Hong Jing Luo

Tea of the afternoon……

I have been wanting to try this tea for quite some time. It kind of reminded me of the Golden Snail from Harney & Son’s that I love and is currently out of stock. I picked this up when thepuriTea was having a great sale around Black Friday…I kind of went nuts and ordered a sample just about everything I have been wanting to try.

I have to agree with others that the sample packaging is kind of annoying. There is not much else to do with an open pouch but to find something else to put it in as the pouches are too small to even fold them over. My other issue is that there is nowhere near enough tea for the number of cups they say you will get out of a sample. They say 10-12 cups, I say 4 or maybe 5 if you are lucky. It is enough to get a good idea of the tea, but just barely. If I had paid full price for the sample, I would have been disappointed.

This one is very similar to Golden Snail for those of you out there waiting for its return. Malty, cocoa-noted, slightly roasty. If I were out of Golden Snail, I would certainly consider picking some of this up! Very satisfying!

Mmmm! I love it! This is a great everyday tea.

It’s still super hot (over 90 degrees) in the afternoon, but our mornings and nights in Tennessee are starting to cool down. One of my favorite things to do is to sit out on my back deck on a cooler morning and drink my tea while reading a book. I can already see myself clad in a hoodie and yoga capris drinking this tea in the aforementioned scenario. Probably barefoot. Yep, I think that sounds about wonderful.

This tea is everything that has been mentioned before. Very malty and raisin-y. I’m drinking the tea without any additives, but the idea of adding brown sugar is appealing. I wouldn’t add too much because the tea is already naturally mild and slightly sweet. I’m not picking up any bitterness at all. Overall, this is a very pleasant cup and I look forward to a few more steeps.

And yes, I just added Hong Jing Luo to my shopping list.

Backlogging…

I did two infusions on this one…here are my findings…

1st infusion:
Tastes alittle cocoa-ish, rich-semi sugary. Perhaps Raisin-tasting like the raisins in a sugar cookie??? CRISP.

Very nice scent!

2nd Infusion…
sweet potatoes, maybe? Interesting taste, indeed! Maybe sweet potatoes with brown sugar. Still quite crips and sweet!

After the 2nd infusion cools for a few minutes I can taste a slight woodsy yet sweet taste at the end of the sip and into the after taste.

Very unique cuppa! That gets some points in my book!

Got a sample of this recently. I love a good golden yunnan tea so this one is described as great for fans of that. I had to try this one.

The leaf is beautiful, curled up firmly and black/gold in color. It’s mostly golden brown that shows just like in the photo. I steeped 3 min and the aroma is distinctive and wonderful. Some teas don’t have a pleasant aroma but this one does, reminding me of baked sweet potato.

The brew is a dark golden honey color. The leaf unfurls and becomes straight and narrow leaves. The flavor is like the golden yunnan tea. It’s a vibrant flavor or multiple notes, sweet potato, brown sugar, caramel come to mind. It’s really good and I will have to add some to my next order.

Experience buying from The Puritea: Overall, positive (I hope to write a review of them, later).

Date of Purchase: Bought in the end of November, 2011; brewed up about three months later.

Packaging: Sample came in a simple silver bag, sealed, with a simple label.

Appearance and Aroma of dry leaf: Beautiful tightly curled, light-and-dark-brown chick-pea-sized tea ‘balls’; rich quality Yunnan Red tea aroma: sweet and carmel-y.

Brewing guidelines: Glass Bodum pot, leaf free to roam (I normally steep Chinese Red tea in one of our ceramic pots, but I wanted to watch the leaves unfold as they steeped); stevia added; used my standard Chinese Red tea steeping times and temperatures; measured about 3.5 tsp of dry tea; used just under four cups of water.

Color and Aroma of tea liquor: What I judge to be standard Yunnan red tea color and aroma: dark and sweet.

Flavor of tea liquor: Good flavor up through four steepings. I tried a fifth with much less water, and was able to coax a little flavor from it.

Appearance and Aroma of wet leaf: Beautiful full leaves and buds (almost no pieces); roasted and malty aroma.

Value: Very expensive for a sample ($3 for a quarter-ounce), still pricy at the four oz. price ($19), but not too bad at the eight oz. price ($32). I think there are a few places you could get a good Chinese red like this for less (possibly Jing Tea Shop, or Tea Trekker).

Overall: I was in the mood for a Chinese red to have during dinner, so I spontaneously brewed up this sample. My wife and I both enjoyed it’s rich, sweet, carmel-y flavor. I enjoyed watching the little ‘balls’ unfold over each steeping. I was disappointed that there seemed to be only a quarter ounce in this sample, but overall this was a tea worth drinking. Still, I would look elsewhere before buying this tea again.

Their description was rather apt. Fans of Golden Yunnans WOULD love this. I happened to fall fairly squarely in that category. This was the second Golden Bi Luo I had ever tried, and they seem to echo the same characteristics as Yunnan Golds…only sharper. It was creamy when it had to be, malty to a point, and earthy with a dash of pepper. My only real complaint was that introduction was a little too sharp and tannic. That said, still an excellent cup.

Steep Information:
Amount: 7g
Water: 750ml 195°F
Tool: Breville One-Touch Tea Maker BTM800XL
Steep Time: 2 minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: light toasty, not strong
Steeped Tea Smell: sweet, toasty
Flavor: smooth, sweet, slightly toasty
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: slight astringent after
Liquor: translucent light orange brown

lovely black tea

Re-Steep Information:
Water: 750ml 195°F
Steep Time: 3 minutes
Served: Hot

stronger brew, but same taste

Placed leave in fridge over night

Re-Steep Information:
Water: 750ml 195°F
Steep Time: 3 minutes
Served: Hot

lighter brew, but still good

Placed leave in fridge over night (again)

Re-Steep Information:
Water: 750ml 195°F
Steep Time: 4 minutes
Served: Hot

lighter, sweeter but still good

It kept on going, even after suffering through time in the fridge (repeatedly)I decided to stop as it got very light and I wasn’t sure it could take another steep.

Rating: 3/4 leaves

Blog: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2012/01/thepuritea-loose-leaf-black-tea-hong.html

This is one of those kind of black teas that you can steep for a while and it won’t become bitter. This is great! It is light, but it does have “this is a winter tea” feel to it. It has a lot of woody and smokey flavors in it mixed with sweetness. I love the shape of the dry leaf. It is curly. It is a good tea!

Yum ! This is really good. I don’t know why this sample has been sitting in my drawer for so long. Maybe just simply because I mostly drink teas/tisanes without caffeine. In any case, I’m working from home today (because I couldn’t get down the mountain this morning to work) and I needed a pick-me-up. I dug around in my tea drawer and voila, Hong Jing Luo.

I don’t think I brewed this strong enough, but it tastes great anyway. It’s earthy, not astringent, and has an interesting floral note in the background. I could also smell this floral (almost like jasmine) before brewing. I’m not quite getting the cocoa notes or raisin notes, but that is probably because its a little too weak. The leaves of this tea are gorgeous too!

Medjool dates and, yes, baked sweet potato skins round out the stiff, woody body of this tea.