Premium Da Hong Pao Big Red Robe Wuyi Oolong Tea

Lowered temp and time. A little more sweetness coming through, but overall too many tannins and not too extraordinary. Not really outstanding in any way. Smokey teas aren’t always my favorites either…

Setup:

Vessel – Porclain gaiwan 85ml (3 Oz)
Water – 95 Celsius
Leaf – 4 gr (2 tsp)
Steep time (in seconds) – 30, 30, 45, 75

Leaf & infusion:

Dry leaf – Dry leaf appears to be somewhat broken to 0,5 – 1,5 cm pieces with about 1/3 of stripped and casually twisted leaves that are about 4 cm in length. Leaf is mostly black with some brown hue on edges and stalks with intense roasted profile. Other than roasted notes there’s some floral and cocoa hints as well.

Wet leaf – Wet leaf fills the air with roasted notes with augmented cocoa and moderate floral notes when compared to that of the dry leaf.

Infusion(1st) – Liquor is medium brown with just a hint of red that can be associated with some black teas. Aroma of this Da Hong Pao is similar to that of Honey orchid Dan Cong, floral and roasted. With first sip a lot of floral impression is released with medium body and roasted finish and aftertaste as well. With this tea profile at least some bitterness is expected but none appears during this infusion.

Infusion(2nd)- Second infusion comes with more prominent roasted notes and floral whiff. In between sips some vegetal sweetness appears in throat (sweet pea).

Infusion(3rd) – With third steep comes a small decline in color and liquor seems more clear than from previous ones. Taste is also affected and it’s somewhat lighter while roasted profile gets more elegant and introduces molasses finish. After few sips liqour gives more thicker feeling as it rolls over the tongue.

Infusion(4th)- This infusion follows decline in terms of appearance and body but grainy texture and hints of bitterness comes into play as roasted and, now almost non-existent, floral notes fade out and leave room for minty fresh aftertaste.

Conclusion – As this is the first Da Hong Pao I had an opportunity to taste I really don’t have much clue as if this is a good tea or not. It served me well throughout four-five infusions, both with gaiwan and teapot but there’s almost a steep decline after second infusion. If I would compare consistencies of Dan Cong (from the same seller) and this Da Hong Pao, the latter gets outclassed by 2:1.

This tea when dry, has a scent of dark chocolate or wet wood chips. The color of the tea when viewed is a nice caramel color. For the first steeping, it tasted a little bitter, but with a bit of a natural flavor. The second steeping, there was more of a natural taste, but at the same time, plain.

Oolong tea that tastes almost like black. Can be very bitter if oversteeped.