For being once-roasted, the dry and warmed leaf have a surprisingly dry, dark and rich aroma. I catch aromas of dark chocolate syrup, pomegranate, raspberry, osmanthus and cannabis in the dry leaf; caramel sauce, brown toast, woodiness, black raspberry preserves, blackberry, black grape skin and canned bamboo shoot in the warmed leaf.
The tea itself doesn’t retain much of those impressions. The first few steeps beyond the rinse are alkaline. A strong mineral backbone supports the brothy body. The fragrance is light and sweet, reminiscent of caramel with a touch of cocoa, flowery. In subsequent steeps, the brew becomes somewhat tangy while still presenting very mineral. If left to cool, it becomes a little sour.
The tea finishes with a quickly disappearing floral bitterness on the back of the tongue, and after the swallow, the sweet fragrance returns and rises high, sometimes smelling like perfume. Later steeps bring more of the roast character to the fore as the minerality fades. Notes of coffee, caramel, char and wood are most prominent.
The rinse drank the next morning is sweet, brothy and alkaline with a caramel-hazelnut-cocoa taste.
I’ve read some other reviews for purple da hong pao which is consistently offered by Yunnan Sourcing. I’d say my impression of this leaf falls fairly in line with others’, though I wouldn’t necessarily compare it to a dancong oolong as a few people have; it’s still very much a Wuyi oolong to me. If I’m going to have a da hong pao, I’d personally like a stronger roast and a mix of cultivars as opposed to one composed of only a purple leaf varietal.
Flavors: Alkaline, Bamboo, Bitter, Blackberry, Broth, Brown Toast, Cannabis, Caramel, Char, Cocoa, Coffee, Dark Chocolate, Flowers, Grape Skin, Hazelnut, Honeysuckle, Mineral, Osmanthus, Perfume, Pomegranate, Raspberry, Roasted, Sour, Sweet, Tangy, Wood
