Zhu Rong Yunnan Black

First tasting note
It is an odd occasion that this tea information was posted today May 23, 2012 and the tea arrived at my home today also, and today is my Birthday “64”! It was meant to be.

With the rain pouring down outside and a day that was going to be spent alone with no plans, the arrival of my Verdant tea was extra joyful. David (the owner of Verdant) put a little something extra inside my shipment besides the regular sample for me to try which brought a tear to my eye. The kindness of strangers as they say. More and more the people I encounter on Steepster, and several tea providers, are less like strangers and are individuals that I care about. Thank you!

I was determined NOT to do a complicated long review of this tea.
I followed the instructions on the Verdant site for Western Style preparation because it was later in the day when my tea arrived. Using Spring water I could count on a great pot of tea.

My first flavor impression was Chocolate. A big, then bigger, then huge mouthful of chocolate at first… followed by what I imagined was pecan pound cake. (Now I think the cake was not made with wheat flour but potato. I know…that sounds crazy.) The tea wasn’t vanilla, yam, cinnamon or malty tasting like so many other popular black tea’s. This was fruity (but not discernable as to what fruit) and clean. I hunted for some acid or tannin…but couldn’t find any. The smoothness was creamy and rich. The difference between this black tea and others was…well…this was like an expensive satin covered down comforter and the others are wool blankets, rough and kind of thin. Everything in a cup like liquid, shimmering amber gold.

I let the tea cool down. It was so good plain. Straight up it was sweet, genteel and smooth with NO acid at all! The finish was creamy and I am in love with it!

I love this tea! I really am amazed! This is the first Black Tea of any kind that I can and would drink straight up without sugar or cream always! I love the Laoshan Black but I think it’s a tie here. This is so mellow!

Second Steep Still amazing! I forgot to say that when I stuck my nose way down into the cup I was reminded of the fruity scent of wine inside the barrels at Fortino’s Winery where I worked one Summer but without sourness and just the sweet dry wine. The wine produced in that area of California was like liquid sunshine. Ripe sunkissed berries. That’s the fruit somewhere in the scent.
The flavor of this tea has no sourness either, but now I taste that distant berry. I feel the cedar and pepper on the front of my tongue but not at the finish so the smoothness is still good. Chocolate delight. Naked!
Third Steeping I’m not going into the flavor that much. I has all the same qualities that it had before. Such a strong leaf! What I have found at this point is another dimension. One that I stumbled upon because I had an Artist friend that cooked a fantastic dinner served outdoors in the evening served by candlelight. The end of the meal was followed by fine cigars and an aged, expensive Port. Here’s the part I want to share. This tea has the essense of fine cigars and port about it. A taste, scent…something.
There I’ve done it. I can’t explain why. See for yourself. I’m putting it out for you to tell me if I’m right or wrong! Because of this brilliance, I’ve upped the rating! I could not help myself!

My latest order from Verdant arrived and no, I do not need any more caffeine today but I couldn’t resist this anyway. mwa ha ha! By the way, thanks to David for answering my anxiety ridden e-mail about where my order was. I am paranoid because the mail person leaves our office packages in an unsecured location.

I read other people’s tasting notes and I wasn’t sure how to make this but in the end I decided I would have it Western style today and gong-fu it at home.

The aroma of the wet leaves is definitely malty and peppery! I’ve heard about this peppery quality before but have never experienced it myself.

The first cup I steeped for 3.5 minutes which may have been too long (because my cup is very dark), but this is pretty tasty. My first impression is of a slightly bittersweet chocolate, it’s very rich and full. I am getting the fruity element as well that others have remarked on. I can see why Verdant likens this to a lightly roasted coffee because I feel the same way about it, except it isn’t bitter like coffee can be. In the finish I’ve gotten a bit of tannin and peppery element which then slowly is transformed into sweetness, how odd. I am hoping the tannin will decrease with a shorter steeping time.

