Crimson Lotus Tea

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Recent Tasting Notes

87

For the last three days I have been having the Crimson Lotus tea’s 2007 Qiao Jun “Huang Zhi” shou pu-erh. The website states: “This puerh brews very light even with longer steepings. This will brew very smooth with a pronounced mellow sweetness. It’s moist in the throat with a pleasant aftertaste.” I completely agree with this note. The tea is simply pleasant, has a certain lightness to it, and has a hint of chocolate in its finish during early steepings. I found it grew on me over the three days it took to go through 10 steepings. Seems like a pretty good bargain for a pleasant everyday drinker at $22 for a 250 ml brick (also available in 25 gram sample size). More info available at http://crimsonlotustea.com/products/2007-qiao-jun-huang-zhi-250g-shou-ripe-puerh-brick. My tea was from a sample purchased last month.
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Flavors: Chocolate, Earth, Wood

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 15 sec 8 g 7 OZ / 220 ML
SimpliciTEA

Thanks for the link. I just checked them out, and they look like they have a few affordable ripe pu-erh teas and offer samples of some as well.

mrmopar

I have enjoyed one of their ripes for a couple of days now. Good stuff.

SimpliciTEA

Good to know; I’ll keep them in mind.

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82

This seems like a good example of a particular sheng flavor profile. A mix of very light smoke, tobacco, and medicine. It is a pretty nice tea and an interesting one to try.

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The description is spot on for this one. It has a low level of smoke that is apparent, some earthiness and tobacco notes, with a bit of aged flavor. This isn’t my cup of tea, but I think many of you will appreciate it, especially if you like Xiaguan in general or the White Whale in particular.

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91

Trying my third Shou from Crimson Lotus today. This is one of the best shou’s I’ve had. It is very deep and rich, a little earthy, very hearty, and quite smooth. A touch of astringency and sweetness balance the flavor. It lasts and lasts. It has a high kick factor. It has all of the qualities I like in a Shou, and it’s harvested from trees from the Bulang region so I’m not too worried about chemicals. It’s currently $30 for a 250g brick, so it’s not terribly expensive. I’d highly recommend giving it a try! I am gaining a lot of respect for Crimson Lotus. They have excellent taste in ripes. You can watch a little video about them and this tea here:
http://crimsonlotustea.com/products/2008-bulang-imperial-grade-shou-ripe-puerh

Ubacat

Sounds good. Had to check out the video. Almost tempted to order the sample size.

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91

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91

Trying another Crimson Lotus ripe today. This is another winner. It is interesting and a little different. It is earthy and sweet, some hints of chocolate, no harshness though I wouldn’t call it super smooth, and brews a deep brown. What I find most interesting is that it has a palpable thickness, almost a grittiness. It’s a nice drink. A bit expensive at $60 currently, but you can buy a sample to see if you are interested.

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88

This is my first tea from Crimson Lotus. It is a rich and fairly smooth ripe. Very tasty, and reminds me a bit of a mix between Special Dark and a Dayi ripe in terms of its flavor profile. Its staying power is a little on the lighter side, but it makes up for it by being delicious. High kick factor.

Cwyn

Glen at Crimson Lotus drinks shou in the morning instead of coffee. One would anticipate that a breakfast shou drinker would have high expectations on taste.

Rich

Indeed! I have been doing that myself quite a bit lately. Thanks for turning us on to them, I foresee more purchases from some of us in the near future!

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88

This is an interesting tea of depth and complexity with bright, well balanced flavors and a deep sweetness. Good earthy flavor, hints of tobacco, and perhaps even a whisper of cherry and forest in the flavors, this is quite a good tasting tea. Just a hint of astringency in the long lasting flavors. Quite enjoyable (from a sample).

Flavors: Cherry, Earth, Sweet, Tobacco, Wood

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 30 sec 7 g 6 OZ / 190 ML
Cwyn

Wow, nice, had a sample of this and sent to my sick sister. Wish I’d tasted it!

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78

Crimson Lotus is new to the tea scene, and founded by a married couple in the Seattle area, the wife hailing from Yunnan, China originally. Their main interest is in Ripe puerh, and they have some fine teas to try and gorgeous tea ware which they scout personally from small Jian Shui pottery houses. Lamu’s family lives in Yunnan, so they are well placed to get started selling tea. It is a labor of love indeed.

I think this cake is one of their earlier efforts, their new cakes they pressed this spring have not arrived yet. This is one of two sheng cakes they currently carry, and they have some interesting cakes coming up from a farm family who has a few old trees in their garden, I will be looking forward to tasting those.

I ordered a 25 g sample of a 357 g cake. Leaves are very dark green, this seems to not have much age on it, probably dry storage has held this back, but that might be okay. Brewed up two sessions so far of 8 grams per 115 ml water. One rinse does the job, this is very clean. Proceeded with 15 second steeps onward.

Description is apple juice liquor and the result lives up to that. First brew is a mild bitter which steeps out quickly for me in subsequent steeps. Has a nice peachy taste, this too is rather mild, no storage flavor at all which again points to a very dry, preservation type of storage. Very cool on the mouth for the finish. I continue to get color in the tea past 8 steeps but the flavor is mostly gone. Wouldn’t want to age this, I think it will fade, it is best right now.

Flavors: Apricot, Green Wood, Peach

Preparation
Boiling 0 min, 15 sec 8 g 4 OZ / 115 ML
Rich

Sounds like an interesting company. Have you tried any of their shus, and if so, which ones did you like?

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