by product and grade — the standard describes it as more pronounced on top-grade Rougui than on some other Wuyi products.

Sources & review status

• 《中国乌龙茶标准研究资料库》 (ChinaTea101 Oolong Tea Standards Research Master File) — Rougui sections (§6.3, §9, §16, §17) — ChinaTea101 owner-supplied Source Library. Used for the cultivar-vs-product-name distinction (GB/T 30357.5-2015 defines Rougui as tea made from the Rougui cultivar), the Wuyi Rock Tea GI classification (GB/T 18745-2006, five recognized products: Da Hong Pao, Mingcong, Rougui, Shuixian, Qizhong), physicochemical limits (moisture ≤7.0%, total ash ≤6.5%, water extract ≥32%, broken tea ≤16%, powder ≤1.3%), and the explicit standard-sourced correction that Rougui's aroma descriptor ("似有乳香或蜜桃香或桂皮香", cassia-bark-like) is a cultivar aroma characteristic, not evidence of cinnamon-spice flavoring. Top-grade sensory description ("肥壮紧结") is drawn from the same source table.

Imported from 《中国乌龙茶标准研究资料库》.md. Updated 2026-09-24. Last reviewed 2026-09-25