I decided to do a second steep for 2 minutes and got a medium reddish brown cup, so this is probably closer to what it should be. Definitely a rich and smooth cuppa. With the shorter steeping time I am getting more fruity notes and more sweetness in the finish, which I kinda like (okay, I am a wimp). Now it’s a bit more like caramel. Someone just commented that my tea smells like tobacco. Interesting… complex and full of flavors. Perhaps a tad bit heavy on the tannins for yours truly but we’ll see what happens when I gong fu this. :)

Verdant Tea included this as a free sample with my last order… I’m really happy I got this opportunity to try it – it’s really, really good!

I’ve infused these leaves twice now. The first infusion brought a strong introduction of chocolate-y notes that were evident not just in the flavor but also the aroma. The aroma also smelled like freshly roasted coffee. Our local Costco has a coffee roasting station in the store, and when we go there we can smell the coffee roasting. It smells so good … almost good enough for me to want to try it, however, the sick feeling I’d feel a few hours later certainly aren’t worth that moment of weakness.

The taste reminds me a bit of one of those espresso infused chocolate bars. After a couple of sips, I noticed the yunnan peppery notes emerging. With the second infusion, those peppery notes morphed into more of a fruity, hot-pepper taste rather than a black peppercorn kind of taste. It isn’t spicy, but it is warmly spiced.

Really, really good. Thanks, Verdant Tea, for the sample!!!

Well I just got in from out of town and I have been inundated with tea! Samples from Teavivre and Fong Mong, and my order from Verdant. I didn’t really know where to start. I did order the Golden Fleece from Verdant but I didn’t want to dive into that one just yet. I decided I wanted to go for a black tea, western steep, from Verdant, and I chose this one. As I’ve mentioned before I’ve been getting into Chinese black teas lately, so I was already intrigued by this tea. Then I also read about it’s namesake and I can’t resist a dagger-wielding warrior woman, so that clinched the order.

The dry leaves are very nice looking, dark with golden streaks, spindley and curly. I can’t smell the dry leaf too well but what I do get smells nice grainy and malty. I steeped exactly according to the instructions on the website for this tea (western style). It smells heavenly. Dark chocolate, molasses, grains, malt, and there’s almost a spiciness that tingles in your nostrils when you take a deep sniff, like sniffing cayenne pepper.

The first part of the sip is sweet, almost honeyed, with chocolate notes that kind of shift from a sweeter chocolate at the beginning to a much darker chocolate toward the end. The flavors that build in the latter part of the sip are rougher, less refined than the first flavors. These are a little bit of wood, a little bit of smoke even that tingles in my mouth. Not smoky even like a keemun is smoky, but more the faintest whisp of smoke or maybe like the woody notes are a little charred. As it cools those flavors toward the end of the sip become stronger, making the whole thing a little prickly in the mouthfeel.

I enjoy this tea a lot, but I have a feeling I will enjoy the other black teas I bought from Verdant more. We shall see! It has a rough quality about it that I’ve found in other fine black teas; it doesn’t really keep me from enjoying the tea, but it’s not my favorite character in black teas, at least at this point.

What I like about this tea is that it is perfect for any season!
This has the chocolaty notes and cake like notes perfect for fall and winter.
It also has light berry notes perfect for spring and summer!
Its warm but with a light lifting mouthfeel!
Its not one to coat your mouth in flavor but has a lingering essence that stays with you reminding you of the goodness you just encountered!
I even like it cooled which I do not usually find with this flavor profile! I believe it is due to those lighter berry like notes!

These soft twisted downy black tea leaves are long and slender, with a coloring that is just as wonderful as the cup – dark chocolate and coppery caramel, intertwined together. It’s hard to get past the beauty of the dry leaves, but truthfully the brew is just as grand. Let me say before moving on, the prominent aroma from the dry leaves is of shaved dark chocolate – slightly drier, chocolate dust in smell.

The leaves seem to unify in color during and after the infusion. The liquid is full bodied and carries the cocoa aroma to a creamier molasses taste as you finish the sip. The tea seems to hold out very nicely during each of the steepings.

