Wildcrafted Da Hong Pao

Again, thank you Brenden for letting me sample this!

I agree with LuckyMe and HaveTeaWillTravel entirely. It tastes just like a Mi Xiang Dan Cong with a slight Da Hong Pao sweetness. Followed the instructions exactly, and get most of the notes described but in fainter amounts. This could be due to the leaf amount I used, but the same consistencies are there. Chestnut, butter, and a bit of toasted coconut are in the first two steeps at five seconds. Almond is in every one of them including a taste really close to butternut squash. Mineral and oak are more in the next two at 10 and 20. Still almond like with barley and a bit of oak at 25 and 30. 45, I kinda get the white wine he was talking about or a light beer like taste without the sweetness. Oak and mineral are more obvious to me. Finally at 1 min and 30, and about the same but smoother and fuller bodied, yet otherwise very, very mellow.

Well, I quite enjoyed this tea. I’m really picky when it comes to Da Hong Pao because of how certain tastes, like oak or sugar, can dominate the cup. Here, it is incredibly mellow, relaxing, but focusing. I sampled this to see if I would like it enough to get an ounce, but I like the sample amount that I have. Doubtless worth a try to see the variety of forms Da Hong Pao comes in.

More for pickier tea drinkers and supertasters than newer drinkers. Some might like the nutty mellowness of it, or they might be bored. Yet that really needs to be decided after I try it Western.

Normally I’m not one for roasted teas and always underleaf because I find them too unbearable otherwise. Still I find myself being drawn to darker style oolongs lately for winter comfort. Wuyis are a perennial favorite yet it’s hard to find one that doesn’t taste like an ashtray. One of reasons I love this tea is because the delicate roast allows its wonderfully complex flavor to shine through.

The dry leaves in a warmed gaiwan exude an amazing fruity aroma. Wet leaf changes to a deep earthy aroma, like a wet forest after the rain, and produces a beautiful light amber liqueur. My first steep was smooth and rich. Soft roasted body, much lighter than a regular DHP. There’s some earthiness and mineral flavor there but not over the top. I’m getting some sweetness in there too. A very well-balanced cup.

The flavor really begins to pop at the second steep. This one is sweeter, and more mineral. The roastiness has faded as light florals begin to emerge and there is a pleasant honeyed aftertaste. It’s juicy, crisp, and clean. My favorite steep by far.

The next two steeps are fairly similar. The rock sugar sweetness intensifies and the tea flavors becomes clearer. I’m impressed by how full flavored the later steepings were even though it was brewed western style with just a pinch of leaves.

I had a Dan Cong earlier in the day and was struck by how much this tea resembled it with its honeyed sweetness, floral notes, and light roast.

I didn’t think it could get any better than WP’s regular Da Hong Pao but their Wildcrafted varietal is really on another level altogether. This is truly an incredible wuyi oolong and hands down the best I’ve ever had.

This is a nice unique take on the classic DHP. I’m always on the lookout for quality DHP, for there are so many sub-pars out there. However, this was unique and not nearly as roasted as most DHP. I opened the package and revealed some mostly green twisted knots with some darkened spots. I poured these grassy leaves into my Cha He and gave them a whiff. They gave off a light mineral and oak scent. I was picking up some faint roast with grassy tones of ivy. Lastly, I noted some crisp sweetness that lingered in the background. I poured a generous amount in my warmed gaiwan and gave it a shake. The warmed leaves was such a peculiar scent. The leaves gave off this warm buttered squash aroma, along with a light roast. This was such a new and delicious scent! I washed the leaves once and prepared for brewing. The steeped leaves aroma spread in so many different directions. I was picking up warm butternut squash, crisp grassy tones, smooth coconut water, and sweet nectar. This was an extremely aromatic brew. The flavor began as slightly herbaceous and sweet. I was picking up some faint barley and oak. The brew carried a full body with a lot of flavor. The taste was smooth and lasting with a lingering sweetness in the aftertaste. The leaves give the mouth a heavy oily feeling. This brew has a very nice warming qi that circulates throughout the body. I noted some astringency present in later steeping that complimented some pleasantly sour tones. This DHP has a lot of mouth feeling and tongue action. This is a brilliant combination of greener more luscious tones that blend well with the roasted yet sweet flavors. Personally, this is a very nice DHP and is quite a unique take on such a typically roasted brew.

https://www.instagram.com/p/-9MsPkzGUU/?taken-by=haveteawilltravel

OMG! Amazing. This is like drinking silk. It is smooth and creamy. How does tea do that? It has a slight roast to it, in other words slightly less roasty than a few other DHP’s I have had and it is screaming with juicy flavor. I can never pick out the exact fruits, but juicy works for me. I really wanted to try the WP autumn jade and golden lilly so I might just have to order those and more of this. Yum.

