Big Red Robe - Premium Grade Light Roast

I forgot I had this sample until I went digging around in my stash the other day – anyway thanks for this one Garret!

I don’t believe I’ve ever had a light roast red robe before so I was eager to try this one out this morning. I used my xiying teapot that I have reserved especially for wuyi oolongs. This is how you know you have fully entered the realm of tea nerd-dom! lol.

My first two steeps of this were very light. I only used a pinch of tea but the teapot is pretty small, about 6 oz. After a quick rinse, My first two steeps were around 30 seconds. I got a very light yellow colored infusion. The flavor of the tea reminds me of peaches, with a light mineral quality and just a tinge of roastyness from the charcoal. It is very delicate compared to the darker roasted red robes (or da hong pao).

Steep #3. I have noticed now that the wet leaves smell absolutely incredible, like roasted fruit. I decided to go for a steep of 1 minute. The infusion is still very light but the longer steep seems to have brought out a sweeter, thicker flavor in the tea. Compared to the photo on Mandala’s website my tea liquor is still fairly light and does have a bit more of a floral quality than a darker red robe. Still not sure I used enough leaf.

Steep #4 – 3 minutes. This is my favorite infusion so far. More fruit notes coming up in the tea. Lots of minerality in this one which seems a bit earthy and almost sparkling.

This is a really nice tea, I think I may prefer the darker red robes, or maybe that is just what I am used to? I will definitely use more leaf the next time I try the experiment. This was neat, I’m glad I got to expand my horizons a bit. :)

Just to be clear my package reads: Big Red Robe Supreme Grade Light Roast Oolong Tea, the title for this tea on here says Premium grade. I apologize if I am posting this in the wrong place, but seemed close enough to me.

I am often in awe when I read other steepster reviews that include detailed tasting notes of each steep, and the subtle changes in flavor that occur between the different steeps of a tea. I am no where near educated enough, have a refined palate enough, nor have the vocabulary to be able to provide one of those reviews. I have come to the realization that I am as much about “how a tea makes me feel” as I am about “how it tastes”.

I’ve been exploring the world of oolongs lately and have tried a few of them. Some of them are “green” – I think grassy (some say floral – I don’t get that) and maybe a bit veggie ish. Others are “dark” and are more toasty, nutty, with some being almost metalic (?). I’ve decided that I like the “dark” ones better.

I’m currently drinking my third steep of this tea and the leaves are not completely unfurled yet. I don’t think I have time to give this tea the number of steeps that it deserves. :(( This is the best example of a “dark” oolong that I’ve tried. There is no doubt in my mind that this is a quality tea. I just don’t think it’s dark enough. This almost seems like it’a halfway between a green and a dark. Maybe that’s the “light roast” part of it? Like I said I’m not experienced enough to know if that’s a fair assessment, but that’s how I feel. It’s not “grassy or veggy ish” it’s more roasty and nutty, but light and delicate. It’s smooth and soothing, gentle and pleasing. This is for sure one of the best oolongs that I’ve drank, I just wish it were a bit more…. Bit more what? Woody? Not sure… I really like this, I just think maybe I didn’t choose wisely for my tastes (yeah like I know what my tastes are), I’ve ordered the fancy grade dark roast version of this. :)) Maybe that will be my PERFECT oolong, but until then, I am quite happy with this, and will certainly enjoy the package that I have.

As always, thank you Mandala for providing me with an excellent tea to spend my evening with.

[Edit: Garret, the owner of Mandala Tea, has looked into the questions I raised in this tasting note. His supplier has assured him that the tea is indeed from the Da Hong Pao bush, but light-roasted in a style that is similar to the one typically used for Dan Cong oolongs. This clarifies the similarity I mention experiencing between this Da Hong Pao and Mi Lan Dan Cong. See the attached comments for additional detail.]

This came as a sample with my order from Mandala. I was excited to try it as my yixing teapot is dedicated to Big Red Robe. I had waited until a couple of my tea friends were over, and we brewed this up as the fourth or fifth tea of the evening. As it happens we had just finished drinking a lackluster Mi Lan Dan Cong (Honey Fragrance Phoenix Mountain Oolong), and when the first infusion of this Big Red Robe was brewed up the most peculiar thing happened… One of my tea friends tasted it and exclaimed, “This tea tastes like it actually is what that Mi Lan Dan Cong was trying to be.”

I then tasted it myself. What!? Wait a minute, I thought, what is this? This tea, labelled and sold as a “light roast” Da Hong Pao, bore an uncanny resemblance to Mi Lan Dan Cong in its flavor, in its fragrance, and in the look of the leaves (when we compared the samples side by side). Could it have been a miscommunication? If we hadn’t just tried another Mi Lan Dan Cong immediately beforehand, I might never have noticed.

If it really is a Mi Lan Dan Cong, rather than a Da Hong Pao, I think it’s a pretty good quality one. This was unambiguously better than the Mi Lan Dan Cong oolong I tried from Asha, and also another Mi Lan Dan Cong oolong my friends brought over to try. The sample I tried from Goldfish Tea still wins out over this one, but I’d definitely be happy to drink this tea from Mandala any time. It’s really nice!

But now, let me leave a qualification on this…. If the tea in question really is a “Light Roast” Big Red Robe, I’m kind of perplexed. The leaves are smaller, the characteristic smoky/roasted flavor at the beginning is absent, and it’s just far from what one would generally expect from Big Red Robe. The only kinship this tea has with Big Red Robe that I can draw on is a fruitiness in it’s profile that bears some resemblance to the fruit notes in a Qilan Big Red Robe I’ve tried, which was the best example of this kind of tea I’ve ever tried. This tea from Mandala and that Qilan Big Red Robe aren’t in the same league at all, but it’s the only reference point for similarity I can draw. It makes much more sense to me that Mandala’s “Light Roast” Big Red Robe is actually a pretty good Mi Lan Dan Cong.

Anyway… maybe this will be cleared up at some point. Good tea, but made for some curious head scratching. [Addendum: In light of the insight that this tea is indeed Da Hong Pao, I am interested in trying it again and re-assessing it with that knowledge at some point.]

I’m a huge fan of darker oolongs as I like the toasty flavor. This one, however, feels, much greener and lighter. I quite like it because it’s full-bodied and has smooth sweetness to it. Next time I’ll try the darker version.
Every time I visit Mandala Tea or Butiki or other smaller vendor websites I have all this new vision for their brands. And yes, in my imagination it all looks fantastic, I just can’t help myself :)

This is also backlogging…from a couple of weeks ago.
My first Big Red Robe, and a free sample that Garret so kindly included in the box with my new yixing teapot. (It’s beautiful, by the way! I haven’t decided what to dedicate it to yet, but I’m thinking an oolong of some sort.) This is a perfect tea morning…
Anyway, I’m figuring out gongfu style, so I decided to try that too. Steeped 1.5 tsp in a little 4 oz ceramic cup that I just got from an artist friend, rinsed the leaves for about 10 sec, poured out the water, holding the leaves back with a fork (because I’m classy). I started the 1st steeping below with 30 sec, about 205 degree water, and added about 10 sec each steep.
1st steeping: I’m getting a mineral-y quality here…very smooth, with a hint of metallic texture.
2nd steeping: Mmm. Wow. This is sweet and smooth, and I taste something that I can only describe as caramel. This is delicious…can’t wait for the next steeping.
I’m not ready to rate it yet, but I’ll try it again to familiarize myself with it better so I can accurately rate it. Very nice!