I started with a longer western steep time on the first infusion, then switched to Gung Fu method for a few cups, then back to western. Now looking back, I should have started Gung Fu, then switched to western to get the best take on how the tea really develops. Nonetheless, I’m pretty sure that I enjoy a little longer steep time on this one, in order to get a little bit of the drier astringency feel to the mouth. At least that’s which way I prefer at the moment.

This is a great tea and it certainly speaks for itself. One you must try to fully appreciate it.

I found some black tea in my numerous unsampled sample pouches from Verdant! I have high hopes for the company that turned me on to black tea!

First, the fuzzy little curls of dried leaf were beautiful and cute at the same time. The smell made me swoon. So chocolatey! I never really believed it when people would say a tea was chocolatey, but now I am a believer!

My first impression of this brew is a chocolatey dark roasted oolong. There are sweet honeyed notes along with the roasty autumnal flavor I usually get from dark oolongs. Then there’s a subtle taste of dark chocolate. The end of the sip is a bit bitter. It’s not ideal but it’s also not bad. In between sips, as you let the lingering flavors play over your tongue, you get a sense of wood chips, like for a campfire. And there’s the slightly hint of astringency. I’m thinking I probably should have used cooler water, though I think the website recommended boiling. Maybe less time.

In any case, this tea is delicious! It’s a cross between a dark roasted oolong and my new love, Loashan Black. Tasty!

As it cools, I’m getting more of an oolong taste than a black tea taste. Love that lingering dark chocolate flavor. :)

Steep 2! Used cooler water and then forgot about it for about 10 minutes. doh! But the resulting tea is magnificent! Lots of dark chocolate notes and something fruity like blueberry jam. No astringency this time. :)

Aroma of dry leaves: sweet and creamy chocolate
Wet leaves: tangy cocoa, leather, coffee

Taste: very malty and woody; beer-like. Tangy/pointy orange peel, more beer, soft cocoa, hint of cream
Aftertaste: orange peel, cloves

Additional flavours in later steeps: cloves Version 2.0, pepper finish… so much pepper. This isn’t chai? Burnt wood

Awesomeness level: pretty awesome.

Can CrowKettle handle the manly power of this tea? Nope

Objective level of this note: going down with each additional word

Prevailing thought while sipping: where did the chocolate go??

The Zhu Rong has been a wonderful companion. It came to us almost by surprise. We had gone back and forth with Weiwei and Wang Yanxin about different Dian Hong samples, and then suddenly, 15 pounds of this arrived at our doorstep with our last shipment. We were so glad to have it.

The stock has been dwindling each day, now slightly less than a pound. At first I was not going to attempt reordering this one. Some things are best left to chance, and trying to reproduce the serendipity of happenstance is not always best. But people have loved this so thoroughly, and Geoffrey has been concernedly been asking me how we would replace this when it ran out. I gave in and talked with Weiwei about finding more.

When our last shipment came yesterday, I thought this would be a simple restock. Alas, it is not the case. There is no more of the current Zhu Rong. One pound, and then it’s done. But do not despair, an equally serendipitous treasure arrived in our shipment in the Zhu Rong’s place. It is another Dian Hong with more golden buds, but very similar savory spicy flavors. It is like a cross between the Zhu Rong and the Golden Fleece or Jin Jun Mei. I love it. The tea is so exciting to have.

On Friday August 24th, at 12 noon CST, the current Zhu Rong will be discontinued and replaced by the incredible new tea, which will be named in honor of the first edition Zhu Rong. There are 12 pounds total on this edition.

The drawback of working with such small scale farmers and businesses in China is how little the editions I can bring in are. They sell out so fast! The beautiful thing is being exposed to so many nuanced complexities from so many different angles. Here’s to all the wonderful things that tea can be, and to many more wonderful harvests.

This was one of the teas in my tea of the month package for May. I thought I’d give it a go while i was at work today. I tend to love Yunnan Black teas and this one sounded interesting to boot. I was not expecting to be blown away by a tea, but I was. This tea is very bold and savory… may be in love. I must add it made my snickers bar taste out of this world too. ;) Kudos to David and his team for this find that is going to cause me to place another order in under two weeks.

