Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Imperial Tea Garden
Tea Description:
Hunan Red Oolong is a full leaf oolong tea from the Hunan Provence of China that boasts bold toasty notes with full bodied character ending with a light smooth finish. The infusion is red as one would expect from a classic luxury Hunan Red Oolong tea. Steeped in legend and lore, this soft and subtle Hunan Red Oolong provides a unique tea drinking experience that everyone can enjoy.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This is a really unique Oolong, quite unlike any I’ve tried before. That is what I think I love most about Oolong … to take a line from Forrest Gump, they’re like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get! Of course, if you’ve tried one type of Oolong, you’re probably safe to bet that another Oolong of the same type (say, Tie Guan Yin, for example) will taste very similar. But, I’ve discovered that even within the same type of Oolong, there are subtle differences from one tea company to another. (Which actually has more to do with the estates and how it is harvested more than the tea company that sells it).
But, let’s get back to this Hunan Red Oolong. I taste a fruity character, and typically with an Oolong, one would compare it to a peach-like flavor, and while I do detect notes of peach, what it reminds me more of is plum, and perhaps a peach that had been macerated in a fine wine or perhaps a brandy. It is sweet and deep in flavor. Very nice.
There is an earthiness to this as well, in fact, I was about to suggest that this might be something of a love-child created by a Pu-erh and an Oolong, but, the earthiness is not quite that well-defined here. It is as if the Pu-erh would be more of a distant relative rather than a parent. But it does have that smoothness that I associate with a Pu-erh. The earthiness melds nicely with the toasted nutty flavor and light, malty notes that provides the foreground of flavor to this tea.
While I consider this to be a tea that is full of flavor, it does have its nuances to it. It is a tea with lots of flavor but it is more subtle in its approach to deliver those flavors to the palate. It has a nice, soft mouthfeel, and a moderate astringency. Overall a sweet, delicious Oolong – quite lovely!
