DA HONG PAO OOLONG TEA - PREMIUM

Mmm, this is a perfect oolong for winter. It has a really pleasant roasted, nutty flavour that comes close to a coffee when you brew it strongly. There are more subtle hints of maybe burnt sugar or molasses, and a slight woodiness that reminds me of a bonfire. The liquor steeps thick and makes the mouth salivate. Really great feeling while drinking this, I just get super cozy and sleepy-stupid-happy.

Mmmmm yes this was good today. Fruity and mineral rich. Four steeps of complex roasted yum! Not much variation between steeps, besides getting smoother over time. This would be great for grandpa style brewing, I suspect.

Sipdown from this morning – I originally wrote about this tea here: http://booksandtea.ca/2015/12/toronto-tea-festival-tasting-set/

This was a very interesting tea session. I feel that I may have gotten perhaps old tea. I do not state this because it was a bad tea session, it just wasn’t as good as I thought it should be. I purchased a small sample size just to try out this “Award Winner” before I purchase a larger quantity. I would have loved to use this in my yixing, but I was shorted a few grams which was sad.
The long black leaves are a deep black and crimson. I placed these in my small gaiwan and prepared brewing. The immediate scent was of charcoal, raisins, and hot stones. I poured out and was very excited to taste. The initial sip was heavy with minerals and char. This brew had a deep body to start, but this body died away rather quickly. Once I reached only the third steeping it had already flattened out and became subtle. I was a little disappointed with this considering its price. It was a nice Wuyi, but I don’t believe it to be prize winning. I’ve had basic DHP that have stood up longer than this. Altogether, I don’t think I’ll be restocking this particular tea.

https://instagram.com/p/0-XP-CzGei/?taken-by=haveteawilltravel

This is a rock tea from the Wuyi Mountains. Expect greatness from a good quality Da Hong Pao.

And this one is nothing short of greatness.

It’s expensive but totally worth it. I was very lucky to have gotten it during Tao Tea Leaf 50% off sale. Bought 150g cause I knew an award winning Big Red Robe could only mean good news. Now I wish I had bought double!

Using 5g in small yixing clay pot.

The leaf is as dark as night.

The brew has this lovely orangey amber colour.

The scent is very fragrant. The taste is like burnt toasts with honey and molasses. Thick mouthfeel, full bodied. Very rich and tasty.

Someone very knowledgable with rock tea pointed out that I should find bitterness in a good Da Hong Pao.

I don’t get bitterness at all, but I realized that what he referred to as “bitter” is probably the burnt and charred taste I get, my own interpretation of it anyways.

You can actually taste the minerals, it’s even a little salty.

It’s a beautiful tea, worth devoting time to.

I like it so much, I will use it to season a very small 70ml yixing pot I just got.

Pic of the session:

http://instagram.com/p/r8qANlwh2g/