Jin Jiang

Tea Information:

Leaf Type: Oolong

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.

liberteas

Anne (aka the Mad Tea Artist) has celebrated her 29th birthday for many years now. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her hubby and her youngest daughter. Her oldest daughter is married and has bestowed Anne with the proud title of "Gramma" and her grandson is about the cutest boy you ever did see. Anne started her journey with tea as a casual drinker and became more serious about her tea drinking when she realized that she couldn't drink coffee. Shortly thereafter, she started becoming obsessed with the beverage and she started creating small-batch, artisan blends of tea that she sold online as LiberTEAS. After a few years, she realized she wasn't cut out to be the sole proprietor of a business so she closed LiberTEAS and started reviewing teas online. She met Jennifer through another blog that they both reviewed for and they decided to start their own review blog. This review blog! Throughout her journey as a tea reviewer, she discovered 52Teas and became enamored with the idea of creating a new tea every week. When the founder of 52Teas decided he wanted to move on, he offered the business to Anne but knowing that she wasn't cut out to be a sole proprietor, she instead offered the company to her oldest daughter who employs her as the Mad Tea Artist for 52Teas!

This post was posted in Oolong