Da Hong Pao Chen Cha ( Aged Big Red Robe )

I was craving a darker oolong yesterday so I decided to sample the second of four Da Hong Pao’s from the sample pack I purchased from the Fu Tea Store. As a testament to it’s quality I drank it all last evening and have been drinking it throughout today, so far I have taken it through out 16 steepings (8, 10, 12, 18, 21, 26, 35, 55, 75, 90, 105, 120, 135, 180, and 240s). Chen Cha refers to an aged tea and the advantage of this is it allows the charcoal like tones of some heavier roast oolongs to dissipates and allows some flavours to deepen and develop within a well stored tea.

At 8s this tea smelled of dark bread crust, raisin and currants , tobacco, and biscuit. It tasted of sweet fruit like the aftertaste of banana and dried apricot, combined with biscuit and oatmeal and cream
notes. Raisin and cream flavours lingered in the aftertaste.

Over time this tea released flavour notes of raisin scones, faint dark crust, sweet banana aftertaste, vanilla and unsweetened cream, mineral notes, sugar cane, floral vanilla orchid, licorice root, and aged resinous wood. It released a lot of flavour even with these short steeps.

Overall I’ve been impressed with this Da Hong Pao’s from the Fu Tea store.
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Sample-item-of-Dahongpao-Three-kinds-of-different-flavor-and-technology/689596921.html
I look forward to trying the Jin Xuan and Shui Xian flavours I have remaining.