Rougui

Sipdown (115)!

Thank you Nannuoshan for the review sample!

It was really amazing being able to do a Gong Fu session with her because I don’t typically have people over for tea other than family and Tre (who is pretty disinterested) and, up until quite recently, I didn’t even have the proper brewing vessels to share the same tea with someone; no pots, Gaiwans, and otherwise. Just tools for matcha or Western brewing.

I’m sure I could have gotten more infusions from the leaf because the flavour wasn’t really even starting to fade when we stopped steeping; but we stuck with four because we had ordered food for supper an it had just arrived. And greasy Spinach, feta and banana pepper pizza didn’t seem like it’d go too well with a nicer oolong like this one.

Started with a quick wash; was surprised how much the leaves had started to open up just from the really short amount of time they were steeping. The smell was amazing; lots of mineral notes, just a smidgen of earthiness, a little sweet. Very lovely, and interesting.

First Infusion:

By far the most mineral tasting, with a pretty roasty body flavour as well as some stronger loamy, earth notes. A touch astringent; not much. There was just a little bit of sweetness poking through; like dried apricot maybe? For a tea named after cinnamon, I was definitely expecting that flavour though I definitely didn’t sense any in this first infusion. I think this was my least favourite infusion – though that certainly doesn’t mean it was bad; far from it.

Second Infusion:

My favourite infusion! Still had roasty and mineral notes, though less so. Accompanying these notes were the sweetness of walnut with a little bit of a drier mouthfeel from the tannins in the time. It was a nice astringency, though (while I usually dislike all things astringent; I have come to expect at least a little astringency with nearly every nut flavour in tea- hazelnut being the exception). A bit more than in that first steep. Didn’t taste anything particularly earthy this time around; and the fruity note was a lot stronger. Still reminded me a little of apricot, but a little peachy as well and definitely more of a fresh, ripe flavour than the flavour of dried fruit. Some cinnamon notes in the background; still less than I had anticipated. The leaves were almost completely opened up.

Third and Fourth Infusion:

I’m grouping these ones together because they tasted almost identical to me. Leaves were completely open for both. Hardly any roasty or mineral flavour at all, but a lot more walnut and cinnamon. Maybe even maple notes? The bulk of the flavour was made up by a very, very sweet borderline syrupy peach flavour. Really fresh, ripe and natural. And, I’m wondering if it’s the sweetness of the peach that’s making me think of maple as an extension of the walnut notes? A few fun floral notes in the background as well.

This was my first Rougui, though I have another variation from Nannuoshan to try still and I’m quite excited for it given how much I enjoyed this one. I’ve also got another from a different company, and I look forward to trying that one after I’ve finished with my Nannuoshan reviews; those are definitely more of a priority for the time being.

This definitely seems like a tea type right up my alley though; there wasn’t any part of it I disliked so I’ll probably explore it further once I’ve finished up what’s in my cupboard. Sharing it with a good friend made it better too; though part of me wishes I hadn’t so I could’ve drank all the tea…

o Quantity: Half sample pack / 110 ml
o Water temperature: 90°C
o 4 infusions: 60, 60, 60, 90 sec

Stream of consciousness notes (ie. don’t think too much, don’t care about grammar, just write what you are experiencing as you experience it)
o Dry leaf aroma: sweet bark, sweet cinnamon, floral, honey, faint minerals, a faint amount of cedar
o Dry leaf aroma in heated gaiwan: strong addition of charcoal, dark spices like clove, finally cinnamon hits – all other notes from before are muted. Overall it is sweet, but the roasted note is stronger than the sweetness.
o 1 sec wash
o Throat: strong charcoal – indicative of a heavily roasted tea like a gui fei, hints of stone fruit, sweet and faint cinnamon, sweetness of sugarcane and then honey
o Wet leaf aroma: strong minerals, hint of charcoal, hint of fresh earth, wet green leaves, small amount of cinnamon at the end
o Liquor color: Medium tan/brown with a tinge of red
o Liquor aroma: aroma is faint but cinnamon is detected first, minerals are next and are almost overshadowing the cinnamon, honey sweetness is detected in a deep breath
o Taste: notes evolve on the tongue. pleasant oily mouthfeel, mineral notes linger as do cinnamon notes. The cinnamon lingers in the throat for a while as the mouth is coated in a sweet, mineral note. Sweetness hits first when the tea hits the mouth, quickly moves to minerals with a faint hint of flowers and a stronger note of cinnamon. Very smooth – small amount of astringency comes with the mineral notes. Medium to thick body.