This was my good morning cup. Dark and full flavored. I too can see how it can be oversteeped. I love the 5 minute steep. It was awakening. The empty cup aroma was sublime. Totally unique. The second cup was better than the first. I could be wrong but I am getting a coffee flavor. This tea is delicious and I am thoroughly enjoying it. This tea is one of many black teas I have been sampling lately for my coffee replacement. I must add that this was not purchased as a sample. I know from my fellow Steepsterites reviews and Verdants history that this was a must have. And I am glad to have it.

First of all – the name of this tea is awesome and empowering. I love strong woman characters – pair them with tea and I’m passionate.

Short steeps in the gong fu teapot.

The first steeping was so sweet! Wow – it took me by surprise and brought a smile to my face after a long day of visiting with the inlaws (they’re here all week) AND I had a very important job interview today – have to figure out how to rearrange my life from jobless blogging to 40 hours a week, 9-5 super stressful job (if I get the job). So that’s where I was before i took the first sip. Afterwards was just a goofy grin, sipping the syrupy fruit/chocolate notes out of the first steep.

2nd & third steep – super savoury. It changed way more than I expected – but I’m definitely getting a well seasoned, thinly cut potato – fried crispy. I’m even getting the sensation in my chest of when I eat potatoes – a filling and satisfying feeling with an earthy, but savoury aftertaste. Homemade kettle chips! It really hits home and now I have all sorts of kitchen memories.
Oh at the end of the sip there’s a hint of sweetness in the 3rd steep – it almost tingles and when I breathe in with my mouth open it feels so refreshed! Like after chewing a piece of mint gum – but no mint flavour. Just the sensation.

On to more steeps :)

(My rating is based on the fact that Yunnan Blacks aren’t my favourite flavour profile right now – but this tea is so nuanced and full of surprises that is it by far the best I’ve tried so far! A great experience.)

This is one of those teas that would be great for drinking on a stormy night. It’s flavor is toasty and deep with notes of dark chocolate. There’s a little bit of a tang to it on the aftertaste, and it almost seems a little bit acidic (but in a pleasant way). I also get little hints of pepper like in Verdant’s description. I am loving this tea. It’s so “dark” tasting and complex, it’s the kind of tea that gets you a little buzzed purely off of the excitement of having such a great cup available to you. This is tied with the Golden Fleece for my second favorite tea I’ve tried from Verdant, right behind the Cornfields Shu.

So the Golden Fleece is the only black I’ve actually purchased from Verdant (aside from a sample of Yunnan Golden Buds in the budset tasting kit); the rest are generous 2-3 cup samples provided by David Duckler with my orders. I really love getting to choose my samples – it allows me to try the teas I’m so curious about without gambling on a whole ounce which I may end up having to give away, or end up never finishing.

The first infusion of this one is smooth and dark, with a definite roasted, chocolatey sort of flavour. No real astringency or bitterness, although in comparison to the Laoshan Black, there is a touch, but ONLY because Laoshan Black is unbelievably smooth. The aftertaste here is of rich cocoa, which is… amazing. I feel like I could almost get my chocolate fix simply from drinking this tea and savouring the aftertaste!! I’ll admit – for whatever reason, I’m liking this one more as it cools (it’s at room temp now), because the cocoa notes are stronger. Although there’s a hint of sweetness, it’s definitely nothing like Golden Fleece.

(More notes to come on subsequent infusions.)

ETA: Second infusion (boiling/a bit longer than 3 minutes) was a little strong for me, perhaps because I reduced the water a touch (although it filled my teapot, so that doesn’t actually make sense). Either way, it wasn’t an astringency issue, simply it was just overwhelming, and I’m not in the mood for that tonight. So milk and sugar it is. And seriously?? This actually tastes like hot chocolate! The aftertaste is so cocoa-y. I want to feed this to someone and ask them what they think it is.

