Da Hong Pao (Big Red Robe) Wuyi Rock Oolong Tea Fujian

_{Tea provided by Teavivre for review}

Sniffing inside the tea pouch, I’m picking up on charcoal, some sweet scent and raisins.

First through fourth steeps were pretty good. The flavours suggested by the dry leaf scent were accurate. There was also a hint of chocolate in those steeps.

Continuing on for another two, the fifth and sixth steeps were pretty light but enjoyable.

Overall I liked it, but the liquor seemed to be lacking enough depth. Maybe I’m just being picky. Like I said though, it’s still a very enjoyable tea to drink. I’ll prepare this western style the next time I use more of this sample.

100ml gaiwan, 1 sample pouch (5g?), rinse and 6 steeps (as directed on their website: 25s, 40s,60s, 80s, 1m40s, 2m20s)

Thank you to Angel and Teavivre for this delicious sample!!
My samples came today, yaaaaaay! This is the first one I picked out to try. It smells amazing, both the dry leaf and the brewed tea. I thought the leaves smelled rather chocolatey, but the brewed tea aroma reminds me distinctly of honey on a warm, soft freshly baked roll. I am currently on the third steep and it still smells this way.
Taste is roasty and sweet. I really like it, and I’m super glad I picked this one first. Another one to put on the shopping list!

Back at school and reunited with part of my tea collection, hooray! I spent most of my summer helping my family move to another state, then going abroad on an excavation. So, for most of the summer, I’ve been mostly internet-less and tea-less. Other than that, though, it’s been an amazing summer!

Anyway, I decided to kick off another semester of tea drinking/reviewing with an oolong, since I seem to really like oolongs. I may be a bit out of practise with tea tasting/reviewing, heh. Hope I get back into the swing of this quickly. Thanks for this sample, Angel and Teavivre!

Upon opening the pouch, I could already smell some roastiness with the dry leaves. I brewed this in a mug, with short steep times.

1st steep: Very strong, toasted scent. Hint of sweetness, almost as if there was some type of honey in there.

2nd steep: Toastedness fading a bit, now with more chocolatey hints. Still some honeylike sweetness of sorts.

3rd steep: Still a slightly toasty flavour. Chocolate has disappeared, and it’s more mineral-y. Dry aftertaste. I can’t pick up on anything else though, possibly because I just got back from being caught in the rain without an umbrella and my nose is being odd.

Overall, a pleasant oolong. I might consider having some of my suitemates try this, especially since they tend to find most unflavoured/unsweetened teas to taste like hot water.

This is the second of the two oolongs from teavivre from my recent batch. The leaves of this one are a little on the greener side, but still dark. I’m guessing this is not as oxidized as the Oriental Beauty, but more than a Tie Gwan Yin. It smells very tea like, more like a black tea, again probably because of the level of oxidation.

Brewed, this tea has a lovely golden reddish brown, lighter and clearer than most blacks, I think. Upon first (very hot) sip, I noticed it was a bit more astringent than the Oriental Beauty. It was a little tart, or sour…not necessarily in a bad way. This could just be my brewing. I did add some sugar to sweeten, though there is still that tart taste. I have not added any milk, even though this is dark enough to carry it. I’m not really getting much sweet or floral with this. It is possible that I’m just not feeling great lately, and I’m just not feeling it with the stuff I have have been having lately…my buds could be off. I will definitely be giving this another brew, and will try with and without sweetener, though I pretty much always add it once I’ve tried it plain.

Unless this is my brewing, I’m going to say that I like this, but not as much as the Oriental Beauty. Thanks again to Angel for sending this one to me. It proves that I still like dark over light oolongs, but that I like light oolongs over green.

I’ve found that oolong tea has one of the most diverse flavors among any type of tea. My favorite oolong is light and slightly peachy. This one is stronger, with a toasty roasty scent and flavor. It has less of a peachy flavor and more of a floral scent and flavor. It sort of reminds me of a lighter genmaicha. I’ll be drinking this whenever I want a stronger oolong. Another great thing about oolongs is they taste the same with multiple infusions. Check out teavivre.com for generous FREE samples! They are amazing!

