Zhu Rong Yunnan Black

Tea type
Black Tea
Ingredients
Chinese Black Tea
Flavors
Apricot, Caramel, Dark Chocolate, Wet Moss, Yams, Nuts, Nutty, Honey, Malt, Mineral, Smoke, Cedar, Creamy, Floral, Lemon, Peppercorn, Sugarcane, Cocoa, Earth, Sweet, Burnt, Cinnamon, Roasted, Brown Sugar, Chocolate, Cream, Lemon Zest, Marzipan, Nutmeg, Orange, Pine, Roasted Nuts, Toast, Vanilla, Wheat, Cacao, Dark Bittersweet, Campfire, Fruity, Milk, Plum, Umami, Wet Earth, Whiskey, Wood, Grain, Sweet Potatoes, Raisins, Tobacco, Marshmallow, Spicy, Bread, Yeast, Citrus, Berries, Coffee, Molasses, Graham Cracker, Muscatel
Sold in
Loose Leaf
Caffeine
Not available
Certification
Vegan
Edit tea info Last updated by CHAroma
Average preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 2 min, 0 sec 5 g 15 oz / 454 ml

Currently unavailable

We don't know when or if this item will be available.

From Our Community

1 Image

78 Want it Want it

  • +63

83 Own it Own it

  • +68

276 Tasting Notes View all

From Verdant Tea

The aroma of this intensely rich Yunnan black is immediately reminiscent of one of our favorite chocolate’s of all time: the Rogue Chocolatier Hispaniola bar, made with a tangy and nuanced cacao from the Dominican Republic. Imagine a fine dark chocolate melted down and infused with hibiscus. That is the aroma of this tea. It is so rich and fruity it even reminds us of a fine, light roasted coffee.

The flavor is so full bodied it evokes the wafting smoke from the smoldering cedar wood embers of a long-extinguished fire. This mouthfeel is followed up by an engaging tart and warming quality. Clove and orange peel assert themselves with the woody cedar flavor. Later steepings yield to an unexpected savory flavor like thick-cut kettle chips and cayenne pepper. The potato flavor grows into a burdock root aftertaste.

Note: This tea is named after Lady Zhu Rong, the dagger wielding warrior queen of Yunnan who was descended from the god of Fire. The elegance and power of this tea compelled us to evoke her Kingdom of Dian, the “barbarian” south before it was conquered by China and called Yunnan.

About Verdant Tea View company

Company description not available.

276 Tasting Notes

75
350 tasting notes

5g sample into 100ml gaiwan, using 90-100C water. A couple 15sec steeps, then a few 30sec, then a few 1min, now I’m at 1.5min and it’s still going strong. Strong roasty notes with a sweet finish, especially in the early steepings – like a dark roasted oolong. Quite a bit of bright, acidity, reminiscent of fruit or citrus. I can definitely see the comparison to a lightly roasted coffee there. Gotta say, I much prefer my coffee dark roasted because I don’t usually like that acidity, so this isn’t my favourite of Verdant’s blacks. Later steepings are less sweet and more malty. Overal it’s not very chocolatey for me, though I can see the comparison to a fruity dark chocolate .

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

78
1792 tasting notes

Morning cup because I realized that I really need to work on some of these older teas, especially straight blacks, in order to make room for the straight blacks I’m getting in from Teavivre. Keep the line moving, yo.

Starch and sweeter wood notes from this one. I like but I’m not completely blown away.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

100
121 tasting notes

I know I promised I’d try my WP teas over the weekend/today, but as I got a basket-full of this amazing black tea going on Friday (before my parcel arrived, I should add), I couldn’t bring myself to waste it just to move on and try new stuff.

The tea lasted wonderfully over the whole weekend – it gave me a good four or five hearty 300ml mugs of delicious, chocolatey, malty tea. It makes me glad that I gambled and bought that initial two ounces – it has been worth every penny! Though I won’t be immediately reordering, that’s just because I want to keep my spiralling cupboard under control. It’s definitely gone right to the top of my ‘teas to remember’ list and will certainly be something I look to get again in future :D

It also makes me very excited to try that extremely unusual sounding “Yunnan Bouquet” blend that Verdant sent with November’s tea of the month club. I can’t quite imagine how a mixture of this amazing tea and the equally amazing Yunnan Jasmine would work together. Still, I guess that’s one for later in the week…!

