I have been wanting to try a good and authentic Da Hong Pao oolong since I first started this tea-journey. This tea is famous for its unique floral fragrance and its Wuyi rock tea taste. What does that mean, 'rock' taste? As of this writing I still do not know. I had one small experimental steeping last week but decided to hold off until I was better prepared lest I waste the leaves I have.
I decided instead of starting my DHP session tonight, I would spend some time with just the dry leaves. I was immediately impressed by the clean flower aroma and strong sweetness.
I have been told Wuyi rock tea is baked extremely slowly, and only arrives in the marketplace in August of every year. I am told to expect the new Wuyi rock tea to still have a little charcoal in the taste. Just out of the bag all I smell is flowers and cookies. Yes, again with the cookies. I am told by another DHP-loving tea-friend that as the tea breathes under the air, the charcoal aroma will dissipate and the tea’s original taste and aroma will come out.
The leaves are a dark brown and crisp feeling in my fingers, the aroma is natural and fresh with unique ripe fruit fragrances a little different from any other oolongs I have smelled prior.
This is from Wikipedia...
Da Hong Pao (Big Red Robe) is a prestigious Wuyi oolong tea. It is a premium variety of the Wuyi yan cha (武夷岩茶, Wuyi rock tea) group of oolong. According to legend, the mother of a Ming dynasty emperor was cured of an illness by a certain tea, and that emperor sent great red robes to clothe the four bushes from which that tea originated. Three of these original bushes, growing on a rock on the Wuyi mountains and reportedly dating back to the Song dynasty, still survive today and are highly venerated.
Cuttings taken from the original plants have been used to produce similar grades of tea from genetically identical plants. Taste variations produced by processing, differences in the soil, and location of these later generation plants is used to grade the quality of various Da Hong Pao teas. In recent years, a number of companies have invested in preserving the interest in this tea and other so-called "artisan" teas, which typically are of very high quality and have rich histories as is true with Da Hong Pao. These have an initially high cost of production (and typically are only considered authentic when grown in their place of origin), but, as they have quickly become popular in Western countries, prized selections of the tea are available each year, with quality being consistent due to the increased popularity of tea.
Due to its high quality, Da Hong Pao tea is usually reserved for honored guests in China.
Tomorrow I will begin a series of sessions and write-ups about this, my first Big Red Robe! Check back in for more!