o 2nd infusion liquor aroma: cinnamon sugar that mingles with the mineral notes seamlessly
o 2nd infusion taste: mouthfeel is creamy and oily. throat lingers with minerals and cinnamon. mineral notes hit first when the tea hits the tongue, quickly mixed with a bit of cinnamon and creamed honey. Smooth, however, there is a very apt and very small amount of astringency. Body is medium. Length is long and warming from the cinnamon notes.

o 3rd infusion taste: First notice the difference in astringency, it is gone from the second steep. All over, it does not evolve like the previous steeps, instead the notes mingle. Body is medium. Length is long and warming still but the notes are incredibly faint. Notes are of minerals, a faint hint of cinnamon, and a faint amount of flowers – the notes have a small amount of sugar cane sweetness to them. Notes are distinctly not as bold as the first two steeps.

o 4th infusion taste: Incredibly faint. Notes of winter honey, a bit of spice, and minerals. Evolution on the tongue goes from sweet, light, and creamy due to the honey notes to a small bite of astringency with mineral notes. Body is medium. Length is shorter than the previous steeps.

o Spent leave aroma: hay, minerals, wet earth, honey

o Final thoughts: After all four steeps, I would say that one and two are the most flavorful and complex. The third is interesting due to its lightness and lack of astringency.

I received samples from Nannuoshan for review.
let me just say its creative presentation and i really loved personalized letter.

Today i decided to start with Rou Gui. i sampled a few before so i knew what to expect.
i prepared it according to website parameters.
3g 90C 110ml porcelain gaiwan
rinse/ 60/60/60/90sec
i really loved the aroma coming when i rinsed the leaves. Simply divine. Mix of roasted nuts and florals. But floral notes in this tea are not strong (thank god). its just beautiful compliment to the complex mix of peaches and roasted nuts and cinnamon.

1 steep @60 sec – pleasant, not super roasty, some floral, hint of cinnamon. slight sweetness coming thru. Very aromatic

2,3 steep @60sec- leaves are opening up more, more intense in flavor. but never harsh. i found 2nd and 3rd steep are pretty similar.

4 steep @90sec – very nice and pleasant, not harsh in any way. Some citrus-y notes emerging and cutting thru sweetness of peach and nuts (not roasted any more lol). now im thinking it reminds me nectarines more than peaches.

To sum up: many people are not huge fans of roasted oolong. this one is perfectly fine and safe. Give them a chance, its like delicious fruit compote in your mouth. The sweetness is lingering long after i finished my session.

For the record I stopped rating any tea long time ago. it is hard for me to put a number. the more i try the harder it is.

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I once had a seller tell me that this was a man’s tea in China, just like Lapsang Souchong ( generally the low t no smoke iteration) is a woman’s tea. I’m not sure why specifically, maybe it has to do with the scent of cinnamon from baked goods after all that is why many women’s perfumes have heavy doses of vanilla and spice, or maybe it has to do with the heat it can create in your mouth? I took this with a grain of salt as I am a woman and I tend to like this style of tea and currently have a few in my cupboard, and was more than happy to select this tea as a sample during Nannuoshan’s offering.

This particular style off oolong is one of the Wuyishan yancha ( rock teas) which are bar type Oolong’s famous as a group for having mineral notes and often floral, fruity, cream, and cocoa notes. The cream in these teas is often distinct and often creates the sensations in my throat that I get when I have dairy vs the taste of cream I get in rolled Oolong’s.

