Da Hong Pao

Half a teaspoon in about 10 oz, brewed grandpa style.

Rich and earthy with an almost malted tone at the end. Da Hong Pao was the first oolong I ever tried and it holds a special place in my heart and on my palate…I’ll admit I’m more into milk oolongs lately, but this is still a solid option.

This is the second of four sample tins from Harney that I seem to have never written notes about.

The leaves on this one are beautiful — long, twisty, and chocolate brown. In the tin they smell roasty, smoky even.

Gave them a rinse and then started at 15 seconds in the gaiwan at 195F, increasing by 5 seconds.

The tea is clear and golden and smells, unexpectedly, floral. There’s a sweetness that reminds me of brown sugar. Or maybe dark honey. But also a toastiness that wafts in and out among the other aromas.

The flavor is sweet and toasty-woody, and much milder than I would have expected. No sharp edges. I sort of understand the note that likened this to cannabis, though I am not really getting more than a hint of that. I do get some peach, though I wouldn’t call it juicy.

Second steep, 20 sec. A little darker all around. The liquor is closer to amber, the floral (lily of the valley? lilac?) is deeper and more polleny, the smokiness more prevalent amid the roastiness. Some stone fruit, woody pit notes.

Third steep, 25 sec. Interesting. The sugar and the stonefruit finally came together for me in this steep and I am definitely getting peach in the aroma. And in the flavor, too, though not as strongly. Also, a nutty note. Ashmanra said walnuts. Yep, that’s what I get, too!

Fourth steep, 30 sec. I am looking at the list of flavors I’ve identified so far and am realizing how complex this tea is. It’s still going well on the fourth steep, though starting to get that crispness to the flavor that signifies it may be soon giving up the ghost. Still tasty, though.

I am, however, going to stop here because:

(a) I am impatient to get back to binge watching The Wire
(b) I am impatient to move on to the last caffeinated tea of the day
© I am generally impatient
(d) all of the above

Choose your own adventure.

Nice Da Hong Pao but not my favorite one.

Floral nose, then super tasty roasted but un-malted notes. A unique taste.

Recently i became obsessed with WuYi oolongs.
This is a sample i bought fr H&S couple months ago. The tea is expensive so i decided to rather try small sample. I was a bit disappointed ,its was only 5.4g in a packet and at least 1g of it just dust. Boo
alright, 5.4g 100ml gaiwan 195F
rinse/ short steeps
the tea is complex. Sweet, spicy, roast, charcoal, some floral in the background and raw walnuts. maybe a hint of dried apricots but its masked because of heavy charcoal. I did enjoyed it. i dont think i would buy it because i just not in love with it.
So far I really like Tao Tea Leaf version.

http://instagram.com/p/tlXiI0BwjC/

I just read the entry on Da Hong Pao (Big Red Robe) in The Harney & Sons Guide to Tea. I concur that this is more the “old style” of oolong, which is probably why I don’t like it nearly as much as the greener, less-oxidized oolongs I’ve been drinking of late. For years, I shunned oolong because it made me feel queasy. My concept of the genre was exhausted by the highly oxidized, dark-roasted kind, and I probably only tried inexpensive, low-grade varieties (filterbags and restaurant tea), so I knew nothing about the broader oolong horizons.

The flavor of this tea is very toasty and cooked, not fresh and creamy. Yet it is not as dark and rich as a full-fledged black tea.

Fortunately, this Da Hong Pao from Harney & Sons did not make me feel sick, but I won’t order it again, now that my sample is exhausted. This is probably very good, for what it is, but it’s not really my style.

A chacun son goût…

I got a sample of this to try since I am new to tea.

It tasted earthy and vegetaly to me. I did not taste any peach as stated on the website.

So this is the first tasting note form the steepster select October box. I was so excited that I quickly grabbed the gaiwan and heated some water. Warmed the gaiwan and proceed. It has a very nice amber color. Rght off the back I catch the fruitiness from the smell. When tasting it a little nuttiness came through, but mostly the fruit took center stage. Nice;)

A very good quality Oolong and a pleasure to drink. I did however find the first steep a little too woody but it is only very marginal. This tea is definitely worth a sample.

A super oolong tea, everything about it oozes quality.