After a couple of extremely positive experiences with medium-roasted Dong Ding in February, the chase for higher roast oolong was on. Sadly, this week has brought it to a screeching halt. I really don’t know what to make of Da Hong Pao. I thought a comparison of three low/medium-priced examples would be a nice entry point, but maybe not.
Filling a small gaiwan with lots of leaf and using rapid flashes delivers a few tasty-feely infusions, then the tea seems to die, turning over to basic Honey Nut Cheerios-water. Here’s where I get frustrated. What exactly am I supposed to be tasting for? Is it the vividly textural, potently flavorful infusions that come first, or is there some quality in the later steeps that I’m overlooking?
I usually take an oolong to its absolute end; the teas that impress me the most are those that go on forever, either delivering stellar consistency or revealing some flavor I would have missed had I given up too early. But it’s hard to keep going when after a while there are no remarkable tastes to enjoy, when one tea tastes not much different from another. Perhaps I should be using Yixing for these darker oolongs, not porcelain. Or maybe my brewing methods are off. I really don’t know.
No tea should have to follow that rant, but since it’s the end of the week, unfortunately one does. Today’s Da Hong Pao is from Canton Tea Co. Its organic leaves smelled excellent in the heated gaiwan: rich, spiced dark chocolate, sweet fruits. The first infusion was darkly spicy, with a robust pumpernickel sweetness. The next two steeps tasted strongly of burnt wood, with a sweet and sour finish. As the infusions grew longer I noted toasted grain and a pleasant, lingering finish, but soon after they seemed spent.
For now, I’m going to leave Da Hong Pao with these gentle words: it’s not you, it’s me.