Rou gui is also known as cinnamon or cassia rock tea and often exhibits distinct cinnamon like scents and at times in the taste and spiciness of the tea itself.

This tea from Nannuoshan is from a 2013 harvest because of that most of the flavour and scent notes from its roasting have dissipated leaving a tea that smelled distinctly floral when I first opened the bag, and then settled into a fruity vegetal fragrance. The leaves are large and relatively wide and range in colour from cocoa brown with a tinge of burgundy to an off black.

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This picture shows Nannuoshan’s tea in comparison to the teas I have from other companies.

I steeped 2g of tea in 100ml yixing pot at around 90°C for this sampling.

My first steep was 45s as I usually find 60s to be too intense for me when I steep dark Oolong’s.

The colour of the broth is a slightly peach toned golden brown. The initial scent is quite fruity with notes of peach and a hint of lychee deepening to notes of bittersweet chocolate, cherry, a hint of roasted grain, vanilla, cinnamon and a very faint hint of nutmeg.

The tea tastes of stewed peaches and cherry with cream, a roasted char note, mineral notes and a green vegetal note which is a cross between cut grass, hay and roasted vegetables. There is a hint of clover and spice in the initial taste. At first the tea leaves a tingling on the roof and back of my mouth. This feeling of spice intensifies in the aftertaste which is mostly of cream, spice and fruit notes with a bitter cocoa undertone. The spice is cooling at first and then becomes peppery and warming.

I resteeped the tea another 6 times (45, 50, 60, 90, 120, and 300s)

The heady fruit tones dissipated by the 4 the steep with mineral, floral, spice and grainy tones moving forward in the profile. The floral notes ranged from sakura, to rose and Osmanthus. I also tasted notes of honey and a bit of musk in later steeps. The spice at times is mixed with a hint of bitterness that can emphasise the mineral notes in the tea.

This tea seems to lie somewhere in between the flavour profiles of the rou gui’s I have samples, being neither as floral or as fruity as the others. It does have a nice balance of flavours and creates a strong spicy sensation in the mouth which I find pleasant. It is not as resilient as some I have sampled but the first 4 steeps were really flavourful and memorable.

Thank you so much Nannuoshan to the sample. I always appreciate the chance to try another offering of one of my favourite styles of tea.

My second Nannuoshan Wuyi oolong. The dry leaves are medium-large, smaller and slightly more roasted than the Ban Tian Yao. Deep brown with touches of red and green. Strong aroma with slight roasted notes, very sweet with raisin and spice.

Brewing the tea I’m hit with an amazing floral/cinnamon aroma. Delicious cup with a moderate mineral taste. Notes of walnut, cinnamon, vanilla with just a faint touch of floral greenness. Aroma lingers both in the cup and in the mouth. Later infusions give stronger peach and cinnamon notes, a bit of musk, moderate sweetness, and a nice sparkling quality. This one has less stamina the the BTY and begins to fade by the 7th infusion. However I’m left with a nice calming qi and tingles across the top of my head

The spent leaves are a fairly uniform brown and green, darker and more broken than the BTY
Overall an excellent oolong with full flavor and aroma, but somewhat lacking in stamina.

The Rougui , the famous tea of the rocks is in my cup this morning and brightens a little this bad weather morning .

I strictly respect the recomandations , 4 minutes in a water at 90 ° C.

The leaf doesn’t fully unfold , it’s true that instinctively I would rather use a water at 100 ° but it does unfold very well at the second infusion.

The liquor is very red , of a dark amber .

This is a very balanced Rougui between mineral and roasted notes . Some sweetness emanates from all this light liquor, a bit enveloping .

This is exactly what I was expecting from this tea and I’m delighted : it has a real personal touch and releases its own aromas in a successive and distinct manner. Gabriele thank you so much for this sample, it is my type of tea.

Some pics are available here : https://thevangeliste.wordpress.com/2015/02/01/rougui-nannuoshan/