ETA again: Third infusion (boiling/3min) is pretty good, but although I drank some straight Laoshan Black tonight, I’m not in the mood for straight blacks, so milk and sugar again. I think I overdid it a touch with the milk though, as the tea wasn’t too strong this time, but it’s good and still cocoa-y. I feel like I might be able to get a fourth infusion out of the leaves as well, but that’s likely it.

I made myself a breakfast of scrambled eggs with a side of leftover Ratatouille, which probably sounds strange, but is really quite good.
I haven’t taken a single bite.

While I was cooking, I opened the sample I got from Verdant of this tea & breathed in German Chocolate Cake! I ignored all instructions (rebel without a clue), & brewed 2 t @ 3 min. Oh my God…so dark…so deep…I smelled sandalwood, but briefly, then molasses, & through all of that, chocolate, a deep dark chocolate bar from somewhere exotic.

I have issues with impulse control, so I drank part of the first cup by dipping out one bamboo spoonful after another, blowing until it was cool enough to sip…chocolate expresso with a hint of pepper…once the cup was cool enough, I savored every sip, swirling it around in my mouth like a wine sampling guy…reluctant to swallow because it just feels & tastes so good!

I’m in love with this tea! I need to send an email to David Duckler, requesting that he add some of this to my order, due to be shipped out soon. I got a sample of this with my last order, & I want more!

“Please, sir, I want some more.”

For the first person to guess the source of that quote, I’ll send a free copy of my xmas CD, “MidWinter’s Canon”, which is a 60 minute medley of Holiday music, lullabies, Canon in D, & some other things, all blended with a mix of classical, new age, & sort of jazzy flavors. More info @ www.harpsinger.net/Terri_Langerak/Midwinters_Canon.html *

Oh, & MsWhatsit, you’re not allowed to enter this contest, since you’re my sister & you already have a copy! Although I know that you know the answer :D

This isn’t a full tasting note, I’ll have to come back and write down all the notes in this, but I have to remember just how much I loved this.
It was rich, the leaves were fresh and wonderful with incredible life. The brewed tea was engaging and smooth and really perfect.
I drank this watching the third presidential debate, so I really wasn’t focused on the tea, but it was wonderful, I plan on being decadent and making this my everyday morning tea for a while :)

Mmmmm this tea is really nice. I’m not sure that it usurps my love of laoshan black but I am really enjoying running through the steepings of this one. The first steeping was a wonderful chocolatey mess of delicious. Not sweet chocolate but a mute cocoa type chocolate without the bitter. Mmmmmmmm!

WHAM! “Hi there.”

That’s the sort of introduction this tea gives you. Seriously.

I received this generous sample from the lovely WifeyWoman. I have a soft spot for Yunnan hong cha…but this is no soft tea. It’s a full-flavored, woody, malty, peppery kick in the face. And, by golly, this morning I needed that. Way more full-bodied than the average Dian Hong, and not as nuanced as a Yunnan Jin Cha, this occupies a Midgard populated only by manly teas.

Love this tea. This tea was the reason why I put in my last order to Verdant. I picked this up with the Golden Fleece. I must say this tea really got me thinking. It is robust, but not. To me it is not as in your face as you might think. I have had 3 sessions with this tea, and the one word that keeps coming up is…buttery. Will have to get more of this.

Once again Verdant tea comes through with a tea that is truly a step above most other tea companies. Now that I’ve tried a number of companies there does seem to be an taste aesthetic to each one. This may be due to their resident buyer/taste tester or owner preferences. Verdant seems to find teas with a whole lot of depth in them. Every tea seems to be like an onion, rich in layers.

The Zhu Rong Yunnan is another fine “deep” tea. And when I say deep I mean its like diving into a very large pool, every time I take a sip I get subtle taste variations. The first time I steeped this western style I did it for 3 minutes which turned it very bitter and ashy. But the second time I did shorter steeps of about a minute and this seemed to bring out the perfect amount. The smell is malty and caramel, there is an almost an element of fine aged whiskey (without the burning aftertaste). The taste is like mexican hot chocolate which then fades into a stronger cooking chocolate taste. I can also taste the hint of cayenne pepper. This tea has a wonderful soupiness but it never gets harsh or bitter.