Thanks to boychik for this sample! Without your generosity, I would not have known to pick this one up, and now I happily have an ounce all to myself. This tea is awesome. It steeps up with a pretty orange color. It’s roasty and incredibly juicy! The flavor notes are complex, with toasted coconut, peach, and citrus. It’s incredibly aromatic and has a lasting aftertaste. Yum!

Before I review this, I should say that I am just beginning to get familiar with oolongs. I normally find my home in black tea. I am a fan of bold, strong teas.

The first infusion of this leaves me with the feeling that it is a solid and smooth entry into the world of oolong. I am not recognizing any of the flavors (such as barley and coconut) that others seem to have gotten. I am mostly getting a buttery vegetal/minerally type flavor. It is good though. Not too overpowering but not too weak. A nice solid balance.

Second infusion at 2 minutes is a little thinner, not as buttery, and a bit more floral.

Third infusion at 3 minutes. Whoa! The rich buttery scent and flavor comes back. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen it happen where a tea gets weaker upon multiple infusions and then gets stronger again. Impressive.

I think I am going to be a bit more inclined to try some other oolongs after this one. It is a good middle ground between black and green for me.

It’s a good tea. I made it in my gaiwan as god intended. I’ve had a few different da hong paos at this point, and this is definitely the best one. Still, I don’t really think da hong pao has my favorite type of flavor profile. The roasted barley flavor is a bit too much for me. More natural sweetness would balance this out a bit, but I don’t really detect it as others do. I know this is a good one, but I think I’m done trying to like da hong pao. I have a few remaining samples of it that I’ll try, but after that… I don’t dislike it. I just don’t really need it in my life.

Edit: You know, as I drink more infusions of this, I realize that it’s not the barley I dislike, but the oak. I don’t care for oak in my wine or tea, as it turns out. I think that’s what I don’t really like about da hong pao, so if I could find one with no oakiness…

This tea is absolutely incredible, as is every other tea that I have had from Whispering Pines Tea Co.(Golden Orchid, North Winds, and Ailaoshan). I used the recommended tea brewing instructions( 1 Tablespoon, 190degree water, 2minutes) and the first thing that I noticed was the very intoxicating, sweet, caramel, toasted coconut smell. The toasted coconut note really comes out for in the smell of the tea which is the best way to describe the teas smell in my opinion. After all of that smelling my mouth was watering and yearning to taste the sweet nectar from this tea, I knew it was going to be amazing. On the first sip I immediately noticed a very very sweet taste which I have never before noticed in an oolong, much different than the sweetness from leaf hopper bitten oolongs that I know and love. This better, and a lot more intense, imagine a fruit crossed with a flower if that makes sense and you are left with a not overly strong sweet taste. Its very hard to explainable. As soon as the tea hits the tongue it can be described as very floral but then you are hit with the sweetness and once swallowed the taste of the teas sweetness lingers, leaving you wanting another sip of the tea. As of right now this is the best oolong(possibly the best tea in general) that I have ever had. It is an experience that everyone needs to try. Also to let everyone know Whispering Pines Teas are completely handcrafted by one person and the quality of everything that Brenden makes is incomparable to anything else I have tried(Verdant, Butiki, Wild Monk, many NATC winners, and numerous others) Nothing has been better than anything by Whispering Pines Tea Co.

This is a very nicely balanced tea and so very different from the Wuyi Mountain version from Verdant. These leaves, which are a lovely mosaic of dark and green, smell somewhat of toasted marshmallows. The first steep is candy sweet (not honey sweet) and a bit dry, the second steep brings in some grassiness and something woody going on underneath. That wet wood is more pronounced in the third steep, but altogether, it’s even sweeter. It was about tapped out after five steeps, but I’ll try it again with slightly hotter water for later steeps. Definitely a keeper.

All da hong pao seems to have a roasted barley flavor to it. This one is no exception to that. This flavor is not too strong in it. There is a sweet flavor behind this that I don’t know how to describe. It is a good tea overall.

I brewed this once in an 18oz teapot with 190 degree water and 3 tsp leaf for 3 min.