Da Hong Pao - Wuyi Oolong Spring 2012

Da Hong Pao (English: Big Red Robe) is by far and away the most famous and revered of the four most famous cultivars/plant varieties (Si Da Ming Cong) from the great category of oolong known as “Wu Yi Yan Cha,” or Wu Yi Rock Teas. It was hand harvested and processed in the Spring season of 2012 inside the Wuyi Shan National Scenic area at an altitude of approximately 800 meters above sea level. The roast was performed traditionally over charcoal for a total of 18-20 hours.
This tea’s dry leaves are the long and twisting shape and dark greenish red-brown color characteristic of traditional Wu Yi Yan Cha. The fragrance of the dry leaves is predominantly of dried fruit and roasted barley…gentle but rich.

The flavor of the thick and almost oily reddish-amber infusion has bittersweet, woodsy and toasted barley or other sweet grain type flavors that are balanced out nicely with interesting fruity elements. The tea flavor is definitely assertive, and the aftertaste is lingering, profoundly woody-sweet and builds steadily in the mouth over a series of infusions.