Taiwan Ruby 18 Black

I opened this box of adventures-to-come from derk and about went catatonic with indecision. I finally snapped out of it and — having just tried Mountain Stream’s Wintergreen White Ruby — decided I’d start by pulling a couple of gifted 18s and splashing around in some ruby puddles this afternoon.

The steaming leaves already have me off and running to understand wintergreen… they smell like those pink chalky candies and Euthymol toothpaste. I’ve always been quite drawn to this flavor, so I’m stoked. Also a bit medicinal/herbal. Celery became the prominent scent after several steeps.

For the nerds: wintergreen is an essential oil from the Gualtheria procumbens plant; the specific compound that creates the smell is methyl salicylate. Wintergreen is not a true mint. The sassafras descriptors in others’ notes make sense, as wintergreen is the oil most often used in root beer these days (sassafras itself got outlawed, so we replaced it). Anyway.

Pours a reddish caramel, and the liquor first and foremost smells like wet dog — persistent through all steeps. Also red fruit, and a spearminty scent that isn’t quite wintergreen.

Middling weight in the mouth — not light or full. Cooling taste and big ol’ wintergreen, dried red raspberry, lightly tannic and crisp. Sweet, but a light fruity sweetness that doesn’t read caramel/molasses/honey to me… distinctly herbal, which is probably the wintergreen but feels like it could lean toward fresh fennel… a touch of toastiness toward the final steeps.

I stopped around eight steeps — the last two sat quite a long time and, though the character was still pleasant and the mouthfeel good, the tannins started vying for too much attention. I cut ‘em off. I’m really enjoying the Ruby 18 cultivar (aka Sun Moon Lake!). Thank you, derk <3

Spring 2022 harvest

Not wanting to brew this in glass or porcelain, I decided to use a clay pot normally used for sheng pu’er only. The tea turned out very well. Maybe the clay softened some tannins that Leafhopper experienced.

Complex aroma hangs close to the cup, vacillating quickly and quietly between fleshy geranium and marshmallow and other niceties.
Taste is savory, crisp and clear, juicy and bright, dark earthy tone.
Wintergreen and sarsaparilla, dried cherries, malt, sun-dried tomatoes, olives, cedarwood.
The third steep got away from me. When I came back to pour, the tea did not nip at me. I took it for another 4 or 5 pours after that.

I’ve had a Ruby 18 like this before and greatly appreciate this one’s flavor profile today.

This is my third Ruby 18 in the past few months. The one from What-Cha was so good that I now consider picking up samples of other Red Jades, even though this is a tea type I often find too tannic and astringent. This version is from the 2022 harvest. I steeped 6 g of leaf in a 120 ml teapot at 195F for 10, 12, 15, 18, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 60, 90, 120, and 240 seconds.

The dry aroma is of sweet potato, caramel, malt, menthol, sassafras, and tomato vine. The first steep has notes of sweet potato, raisin, menthol, sassafras, malt, tomato vine, and brown sugar. The tea is a bit drying and already has some astringency. The next steep has even more raisin, sweet potato, and menthol notes, with tannins, malt, caramel, cream, sassafras, and wood in the background. Steeps three and four emphasize menthol, sweet potato, earth, raisins, and caramel, with increasing levels of tannins and a hint of something floral that I can’t name. More malt, tannins, and raisins appear in the next few steeps, though the tea is still quite sweet in spite of its astringency. The sweet potato persists into the end of the session, though the tea also becomes more tannic, earthy, woody, and mineral.

A solid Ruby 18, this tea nonetheless falls short compared to my beloved What-Cha version due to its higher levels of astringency and less complex palate. However, I liked the sweet potato and caramel, and this is a nice example of the type. I’m now completely out of Ruby 18 and I’m not sure if I mind. I think I like Shan Cha and Taiwanese high mountain black teas more than Ruby 18, in spite of its intriguing sassafras/menthol elements. Aside from the What-Cha version, it’s just too tannic for me to really enjoy.

An interesting tea that can be quite tasty, but is easily overbrewed, drawing a strong artichoke and chrysanthemum flavor that is a bit odd, but not entirely bad. It’s a long-lasting tea with a silky mouthfeel that’s well rounded in sweetness and tannin, but the artichoke flavor makes this more of a novelty that’s interesting to try rather than a tea I would love to sip on all day.

I drank this. I know I liked it, but I have no notes for this. I always expect good things from Floating Leaves and this tea is no exception. I just wish I remember what it tasted like. XD
Maybe I’ll have it tomorrow during the snowstorm….very very tired of winter.

I’ve been meaning to try Ruby 18 for some time and finally ordered this one from Floating Leaves.

The tea has a strong note of sweet potato which I really like and a thick somewhat malty mouth feel.
The cooling sensation was just the ticket as I burnt my tongue last night on hot soup.

It is an interesting tea, I will look for other samples of Ruby 18 to experience the differences.

Prep: 60 or 100cc gaiwan, 4-8g, boiling water, start at 5, (10, 15, 20, 30, etc)
Sessions with this tea: 10+

Taste: Boom big caramel to start. Yes sweet potato comes into the picture, as well as some anise. The menthol starts really early and is very cooling and very good. After steep 4 or so the caramel drops out and it turns into a kinda incensy woody sweetness with anise, still with some potato note. Only the late steeps lose the potato note and give a hearty, woody, pine/cedar flavor.

Body: Very thick mouthfeel, slurpy good. Mild, calming energy. The cooling/menthol sensation starts early and gets really intense through the middle steepings. This also retains its body and steeps out a lot longer than I expected for a black tea.

Extremely enjoyable. I continue to love floating leaves offerings. I’m glad I bought a larger quantity of this and look forward to continued enjoyment.

Here’s Hoping TTB

There was just enough for a tasting of this one left. I’m still trying to branch out from typical flavored blacks and this one was interesting to say the least. It’s very savory, with heavy sweet potato notes. I’ll have to hunt down some more samples of Ruby 18 – this one intrigued me.

This is the most mint cooling Ruby 18 I’ve had so far. The cooling sensation starts early on, going with a mellow, fruity, woodsy and sweet flavor. This tea has an excellent thick body too.

A ruby 18 for someone who wants all the texture and feels!

Full Review on Oolong Owl http://oolongowl.com/pacific-northwest-taiwanese-black-tea-comparison/

(Here’s another review from the Here’s Hoping Traveling Teabox! Actually all my reviews lately are from the teabox although I may have forgotten to mention it once or twice.)

Mmmm. I think this is the first tea I’ve actually tasted the “sweet potato” flavor in. That seems to be the strongest note, although I think I can detect some malt in there too. But it tastes so much like sweet potato I’m thinking of putting brown sugar and marshmallows in and calling it Thanksgiving or something. (Have you ever put marshmallows in your tea? I haven’t. It probably doesn’t go over as well as putting them in hot chocolate.) It’s a very full-bodied flavor and an interesting one, although I’m not sure yet whether it’s going to be one of my favorites or not.

(ETA: I have decided that I quite like it and that it is extremely excellent with milk and sugar and also goes well with french toast.)