I once again decided to do an experiment with “Grandpa style” brewing, and this time I decided to use my Da Hong Pao. While I had rather lofty expectations after how well my grandpa-style Qi Lan worked out, I was really surprised at how this tea reacted to the alternative method.
The first two “cups” were very dark, with a very pleasing yet strong aroma of nuts and fruit. The taste was also pleasantly nutty, with a subtle roasted flavor that added to the delightful complexity of the tea. The aftertaste of the tea was a typical yancha “mineral” flavor, which was smooth and a touch sweet. Latter infusions resulted in the nutty flavor fading away, leaving behind a mildly sweet tea with a slight mineral aftertaste. The really nice thing about the later infusions is that the tea kept its smoothness, whic resulted in a long and pleasant brewing session.
I ended up drinking 12 cups of tea, but keep in mind that each cup was only 4 of the 6 ounces that were present in the cup. I would day that 8 would be the limit of this tea if brewed in a traditional manner.