If pu-erhs don’t suit your taste but you are looking for some of the same unique medicinal characteristics and timelessness (becomes better with age) then you should try out a Da Hong Pao, also known as Big Red Robe.
From the first time I tried it many years ago to now it has remained one of my favorite teas. It is a darker roasted oolong with lovely attributes. When the liquid first hits your tongue roasty and toasty notes flourish. Then subtly sweet plum and floral accents, almost jasmine in essence.
If you are having trouble deciphering these flavors make sure to steep between two to three minutes and swish it in your mouth a few times. I found this tea company while on the prowl for my favorite maple syrup (Faxon Farms, so amazing).
The owners truly know their tea and when I told them what I like to drink they immediately recommended Da Hong Pao. I will be a repeat customer for sure.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Great Tea Road Company
Description:
Da Hong Pao still grows in traditional, small-scale tea gardens, and each spring the farmers still climb the hills to implore the tea god to bring new shoots. It’s the combination of rock and water that gives Da Hong Pao its rich flavor. The rain that pours off the sheer rock walls, flowing down narrow streams and pretty waterfalls, becomes imbued with minerals, which then impart their goodness to the tea. A legends has sprung up around the original Da Hong Pao trees, which still perch precariously on a cliff face not far from the monastery.
What Da Hong Pao taste like? This is a medium charcoal roasting oolong. It gives a flavor of red dates and purple plums and slightly roasted with light floral / fruity aroma. It is clean finished and clear, medium-amber colored liquor.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Da Hong Pao from Teasenz
I really adore the whole gamut of Big Red Robe teas, from the sweet ones to the smokey and robust ones.
These twisted black leaves with only a few golden brown ones mixed in attest that this will be one of the roasty ones.
I tried this yesterday with Chocolate Silk Pound Cake, strawberries, and freshly whipped cream. It was fantastic with food, with a nutty flavor like dry walnut skin contrasted with a light underlying sweetness. I didn’t pick up on smoke as much as nuttiness.
Today I had a cup by itself, and was surprised to find that it tastes much smokier on its own, bordering on a mild Lapsang. (This is a Lapsang loving household!) The smoke was really front and center, whereas yesterday walnut predominated.
Both days I noticed a light drying effect which was nice with cake as its clears the palate. I really want to try it iced as well. I think it would be great!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy :Teasenz
Description:
Enjoy a sophisticated, complex flavour with woody roast, aroma of orchid flowers, finished with subtle caramelised sweetness. Up to eight steeps when applying Chinese kungfu brewing as you can expect from a true Wuyi rock tea.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Da Hong Pao from Cha Ceremony
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Cha Ceremony
Tea Description:
This tea is medium roasted with a subtle earthy, mineral taste, it possesses fruity notes along with a distinct crispness that is unique to rock grown tea such as this offering.
Depending on how you prepare it the tea will take on different notes, we urge you to experiment and take your time enjoying each infusion.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Cha Ceremony is a new company founded by one of our Steepster friends, Marcus Reed. Cha Ceremony specializes in rock grown oolong, also known as yancha. Marcus’s vision for Cha Ceremony is full what he calls a niche market by providing quality tea with great customer service. I think he is on the right track. .
My first tea I am trying from Cha Ceremony is a Da Hong Pao. This tea is beautiful to look at. The long leaves really give this tea a gorgeous presentation. I steeped this up in my teapot and sat down at the table to get to “business”.
This tea was fabulous and so giving. My first infusion was sweet with a mineral like finish. Very smooth and slightly roasted. Very rich and full bodied. I could have drank this tea all night if the flavors would have stayed in this vein. I really really liked it. The different flavor profiles contrasted with each other providing this gorgeous balanced flavor that I just can’t get over. I haven’t had a tea like this in a long time.
My second infusion so still just as gorgeous but there was more of an earthly flavor and -the roasted flavor a bit less. The contrasting flavors still there, all just a bit more subtle.
Third infusion, so fantastic. Earthly roasted goodness. Just heaven. Hints of sweetness creeping back in and this time there are more fruity notes instead of just being sweet.
After the third infusion, I decided to try this as a cold brew so we will see what I am greeted with in the morning. I’m sure this tea would have given more, but it was bedtime and I had my herbal tea still to drink for the night to help relax me.
For my first foray into the world of Cha Ceremony, I’m a happy camper. I want to dive more into what Marcus has to offer and really spend time with his teas.
