It’s been a while since I went for a tea blend, but the recent tasting notes on this one stirred my curiosity enough to give it a go. I asked David for a sample of this when I saw him recently, and he was happy to send me home with enough for two drinking sessions. I just brewed it up in the past hour, needing to shake off my grog from the long caffeinated work day and night of dancing that preceded my very reluctant rise from the bed this morning.
I put two and a half teaspoons of this blend in my Ruci pot and proceeded with my typical gongfu brewing routine for Chinese blacks: immediate wash, then 5-second first steep, followed by +5 seconds for each infusion following. My initial reaction, the moment the liquor passed my lips on the first steep, exactly echoed the one-sip-wow! that ssajami mentioned recently. There is a beautiful sparkling bite at the front of the tongue as soon as I take each sip. I implicate the formidable alliance of Laoshan Black, Big Red Robe and Xingyang Imperial in yielding this rich sparkle through their combined command of that quality. This is true synergy! The Yunnan Golden Buds further enrich and sweeten the deal, making for a very luxurious texture and flavor profile.
If my description of the above synergy is framed in the language of organized crime, it’s because drinking this blend has made me a bit shifty-eyed, as though it were too good to be legal. I have tasted each of the teas in this blend separately, and they are all great and powerful teas, but I wasn’t expecting (really… could not imagine) the indomitable strength that would come of their conspiring together. I imagine this blend is like an exacting and perfectly organized plot to execute a jewel heist of historic proportions… and all of its culprits managed to capture their loot and escape without a hitch.
This blend is super, and upon trying it I have new respect for David’s taste… which is something I thought I already had the highest respect possible for. What an excellent surprise this was! I will definitely be buying a supply of this blend, and exploring more of the Alchemy offerings.
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Love your write up of this wonderful tea! The synergy in this tea is amazing. The cha qi in this tea really knocks my socks off. I love the organized crime angle… I found it nearly “sinful” it was so unexpectedly good.
When I first saw the blend described, I thought of that line in “Ghostbusters” where the heros had to remember not to “cross the streams” or suffer annihilation. These teas create streams that join up to make for an invigorating and satisfying brew.
To good to be legal. Great line….
Great image! Totally true. Do I sense major motion picture? Tea+Heist+Ghostbuster.. how could this go wrong?
Haha~! Great comments, everyone. Thanks for the appreciation. When writing some of these notes I just try to amuse myself, and it’s nice to know that others sometimes enjoy these little language games of mine.
@Spoonvonstup – So here’s my pitch… A commission of obscure underworld origin falls upon a small outfit of exiled Scandanavian hackers to hatch a plot against impossible odds to infiltrate the PRC Bank of National Treasures and steal the last legal harvest from the Da Hong Pao mother bushes. Suffering extreme adversity, including partial capture and loss of life, in the course of this operation, some members of the group succeed in escaping with their loot… BUT, needing resources to recover their imprisoned comrades, our protagonists try to collect on their commission, only to find that all trace and record of it’s source has vanished. The obscure director of their heist may just as well have never existed… Meanwhile, CRP secret services and Interpol are quickly closing in, as the hackers desperately hunt for the phantom author of their contract… until one of them stumbles upon the first sure lead, revealing that the man who ordered this heist has been dead for decades! And now, the hackers begin to realize that they have not only to elude the hunt of international agents, but as well a far more dangerous hunter within them: Madness.
And it’s just occurred to me that there is only one possible title for this picture:
BIGRED
ROBE
Hah! I love it…. Did you ever see the movie Tea Fight? http://bit.ly/ua668h
Being a fan of Asian cinema, the drama you outlined made me think you might enjoy this! :)
Oh Dear… I’m afraid to even look… BUT. JUST. CAN’T. STOP… I must.
Dear God… I just read the synopsis. I must I have this film!
Thanks for the tip, E.
I have to see it too….
Wow! I must see that movie!!!
I wish I had a copy to share. I purchased mine and thought it was a hoot… It was passed around among my friends for about a year and now I have no idea who has it… but is worthwhile to add to your collection! :)
Love your write up of this wonderful tea! The synergy in this tea is amazing. The cha qi in this tea really knocks my socks off. I love the organized crime angle… I found it nearly “sinful” it was so unexpectedly good.
When I first saw the blend described, I thought of that line in “Ghostbusters” where the heros had to remember not to “cross the streams” or suffer annihilation. These teas create streams that join up to make for an invigorating and satisfying brew.
To good to be legal. Great line….
Great image! Totally true. Do I sense major motion picture? Tea+Heist+Ghostbuster.. how could this go wrong?
Haha~! Great comments, everyone. Thanks for the appreciation. When writing some of these notes I just try to amuse myself, and it’s nice to know that others sometimes enjoy these little language games of mine.
@Spoonvonstup – So here’s my pitch… A commission of obscure underworld origin falls upon a small outfit of exiled Scandanavian hackers to hatch a plot against impossible odds to infiltrate the PRC Bank of National Treasures and steal the last legal harvest from the Da Hong Pao mother bushes. Suffering extreme adversity, including partial capture and loss of life, in the course of this operation, some members of the group succeed in escaping with their loot… BUT, needing resources to recover their imprisoned comrades, our protagonists try to collect on their commission, only to find that all trace and record of it’s source has vanished. The obscure director of their heist may just as well have never existed… Meanwhile, CRP secret services and Interpol are quickly closing in, as the hackers desperately hunt for the phantom author of their contract… until one of them stumbles upon the first sure lead, revealing that the man who ordered this heist has been dead for decades! And now, the hackers begin to realize that they have not only to elude the hunt of international agents, but as well a far more dangerous hunter within them: Madness.
And it’s just occurred to me that there is only one possible title for this picture:
BIGRED
ROBE
Hah! I love it…. Did you ever see the movie Tea Fight? http://bit.ly/ua668h
Being a fan of Asian cinema, the drama you outlined made me think you might enjoy this! :)
Oh Dear… I’m afraid to even look… BUT. JUST. CAN’T. STOP… I must.
Dear God… I just read the synopsis. I must I have this film!
Thanks for the tip, E.
I have to see it too….
Wow! I must see that movie!!!
I wish I had a copy to share. I purchased mine and thought it was a hoot… It was passed around among my friends for about a year and now I have no idea who has it… but is worthwhile to add to your collection! :)