Mmm I do like my wuyi rock tea! This is no different, roasted slightly smokey oolong. I only got two infusions out of this cause I had it at work…might try a third for the fun of it now and see if there is anything left. I am hoping to do a side by side comparisons of my wuyi rock teas one day soon, but until then I do enjoy this tea.

ETA: third steep it’s still going strong! Taste: more floral less toasty.

First site of the leaves: they seem to be very well rolled with a great mineral aroma. First steeping is pretty much what I expected. It’s definitely recognizable as an oolong because even though it’s got a lot of flavor, it’s never overpowering. Very good, clean rocky aftertaste and I’ve found that after a while it tends to dry your mouth out. My first Da Hong Pao, but I doubt my last. Thank you Teavivre!

I love the aroma as this tea steeps. It smells fresh and earthy, like walking through a forest after a rain. The flavor is also earthy, but my tea vocabulary is too lacking to describe the tea well- I’ll leave the description to more experienced members. The tea’s aroma is so prominent that it is a true part of the drinking experience- I love it.

(This sample was generously provide to me by Teavivre. Thank you Angel and the whole Teavivre Team.)
Dry Leaf: The aromas I got with this tea was a toasty or maybe smokey scent with a nice sweetness in there too.
Wet Leaf: There was that warm toasty sweet aroma that was still there.
Liquor: This tea is dark in color like a brownish red color.
Taste: This tea has a roasted taste with some sweetness to it but there is also a tart or tangy maybe even a sour aspect to this tea that gets you from the middle of your mouth to the back of your mouth. That taste does linger a bit. I find it very nice. There is also a smoothness to this tea also. Also, I did notice with each steeping and with the tea getting cooler that floral aspect would come out also.
My Score / Over All Opinion: 92, I have not had a lot of experience with this type of tea but found it to be very nice. I would also have to say anyone that enjoys dan cong tea i think will like this too in my humble opinion.

This tea arrived today promptly from Teavivre. Brewed in an ‘inginuiTea’ grandpa style. 30 seconds, 1 min. 2 min.

Dry: faint aroma of smoky fall leaves. sweetness

First: 30 sec. Smooth. Slightly green flavor. Sweet. slightly smokey. Dry finish. Faint aroma of sugar caramelizing in the distance.

Second: 1 min. Considerably better flavor. Smoother yet. Green flavor gone, as sweet. Faint smokiness. Very clean flavor.

Third: 2 min. Aroma of almost caramel corn, smoky. Smmoooth. very similar to the second. Good.

Really a nice tea. Recently into Oolong teas. I fell in love with Phoenix Dan Cong and thought I’d try this one. Not a disappointment.
Very good quality tea. Super smooth and clean taste.

Footnote: This tea really lasts. I brewed it 7-8 times and it kept me alert for a long day. The taste remains nearly equal to the third brewing. amazing

Oh, I like this tea. But for me it is not floral, it is sweet and fruity. I can’t stop thinking about the tasty cake with apricot pieces in it while drinking and smelling this oolong. Very nice for everyday drinking and it is great for black tea lovers as well.

I received this as a sample and was my first foray into the Oolongs.
The dark leaves steeped to a golden red liquor
Round and very floral, sweet, smooth with no bitterness and a velvety aftertaste.

I got this tea and my colleagues were all super excited about trying it out. I mean, who wouldn’t want to get a taste of some Da Hong Pao, the tea of the imperial courts which cured an emperor?

With that expectation, this tea fell flat – don’t get me wrong, the tea was not bad. It just wasn’t great. The liquor was a bright reddish, and the taste was earthly and mellow. The aftertaste was not sweet and very mild.

Brewed gongfu style in yixing pot. Brew times: 30s, 1m, 2m, 3m.

My gustatory sense is somewhat dulled, as I am battling a cold. Perhaps that is why I don’t taste the delicate aromas others have noted, such as chocolate, fruits and flowers. I find this tea pleasant, slightly tart, earthy. It is a good, flavourful oolong. I will be trying this one more often.