First!
(Sorry, couldn’t help that)
Our tea-of-the-month arrived yesterday and lo! A great variety of new teas from Verdant’s partner, the Liu Family. Very excited to go through them all here. I drink, and have drunk, a lot of Da Hong Pao. It is a flavor profile I know well. Heck, I have a purion pot just for big red robe oolongs. So a unique new twist on this personal favorite should be fun.
The leaf looks and smells for all the world like Da Hong Pao. Long, lightly twisted deep brown with rusty highlights and that cocao & cedar wood aroma. The wet leaf is malty.
It is in the cup where it kind of ceases to be big red robe. This cup is soft and warm and lacks the mineral sharpness of Da Hong Pao. All the obvious notes are here, but there’s a backbone that big red robe presents strongly which isn’t here — which isn’t to say that’s a bad thing, it’s just obvious what this tea is and what it isn’t.
There is a very subtle drying astringency at the long finish which is pleasant. There is some, but not much, hui gan at the back of the throat.
Flavors: Cedar, Cocoa, Malt, Wet Rocks