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

85
3986 tasting notes

This was my randomly chosen black tea of the morning! This sample came from scribbles. I’ve been curious about this one and Yu Lu Yan Cha (which she also sent a sample of!) for a while now, mostly because I’ve been generally impressed with Verdant’s offerings and black teas are definitely my favorites. The leaves of this tea are large buds, mostly golden with some grey spots. Dry scent is very sweet honey with malt. I steeped about 1.5 teaspoons of leaf for 3 minutes at 200 degrees.

Yum, aroma! There’s malt and soft homemade wheat bread with honey butter over the top. Then there are also sugarcane and milk chocolate scents. This is definitely a deeper flavored Yunnan tea. The main taste I get is dark wheat bread and malt, and there’s something almost roasty about it that reminds me of coffee. There’s a bit of sweetness, maybe from molasses. Then there’s a touch of chocolate and an interesting fruity quality (especially near the end) that reminds me of berries. A robust Yunnan tea!

Flavors: Berries, Bread, Cocoa, Coffee, Malt, Molasses, Roasted

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 3 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

88
737 tasting notes

Had this one again yesterday. Oversteeped it a few minutes on accident. xD So wasn’t the best cup, but still could taste the graham cracker and bready-ness.
Next time hopefully I won’t drink it as bitter-haha!

The Cookie Lady

Ooooo graham cracker? That sounds exciting!

Ost

I ordered more of this one…well pre-ordered. If it’s a good batch I’ll send ya some (:

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

95
694 tasting notes

WP order and Verdant tea in one week! Yeah I am sipping on some pretty awesome cups these days. I honestly have no idea how I decided on what to to order for the spring pre-order but I ended up with 2oz of this. I am so glad I did. This is really yummy. I am enjoying this cup with a post work out treat of lemon Noosa yoghurt. If you have never had Noosa you need to. Like this tea it is amazing. I get the malt, i get sweet potato, I get a brightness like I do with some Yunnan’s but this is not enough to make me question this tea, it blends in well with the malty-iness of the tea. I really am enjoying this cup.

MzPriss

Isn’t this one great??? <3

TheTeaFairy

Sounds really yummy.

Dexter

(I actually went and looked at the Verdant site when I saw that you had gotten some of this – but I’m too late – it’s sold out…) Happy that you had an amazing tea week. :))

TeaTiff

Man they are sold out already? Your orders will get there soon Dexter and TTF! I hope customs doesn’t keep them too long!

Dexter

The fact that it’s sold out is probably a good thing….

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

93
278 tasting notes

Method: 1.5 tsp, 8 oz, 205 degrees, 45 seconds, Forlife brew in mug strainer & Dr. Who mug

Dry Leaf Aroma: O. M. G. This is positively sublime. See how it made me use a word like “sublime”? It smells like roasty chocolate, malt, and roses. That’s right. Roses.

Brewing Aroma: Very malty, but with a hint of something interesting that I can’t quite place.

Flavor: This is exceptionally lovely. It’s smooth, with just a hint of astringency on the end. It tastes like slowly roasted, light malts with a little floral note. It’s not sweet, but it certainly doesn’t need any sugar. I think it’s an amazing tea. I received a sample from MzPriss (thank you thank you thank you), and I am on my way to buy more NOW.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 45 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML
MzPriss

You are so welcome. I’m glad you love it like I love it

SarsyPie

It’s rare that I place an order for more than an ounce of tea, since I really love sampling a huge variety, but this one was definitely a bulk purchase. Can’t wait to get more. :)

Hillel

Your description makes this seem so up my alley and all of the other reviews rave about it. I wasn’t planning to order more tea this weekend, but oh well…

SarsyPie

I really hope you like it. It was just so darn smooth. I am happy that more of this is on the way!

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

1113 tasting notes

WHOA. I feel like I must’ve tried this one at some point…but I sure don’t remember this taste.

