13 Years Aged Da Hong Pao Rock Oolong

Seems to me that this oolong has a more elusive taste than “lower quality” dark oolongs. The smell and aromas are reminding me of tobacco and smoke which pairs great with the savory soup.

It has some roasted and chocolate tastes, but nothing too strong. Slightly bitter at times. It almost tastes a tad medicinal, but not in a bad way. There’s faint sweetness on the first steep, but not after that.

It is actually 14 years old. From Derk. Thank you, it was lovely!

I wasn’t sure how much leaf I should use. I took all from derk, 6 grams per my gaiwan of 85 ml. Maybe too strong, huh.

But it wasn’t! It brought wonderful tastes as: ash (it was somehow nice), indeed bit alkaline as derk suggests, but as well fruity ones: stonefruits and mostly red fruits – I would say raspberry, but mostly just their seeds.

I am impressed, as I have expected some really odd flavour profile, but instead it is certainly nice one. It is roasted, bit smoky, but all mellowed with sweet fruit notes I wrote earlier about.

I wasn’t precise with brewing, just I have done a quick rinse, let the humidity enter the leaves (I had to put clothes on drying racks), then steeps which started like 10 seconds long, but they become longer and longer, by 10 seconds each I guess. And while drinking fourth – I just let the next ones steeped for some, unspecific, time frame. It was 60-120 seconds, just when I thought it is enough, I finished that steep.

All were great, but I think that around third one was greatest, those mineral, ash, roasty notes were faint, berry notes were strong as well the stonefruits.

I don’t know how to rate it. Nice one, interesting one, tasty one. Some off notes for me there, mostly first sips were really ashy (even though in lovely way), so not 100 from me, but I guess 89 will be for this tea good rating.

Another go at this oldie, this time as a digestive following a dinner of homemade Thai red curry. The alkaline flavor and ashy taste of this aged da hong pao were definitely muted after eating such a flavorful dish. I enjoyed the profile of the tea better following my meal versus having it on an empty stomach/clean palate. I still can’t seem to pull more than 4-5 (if I include the rinse) worthwhile infusions; like an oolong that’s given up a bit of its youthful essence with each trial by fire, I also don’t exactly possess the vigor that I once did. Can’t fault the tea for that. There is still a mellow strength to this tea.

Book pairing: Simply Thai Cooking by Wandee Young and Byron Ayanoglu
These recipes are excellent for restaurant-style Thai without being drowned in sugar, salt and oil.

(from my tasting notes 7/7/19)

It’s starts off with & sweet (light) smokey taste a roasted malt flavor hinting at dark chocolate with a touch of bitterness that doesn’t last long. It’s slightly earthy with tinges of oak, and has that touch of minerality that oolongs sometimes possess. This what happens if you take a roasted oolong and it had sex with an aged Puerh. (This is probably due to the multiple roastings over the course of its lifetime)

This tea is velvety smooth, complex, and the cha Qi goes straight to my head. I’m so glad I had this as an after dinner drink instead of on a partially empty stomach!

Brewing notes. CZGF style.
5g tea at 208 F at 30 seconds increasing by 10 seconds every steep until 1 minute.
Then an additional minute after than until 4 minutes.

Before I begin it should note this tea is now 13 years old and can be found on the website as such. I’m not sure how to entirely feel about this tea it was interesting for the short session it provides invoking a complex mix of sweetness, bitterness and earthy tones on the palate. The session lasted 3 solid steeps after that it diminished fast. I’ll add that I threw in 2 teaspoons of cocoa shells because I felt it would mix well at steep 5 and it gave it a bit more life. For next time I’ll probably throw it in on steep one. It defiantly adds to the flavor profile well.

So can I recommend it? If your ok with a short session, yes. If your like me and drink tea for hours on end throughout the day, no.

Very interesting, as it’s more complex than your usual roasty and toasty wuyi tea. Notes of sandalwood, chocolate and berries ; under the chocolatey flavors, the tea is actually quite juicy. The tea holds up many infusions.

This tea was harvested in 2006, so it’s 13 years old now. It was a bold, strong roasty-toasty aroma. The roasted flavor is hard to describe because it’s strong roasted flavor but not campfire like nor charcoal-y. It’s an embracing roasted flavor, and yet they mention the 5 years one they have even more of that taste. How can that be? This was so toasty and full, all-encompassing and had subtle sweet fruit notes. The roasted flavor was the star but it wasn’t the only player. It has lots of mineral rock sweetness, some dark cocoa bitterness with dried sweet fruit, blackcurrant, red berries, some unique spices, and yummy roasted almonds. The roasted taste mellowed as the infusions went and the fruitiness and minerals came forward to offer their dance but the toasted flavor never let up, never gave up the stage completely. It is a complex cup of tea, very smooth and delicious. The finish is long lasting, interesting… After the last sip, I can still smell the toasty fragrance, a stonefruit exhale through my nose… Or is that roasted currant? It’s kind of like jams or jellies on the exhale. The smooth liquor coming in, the roasted almonds and dried fruits on the exhale, and then the curious feeling on my tongue. As Togo mentioned, a powdery feeling.

Yixing pot, 8g, 212°F, 130ml, rinse, 11 steeps: 10s, 15s, 20s, 25s, 35s, 45s, 55s, 1m5s, 1m15s, 1m30s, 2m.

Ohhhh wow I love Da Hong Pao and I had some different ones from different vendors in the last few weeks but this one tastes like the holy grail to me
Vanilla, whiskey barrel, some hints of cigars mixed with peaches

This is a very interesting and unique experience for me. The dry leaves smell is quite pungent and has some marzipan, almond. On the other hand , in the wet leaf aroma I found some fire, wet earth and dry wood notes. This is a rich, smooth and full bodied tea with quite a lot of complexity. The taste is mostly sweet and mineral, but it has some deep coffee like roastiness, savoury notes like fish broth, light cocoa bitterness, anise & cinnamon spiciness and acidity in the background. In the protracted aftertaste, similar qualitites are present, but motly the sweet bitter, spicy and roasty dominate (in that order). The mouthfeel is velvety, mouth-watering and slightly powdery and dry in the finish.

I just wish the tea would last longer than the ~8 infusions I can get out of it. However, given the price and how strong the flavour is, that’s probably unreasonable to expect.