Unknown - Hibachi Grill

Well, once again I am perplexed. But this is fun! The man at the Chinese buffet gave me tea, so last week I took him some Mengku Palace Puerh from Teavivre. I photocopied the label which has Chinese and English on it. He looked at it for a moment and then said, “Oh, puerh! This is the tea to drink when you want to lose weight!” I told him it is also very tasty.

Well, he insisted on sharing his tea with me again. I could not understand what he was calling this tea but there is a remote chance he was saying Dong Ding. I will try to find out soon! Here is a pic of the wrapper and leaves. If anyone can read the Chinese, please let me know what it says!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/24998856@N06/8092641514/

The tea came in a little foil pouch like Teavivre’s Tie Kuan Yin. Inside the pouch the tea was also enclosed in a little poly baggie. The leaves were a mix of dark green and black. They were tightly rolled. I guessed it must be an oolong and prepared it accordingly. The little pouch made a few leaves that didn’t even cover the bottom of my tiny gong fu pot.

I did a fifteen second rinse and then steeped for three minutes. I am no further along in knowing just what I am drinking. It is a dark oolong for sure. There is a “rock” or mineral taste, but also wisps of fruit flickering through my senses. At first, there was a somewhat sour taste, such as you find in the “palate clearing” teas. I steeped this tea five times, and by the third steep my tea pot was full to bustin’ with leaves. Seriously, I don’t know when I have seen leaves swell so incredibly. That is probably a clue as to what kind of tea this is.

I am trying to pick what tea I will take next time I go. Perhaps a Huang Shan Mao Feng.

Edited to add: One of the waitresses read the canister to me tonight. I had to ask her to repeat the name of this tea several times because i couldn’t understand her at first and it was noisy in there. I was right! It was indeed oolong tea, specifically Da Hong Pao! This is the most unusual one I have tried, smelling richly of chocolate and less nutty than some, but oh so smooth.

We went to the Asian buffet to get take out last night, and the young man at the cash register heard me on the phone with youngest asking her to make a pot of Silver Jasmine Green to go with it. He asked about the tea I liked, and pulled a pretty red canister with decorations out from under the counter. It was quite large.

In the past when we were dining in, I had asked if they had tea and they responded, “Black”. He told me that this was the tea the waitresses drank. I asked where they got it and he said they got it from China, and that most of his waitresses came from Fujian. I asked what kind it was and he wasn’t sure. He said he only knew that it was high in caffeine. I asked how they made it, and he said they put it in a cup and watch the leaves, maybe ten minutes, he didn’t know. Then he said they just wait for the leaves to enlarge and then they drink it.

Well, ten minutes sure didn’t sound right to me! I am guessing that he doesn’t drink tea or they would have been sharing this with him. He did mention that his brother drinks tea so that reinforces my belief that he doesn’t. I sure am glad he cared to talk to me about tea, though!

He got out a take out soup container and asked if I would like to try it. LOL! OF COURSE I WANT TO TRY IT! IT IS TEA! AND I HAVE NEVER HAD THIS ONE!!! He sent a generous sample home with me.

Since tea for supper was already being made I saved it for today. As I told the cashier when he opened the canister and held it out to me, these leaves smell super chocolatey. The leaves are huge, I mean HUGE, and so very dark. I would say they are black and deep army green.

I steeped a bit in my 4 ounce gaiwan for about thirty seconds. The chocolate aroma persists, similar to the aroma of Chun Mei from Teavivre, but it doesn’t taste the same as Chun Mei.

This has great strength and body, lots of flavor, and really isn’t grassy, sour, or astringent. I wonder if this may even be some type of oolong? I have made two steeps and they were both great. Now I just need to find out what it is!