Pomegranate Da Hong Pao Oolong Tea from 52Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
“According to legend, the mother of a Ming Dynasty emperor was cured of an illness by a certain tea, and that emperor sent great red robes to clothe the four bushes from which that tea originated. Three of these original bushes, growing on a rock on Mount Wuyi and reportedly dates back to the Song Dynasty, still survive today and are highly venerated.”
Da Hong Pao is a Wuyi Oolong that has been known to sell for $1,250,000 per kilogram. Ours is infused with delicious organic pomegranate flavor and blended with real freeze-dried pomegranate arils. Thankfully it’s not anywhere near $1.25-million, but we do have only a limited supply.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Hmm … an interesting tea, this Pomegranate Da Hong Pao Oolong Tea from 52Teas! I wasn’t too sure what to think of it, given that Da Hong Pao is not my favorite when it comes to Oolong. I love Pomegranate … but, Da Hong Pao is one of those Oolong teas that I can take or leave … and sometimes, I’d much rather leave it. I’ve come across some Big Red Robe Oolong teas that I’m just not too fond of … while others I’ve liked alright. Some I’ve actually really enjoyed. But, none of them will ever compete for the place that Oolong teas like Ali Shan have in my heart.
But, because I do love Pomegranate, I decided to give this one a shot to see how well the flavors of Big Red Robe meld with the tart and tangy notes of pomegranate. And I like it.
Again, it’s not my favorite VIT (Very Important Tea) from 52Teas – but I guess they can’t all be my favorites. But it is certainly enjoyable. And I’m finding that as it cools, I’m enjoying it more. The fruitier qualities of the Oolong are starting to emerge now, and these unite quite nicely with the pomegranate notes.
The hints of smoky tones from the Big Red Robe add a really interesting element to the cup as well. I like the way this mingles with the pomegranate. The sip starts with a sweet, caramel-y undertone, and then I notice the notes of earth and smoke. The tangy notes of pomegranate begin to reveal themselves, and then as the sip comes to an end, I notice a sort of “charred wood” kind of taste and a mineral note that is quite interesting. I find the layers of flavor here to be very compelling. The aftertaste is sweet and slightly smoky, with a tart “tingle” that tickles the tip of the tongue. (How’s that for a tongue twister? I think even my fingertips got a little tongue tied!)
Overall, I am enjoying this cuppa. Not my favorite 52Teas blend … but certainly not a disappointment either – on the contrary, I’m enjoying this much more than I expected to! As I write this review, I see that there are only eleven pouches of this one left, and it is certainly worth a try – so you better hurry and grab yours while you can!
Organic Big Red Robe Oolong from Boutique Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Boutique Teas
Tea Description:
Legend says this tea restored the health of a Ming dynasty official, who in gratitude honored the tea bushes by leaving his red cape behind as protection. Produced in the famous Fujian province, Big Red Robe grows on the rocky cliffs in Fujian, China. This rare oolong tea brews a unique woodsy character with fruity muscatel notes that can be steeped multiple times.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Oolong is one of my favorite types of tea (second only to yellow tea), although, as I’m sure most of you are already aware, not all Oolong teas are created equal, so it is perhaps needless to say that I like some Oolong teas better than others.
Big Red Robe Oolong teas are not my favorite, but I’ve grown to appreciate them more than I once did. This Organic Big Red Robe Oolong form Boutique Teas is one of the nicest that I’ve tried … I think that had I tried this Da Hong Pao Oolong the first time I tried one, I probably would have embraced it immediately! This is really good!
There are hints of fruit notes in this tea that are reminiscent of plum and peach and grape which give the cup a pleasing sweetness. I can even taste the faintest hints of muscatel which took me totally by surprise! These fruit notes mingle with a strong woodsy tone that is slightly smoky, but what I like about this particular Big Red Robe Oolong is that the smoky note is on the subtle side, tasting slightly more like charcoal than smoke.
There is a mineral-y like taste that arrives on the palate toward the finish. This is definitely what I’d call a masculine tea, but it has a smoothness to it … like a sophisticated, charming gentleman.
This is the kind of tea that you want to infuse multiple times, and just sit back and relax as you allow the flavors to play upon your palate. I find that the flavor becomes even more enjoyable with the subsequent infusions … my favorite were the fifth and sixth infusions, which I combined into one cup. The flavor was sweeter, and possessed less of the smoky earthiness of the earlier infusions. Those first infusions were good … but the subsequent infusions were great!