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“This tea has lots of meaning for me. It was one of the first “fine” teas I ever bought, recommended from the fine tea wall at A Southern Season in Chapel Hill, NC. The first time I steeped it, I...” Read full tasting note
“A little mellower than I remember but still pretty darned good” Read full tasting note
“These leaves are GORGEOUS. Long and tinged with red! This is “Taiwan’s Only Black Tea” but it tastes VERY oolong-ish to me. I daresay a little Dragon Ball-ish! It has that sweet lovely pastry...” Read full tasting note
“In doing my semi-annual tea bin reorg, I came across a sample of this sent to me by @ashmanra that I had misplaced. Fortunately it was packaged well enough that it held up after all these...” Read full tasting note
Taiwan’s ONLY black tea.
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This tea has lots of meaning for me. It was one of the first “fine” teas I ever bought, recommended from the fine tea wall at A Southern Season in Chapel Hill, NC. The first time I steeped it, I was sure I had done it all wrong. I had forgotten it and oversteeped, yet when I poured it the liquor was light orange. What happened to my black tea?
Instead of being astringent, it forgave me utterly and yielded a cup of raisin-y goodness. Steep after steep.
This was also the last tea I sent to Doulton, a much loved steepsterite who disappeared a long time ago. She was a delight, NAND I was thrilled that she loved this tea.
Today I made it because I am making my own breakfast for the first time in my recovery period, and I knew I might not multitask really well today. (I sneaked into the garden early and tried to hammer a brick clip up with a piece of 2×4 so I could hang some garden art and got caught by my daughter. I had to come in so she wouldn’t rat on me.)
I have absolutely no idea how long this steeped, but it is perfect. Thick, golden raisin taste drained from my cup rapidly. Thank goodness I made a whole pot.
Flavors: Raisins
These leaves are GORGEOUS. Long and tinged with red! This is “Taiwan’s Only Black Tea” but it tastes VERY oolong-ish to me. I daresay a little Dragon Ball-ish! It has that sweet lovely pastry quality as it cools. Absolutely delicious!!! The other thing I love about it is that it’s quite the resteeper! The second infusion is sweet and pastry-ish too, and I am going to save my third steep for my noodle bowl lunch! I think this tea will be fantastic with food.
I didn’t expect to taste Dragon Ball qualities in this tea, so it was such a great surprise! I thought that I wouldn’t get to taste it for months and months – so this is like an extra bonus fantastic happy delight!
Once again, this is me being utterly spoiled by ashmanra!! Thank you!!!
I am glad you like it! I have always believed this tea is very oolong-ish because it is made by people who speicalize in oolongs. I have resteeped up to five times, though four is usually my limit.
I’m having more right now with my lunch – sooooooo gooooooood!!!! I think I’m going to go for 4 because I have more hot water in my kettle and I love it!
Also – to go on a little more about Miss Read – OMG they have handkerchief drills! You have no idea how that tickled me as a staunch handkerchief carrier! How I wish I could say “Class! Hankies out!”
Don’t you love it? I want to go live there.
who is currently selling this where I can mail order it?
If you call A Southern Season, they will do mail order. You can also try Norbu:
http://steepster.com/teas/norbu-tea/14244-2009-winter-ruby-black-tea-taiwan-black-tea
http://www.norbutea.com/RubyBlackTea?category_id=43
Good luck!
This tea is also called Sun Moon Lake tea. I think the Southern Season price is about $5.95 per ounce? It resteeps beautifully. According to Southern Season, this does qualify as a black tea because of the oxidation level, but it looks like oolong, acts like oolong, tastes like…..a cross between blac and oolong! It is one of my favorites. Doesn’t need milk or sugar!
To order from Southern Season, call 800-253-3663. I have steeped their Ruby #18 for ten minutes or more without a hint of bitterness. Wonderful stuff! And the liquor can be quite pale, so it is rather startling to taste such complexity and richness! Another UNBELIEVABLE tea to experience from them is Wild Forest Oolong. It is expensive, but really really worth it. It was sold out for quite a while, but hopefully they have it back in. I give it to people just to watch their face after they swallow. The final note longers a long, long time. Really lovely. Costs about $11.95 an ounce. So worth it.
teatime traveler – Click follow on my page so you can send me your address in a private email and I will be happy to send you a sample of my Ruby #18.
In doing my semi-annual tea bin reorg, I came across a sample of this sent to me by @ashmanra that I had misplaced. Fortunately it was packaged well enough that it held up after all these months.
It was sent to me to compare to a tea that I liked from Shui Tea. Unfortunately, Jimmy recently closed the doors on that endeavor and I now need to find replacements for his blends. (Some, like his Moscow After Hours, can never be replaced I’m afraid. Sorry, I’m still in the denial phase of mourning.)
Ruby #18 is a mild yet flavorful black tea. It has a fragrance of dried raisins and vanilla and steeps to a mild, well balanced, and moderately astringent tea. While it’s not quite Black Ruby from Shui Tea, it does come awfully close.
thats great news! wishing you the best!
Good news is always welcome. I think LooseTman would like to hear from you as well. Prayers for you!
Thank you! I feel really good, just tire easily and have to be careful. Glad to be on the recovery side of things!