I did NOT expect it to be so fruity! It is REALLY fruity and REALLY malty. Very enjoyable and complex. Lots going on here to keep my interest.

I am pretty sure this sample was from Terri…if so, thank you Terri! :)

MzPriss

I’m deeply in love with this tea.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

100
155 tasting notes

BOOM BOOM! I’m gonna shoot you right down. Right off your feet. Take you home with me. PUT YOU IN MY HOUSE! Haw Haw Haw. Sorry. I can’t stop John Lee Hooker-ing (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSnQ0bdHW0s) over this tea. Boy howdee this is good. There are many teas out there that I like a lot. But I have a pantheon of tea. Mandala’s Special Dark, my necessary shu pu-er, Verdant’s Golden Fleece – the best golden tip black, Whispering Pines Golden Orchid, my favorite black blend, and now – this. It is a genuine pleasure just to stick your nose in the bag and inhale (a quality it shares with Golden Fleece). Deep, rich luscious chocolate. Dark, creamy chocolate.

More on my blog:

http://mizzprissy.wordpress.com/2014/06/17/zhu-rong-yunnan-black-verdant-tea/

Flavors: Chocolate

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 30 sec 3 tsp 16 OZ / 473 ML
SarsyPie

Oh my. Well I need to put this on my wish list, it seems. :)

Whispering Pines Tea Company

Nommmmmy :) I’ve been wanting to try this for a while!

MzPriss

@Brenden – I will send you some to taste…

inranger

Love the musical links Mz

MzPriss

Thanks inranger! This song is an especially good one to wake up to :)

Whispering Pines Tea Company

MzPriss – that would be lovely! :D

Whispering Pines Tea Company

And in that case, I have just switched your sample out to a very very special new tea… :)

Whispering Pines Tea Company

Look what’s ready to ship with your order: http://oi61.tinypic.com/2pobqtv.jpg :)

donkeyteaarrrraugh

oooooh!!! makes me want to order from your company! I love Galdalf…..

Cheri

Ooooh! I wonder what it is. I’m somewhat jealous. I got a pre release version of a tea from Butiki to taste, and that was awesome. I’ll have to be on the lookout for this one, as I’m still on a self imposed tea buying hiatus until the end of the month, at least.

SarsyPie

I came back to check your review after I drank this one, and we totally agree on the chocolate! This tea is amazeballs!

MzPriss

Yes ma’am – this one is extra dreamy. I love the chocolate. I especially love this in the morning after my Special Dark. So glad you liked it :)

SarsyPie

I got excited and wrote my review on the 1st cup. I’m on the 3rd steeping now. Still going strong!

MzPriss

Yeah it’s got nice stamina

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

652 tasting notes

Drank a resteep of this while I was watching the local news coverage this morning about how the RCMP caught the psycho cop killer who shall not be named.

What a relief it’s all over, just knowing he’s not out there anymore and no one else had to die because of this scumbag. Now we focus on the healing of our city and trying to feel safe again.

There’s a vigil tonight for the 3 RCMP officers who lost their lives at the hands of this guy whose name I shall not speak.

But three names I will speak, because these names are important:

Const. Dave Ross
Const. Fabrice Georges Gevaudan
Const. Douglas James Larche

Thank you for protecting our city. May you all rest in peace.

This review wasn’t about the tea, but I don’t think it needed to be.

TheTeaFairy

Thanks for posting this…

Kat_Maria

Okay, this is largely off topic but does your Steepster name have anything to do with this song: http://youtu.be/8cMmCtLLHGg ? Because every time I see it, I hear this song in my head :D Which is great because The Smiths are one of my favorite bands ever.

ohfancythat

Yeah, I was an angsty teen/20 something but the name still stuck :)

mrmopar

+1 and agree totally. Prayers for their families.

mrs.stenhouse12

Thank you for focusing on the brave fallen souls rather than the killer, I feel the media spends far too much time talking about the bad guys and don’t talk enough about the good, happy someone shares my sentiments! And ptayers to all affected <3

MzPriss

So very sorry for those families.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.