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“This is great – no it is awesome! It taste exactly like a Da Hong Pao should taste like. Smell’s like a sauna, have a malty taste but with a sweet end. I know it’s silly – but there is a base line...” Read full tasting note
“I have recently tried the 2011 crop of this tea, and it is simply amazing. I have never tried a better rock wulong. The first steeping at boiling for thirty seconds yields a dark auburn brew that...” Read full tasting note
“Another sipdown, this one from Lee. I enjoy roasty oolongs, & this one reminds me of the dessert with layers of creamy vanilla pudding, espresso powder, & cookies. Add a sprinkle of toasted...” Read full tasting note
“The dry leaves are black, twisted, and fairly long. They have a vanilla, toasty aroma. Brewed, the liquor smells of sweet cream and a caramel dessert. The color is a beautiful auburn jewel...” Read full tasting note
Da Hong Pao (Big Red Robe) is the most famous oolong tea. This tea is cultivated from the oldest (over 350 years) and most valuable plantation. In fact, this plantation only has 5 original bushes left which are constantly guarded. The tea color is bright red with a sweet aroma that penetrates and lingers deep within. The taste is robust without bitterness. The complex blend of sweet and rich aftertaste gives Da Hong Pao’s its unique character. It is grown organically in the rich mineral soil of the central portions of the WuYi Mountains thus it is called Zhen Yan Cha. Many legends explain this tea’s name. One such story tells of a Qing Dynasty Emperor whose mother was cured of a serious disease brought on by an excessively rich diet. In a gesture of gratitude, he sent great red robes to clothe the bushes from which the tea that healed his mother originated.
Location: Fujian Province
Tea Bush: Da Hong Pao
Tea Master: Liu Guo Ying
Harvest Time: April-May
Picking Standard: zhong kai mian (3 slightly open leaves)
Brewing vessel: glass cup, gaiwan, glass or porcelain pot, yixing pot
Brewing Guidelines: 1st infusion 1 ½ Tbs per 12 oz 212F for 1 min
Infusions: at least 6 times
Seven Cups is an American tea company based in Tucson, Arizona. We source traditional, handmade Chinese teas directly from the growers and tea masters who make them, and we bring those teas back from China to share with people everywhere.
This is great – no it is awesome!
It taste exactly like a Da Hong Pao should taste like. Smell’s like a sauna, have a malty taste but with a sweet end. I know it’s silly – but there is a base line in the taste that I have a hard time describing. It’s soothing, it’s sweet and clean. It reminds me of whipped cream but without all the sugar. Also noteworthy is the consistence; it’s just a little bit more thicker.
(This tea is from Thomas Smith!)
I have recently tried the 2011 crop of this tea, and it is simply amazing. I have never tried a better rock wulong. The first steeping at boiling for thirty seconds yields a dark auburn brew that simply GLOWS. The aroma is reminiscent of dark chocolate and roasted hazelnuts or almonds. The flavor of the first steeping was very strong, almost bitter, but that is to be expected from a truly good rock oolong that has gone through several stages of roasting to get its unique flavor. The fourth steeping was the best, giving me the best balance between the roasty and fruity notes.
The dry leaves are black, twisted, and fairly long. They have a vanilla, toasty aroma.
Brewed, the liquor smells of sweet cream and a caramel dessert. The color is a beautiful auburn jewel shade.
The flavor is a roasted dark toast when drinking in and then subtle sweetness comes when breathing out.
I tried three different steep times (and one temperature lowering) for this Da Hong Pao, each with fresh dry leaves, to learn from.
The first steep time that I tried is noted in the taste note settings here and is what the package suggests, 212 F for at least 2 minutes. (The taste notes above)My next try was 212 F for a quicker 1 1/2 minutes. I was trying to see if more sweetness comes thru with less steeping but I found that by doing this, you just get a weaker version of the same dominant flavors.
I tried one more experiment with dry fresh leaves (I had lots of tea to share today), I lowered the temperature to 200 degrees for 2 minutes. As this version cooled, I liked it the best but it still had the same flavor notes.
By doing all of this, I wanted to see if the roasting process they perform on the tea causes the dominant flavor or if it can be manipulated by your temps and steep times.
I found that it was the same flavors no matter what I did so the flavor mainly has to do with the roasting or how they process the tea as long as you don’t over-steep. Still learning,,lol!!
So over all, I found that this tea has a very dark roasted flavor with very subtle sweet notes as you breathe out and I enjoyed learning from it too!!!!
Flavors: Caramel, Cream, Espresso, Vanilla
I love Seven Cups! Their oolong selections are awesome.
Yearh, I look forward to try the other sample too!
And the instructions on the package are very precise. I like that!