Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Tea Valley
Product Description:
A “Jin Jiang” (gold award) winner in the prestigious 2008 Wuyi Mountain People’s Choice Tea Competition, this Da Hong Pao is nothing short of excellent.
The aroma of the Jin Jiang Da Ho Pao can be described as roasted and smoky; a tease of the tea’s true potential. A pour of boiling water reveals a delightfully sweet aroma that will permeates through its immediate surroundings. The brew delivers a full body flavor with the perfect balance of sweetness and bitterness. One sip and it is obvious why this is such a prized Da Hong Pao.
While the Jin Jiang Da Hong Pao’s flavors remain complex, the brew is more temperate compared to the Dao Tian Da Hong Pao; a characteristic that is more commonly preferred.
Taster’s Review:
This is a really lovely Da Hong Pao – lots of flavor! It’s actually fairly mild to some of the Da Hong Pao teas I’ve tried in the past, but it still has the distinct flavors I look for in this type of Oolong.
What I like about this Oolong, in particular, is that the smoky tone is not as dominate as in other Da Hong Pao. For those of you who are familiar with my tea writings, you know that smoky tones are not always my favorite quality about a tea. I like that while the smoky tones are indeed a part of this cup, they are not as powerful as I might have expected.
The sip begins with a hint of smoke hitting my palate, along with a subtle sweetness that it brings. The tea has an intense amount of flavor, with a woodsy flavor in the background. The smokiness and woodsy tones give this tea a very rustic kind of taste.
The sweetness is very nice, with hints of flower and roasted fruit. There is a hint of spice and even the softest sour note that comes in about mid-sip, a very subtle hint but it’s there, offering contrast to the sweetness and giving this tea a very well-rounded, palate-pleasing kind of flavor.
It has a flavor to it that is very autumnal to me, with the roasted, smoky tones and warm fruit notes.
Tea Valley is a wonderful tea company that started out right about the same time that we – the SororiTea Sisters – started this blog. I remember perusing their website back then, and I must say that they’ve come a long way since then, adding some great new teas along the way.
