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“This afternoon, I received my order of Volition’s “Trapped In Amber” series and I just couldn’t wait to give each of the teas a try, so I steeped them up in cupping sets for a bit of a vertical...” Read full tasting note
Zhenghe Red tea blended with sustainably grown Eau de Cologne mint and Anise Hyssop flowers, in collaboration with urban farm The Roof Crop
Tea farm owner: Xie Rong Fu, Xie Rong Wei Brothers
Tea cultivar: Zhenghe Da Bai
Tea processed on: March 25, 2024, blended by The Roof Crop on August 30, 2024
Tea Region: Songxi, Fujian, China
Herb Region: Chicago, IL, USA
Weight: 50g
Farmer’s Note
In 2002, we took over Longyuan Tea Garden and Factory from the local government. Step by step, we turned this space into a three-dimensional organic tea garden, focusing on biodiversity of trees, tea bushes and grass. We methodically planted and cared for over 30 different species of trees and 5 kinds of grass. Because of this unique environment, the surrounding areas regard our tea garden as a tourist attraction to get close to the nature and learn about tea agriculture. We are happy to accept that new reality, as income from tea-tourism allows us to invest more in the maintenance and enhancement of our organic tea garden.
This red tea uses Zhenghe Dabai variety, picked according to the one-bud-and-two-leaf standard. We intentionally prolonged the withering step to reduce its astringency. After the raw tea is made, it passes through a set of refining machines, cutting the tea leaves, and then screening them for length and weight, to achieve a uniformed appearance. The result is a consistent and flavorful red tea, ideal for Volition to do further experiments with.
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This afternoon, I received my order of Volition’s “Trapped In Amber” series and I just couldn’t wait to give each of the teas a try, so I steeped them up in cupping sets for a bit of a vertical tasting. All three of these teas start with the same Zhenghe Red Chinese black tea but have been altered in different ways as part of the processing. Though I’m excited to get to know them all a little more intimately through some gongfu sessions in the next little while, here are my snap thoughts based on this tasting!!
This was the tea I was most curious to try of the three as I was really fascinated by the herbal inclusions. I love anise hyssop and it’s particularly fresh and aromatic sweet black licorice flavour, but eau de cologne mint is something I’m much less familiar with. I found this infusion surprisingly savory with a very upfront and “raw” tasting herbaceous flavour that, to my palate, really brought out the woodier notes of the Zhenghe Red. It did have a very pleasant, dark honey and anise finish. I think this tea warrants the most continued experimentation for me to decide how I feel about it.
Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DA_x5LvSLvR/?img_index=1
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0Ep8gity4A
