My previous experience with loose leaf Wulong teas has been limited to Tie Guan Yin and Taiwan teas, but after reading about Da Hong Pao teas I was very curious to try them. Thus JK Tea shop’s free sample was a very nice treat.
I have to say I am now a big Da Hong Pao fan! I followed JK Tea shops brewing instructions, but unfortunately I had to use a glass pot since my Yixing pot broke :(
The dry leaves have a sweet, slightly smoky fragrance that for some strange reason reminds me of brown sugar. Strange, I know…
I steeped the first batch of tea for 25 seconds. The tea came out looking clear, bright and golden-orange. The scent that I originally got from the dry leaves was even stronger coming from the tea itself. It had a sweet, candy-caramel like taste as it first hit my mouth with a veeeerrry slight bitter note at the end.
For the second batch, I steeped it for around 30 seconds and there was less of a sugary fragrance and a little more smoke. The sweet taste became more pronounced and was a good combination with the hint of smoke.
I could smell more of the floral fragrance with the third steep, (around 40 seconds) and a little less of the sweet fragrance. The taste was a little more floral and less sweet.
The succeeding steeps had progressively lighter tastes and fragrances.
Overall, one of the best Wulong teas I’ve had so far, and a nice way to get introduced to Da Hong Pao tea!
