Taiwan Ruby 18 Black

Tea type
Black Tea
Ingredients
Not available
Flavors
Crisp, Fennel, Fruity, Herbal, Medicinal, Raspberry, Red Fruits, Spearmint, Tannic, Wet Dog, Wintergreen, Bright, Cedar, Cherry, Dried Fruit, Earthy, Forest Floor, Geranium, Juicy, Malt, Marshmallow, Olives, Sarsaparilla, Savory, Tangy, Tomato, Brown Sugar, Caramel, Cream, Drying, Earth, Floral, Menthol, Mineral, Raisins, Sweet, Sweet Potatoes, Tannin, Wood, Apricot, Artichoke, Wet Wood, Burnt Sugar, Jasmine, Molasses
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Loose Leaf
Caffeine
Not available
Certification
Not available
Edit tea info Last updated by derk
Average preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 1 min, 15 sec 5 g 5 oz / 152 ml

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13 Tasting Notes View all

  • “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...” Read full tasting note
    86
  • “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...” Read full tasting note
  • “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...” Read full tasting note
    85
  • “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...” Read full tasting note
    65

From Floating Leaves

Updated 18 Mar 2023 by derk

Rich and flavorful red tea with a generous helping of the special Ruby 18 spearmint fragrance. Broth is full and juicy. Along with the prominent spearmint flavor, there are herbal, dried fruit and caramel notes that round out the bottom end.

This is a luxurious, fragrant ruby 18.
Facts

Harvest Location : Sun Moon Lake Region, Nantou, Taiwan Harvest Date : Spring 2022 Cultivar : Ruby 18 [Hongyu #18] Farming Method : Conventional

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Ruby 18 is a modern Taiwanese invention, also known as Sun Moon Lake black tea. This cultivar is a cross between indigenous Taiwanese tea bushes and Assam varietal bushes. It was bred by a member of the Taiwan Tea reform institute back in 1999.

The minty effect of Ruby 18 is up front and clear in this crop, but the tones are lower. This makes it feel more like wintergreen than peppermint. And the medium tones that fill in the body of the tea are chocolate, soy sauce, and dried dates.The tones are all reaching lower into the spectrum than previous batches of Ruby 18.

Overall this tea has a beautifully complex bouquet and well balanced broth.

Harvest Location : Sun Moon Lake Region, Nantou, Taiwan
Harvest Date : Spring 2020
Cultivar : Ruby 18 [Hongyu #18]
Farming Method : Conventional

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We are very happy to carry Ruby 18th Black Tea. This specific varietal was developed by the Taiwan Tea Reform Institute and was released back in 1999. This black tea is gaining its popularity due to its unique flavors. Our Taiwan Ruby 18 Black Tea smells very sweet. It has a caramel and roasted sweet potato taste. One doesn’t need to put sugar in this tea. It’s medium body and very easy to drink. After you take a sip of this tea, please take a moment to see what’s happening in the mouth. A lot of people experience a mint-like sensation in the mouth.

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13 Tasting Notes

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4302 tasting notes

Here’s Hoping Traveling Teabox – Round #5 – Tea #44
I had this one a few days ago so this will basically be an “I drank this” note. It’s one of those “roman nougat” type teas I love, but again, this one isn’t as roman nougat as I would like it to be. I just want one with a huge amount of flavor like that! I’m not sure if it is possible. I’m not sure if that depends on age of the tea or the harvest itself. But if I find one with a lot of “roman nougat”, I will definitely stock up! This resulted in delicious steeps anyway. It’s nice to have a couple of these types of teas in the teabox for an example for the newbies!

Ubacat

I used to enjoy a Ruby 18 from Tealux but haven’t had it in awhile.

tea-sipper

I’ll keep that one in mind!

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217 tasting notes

Here’s Hoping TTB R5 #6

Ok, stick with me here but this tea I swear tastes like bacon, sweet potato and olives… its super savory which is actually making my taste buds pretty happy! Reading the description online I’m supposed to be getting a very sweet scent (nope) and taste (double nope) with a minty aftertaste (triple nope) and hints of caramel (quadruple nope) and sweet potato (BINGO!!!)… so I’m definitely not experiencing what I’m supposed to.. instead of sweet and minty I’m getting very strong savory notes but its still a tasty drop and one I would consider purchasing if and when my tea cupboard is finally under control…

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85
4267 tasting notes

I reached into my big bag o’ black tea samples this morning, and this is what came out! :P This sample came from Blodeuyn, thanks dear. It has those telltale Taiwanese “creepy tree branch” leaves that are jet black in color. The dry scent was sweet and malty with some fruit notes. I let it steep for 3 minutes at 200 degrees.

Mm, brewed aroma is all sweet potato! It’s accompanied by malt and brown sugar with just a hint of fruit aroma. Sweet potato is the star in the taste as well, and I am happy to see that the tea’s description agrees with me. There’s a fair bit of malt and some nice dark molasses or burnt sugar notes, but I also get a small wisp of something that reminds me of jasmine. As I let the tea cool (aka forgot about it while playing games, doh), I could taste this floral note more. I also got an interesting savory flavor that reminded me of green olives (I know that sounds terrible, but it wasn’t) – not necessarily the sourness, but the overall flavor profile. Interesting! :)

Flavors: Burnt Sugar, Jasmine, Malt, Molasses, Olives, Sweet Potatoes

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 3 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML

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