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“I’ve had two sessions with this tea so far, the second with double the amount of tea. A 1g:1oz ratio felt a little more restrained than I typically enjoy, surprisingly, though I did enjoy what I...” Read full tasting note
Each year, a portion of our winter harvest Tung Ting is set aside to be roasted to a greater degree than most Formosa oolongs. The process darkens the tea to create a rich and sweet tea that is smooth and fragrant.
The sweetness of our winter crop Tung Ting from an area near Lugu, Nantou County is the perfect foundation for a more concentrated roast. The slow roasting gradually caramelizes the natural sugars in the tea and sweetens it, while the high heat imparts a depth and complexity to its flavor and aroma. We detect notes of burnt caramel, toffee and brown sugar in this tea.origin Nantou County, Taiwan
craft qing xiang, roasted
flavor notes toffee, brown sugar
Brewing Guide on website
https://redblossomtea.com/products/tung-ting-dark-roast?variant=31627522564
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I’ve had two sessions with this tea so far, the second with double the amount of tea.
A 1g:1oz ratio felt a little more restrained than I typically enjoy, surprisingly, though I did enjoy what I found… the first steep gave up some floral notes and banana, apricot. The next steep defined the florality a little more… lilac, maybe? Found a delightful caramel nose in the third go, with wood (Kukicha stems), caramel, and smoke notes through the next few steeps. Watered out more quickly than I expected.
For my next steep, I upped the ratio to 2g of tea per 1oz of water. I don’t generally like to be heavy handed, but I am so so glad I did this — the profile really came alive and I didn’t feel like I was searching through (literal) water to get my bearings.
First steep: custard, floral, banana. Deeper and sweeter flavors came out in the second steep — pecans up front, followed by leaves, smoke, maple… letting it cool a bit brought out some minerality and melon.
The same general flavors presented throughout this session, but they all had more character and nuance than their wispy session one ghosts. This is still a pretty subtle oolong; fruit, some light tannins, and a return to the floral profile rounded out the last few steeps before I was back in watery soup land.
I’d like to compare this to Red Blossom’s Tung Ting Charcoal Roast, especially in terms of subtlety, although as I write this it’s not available on their website. I also have their “regular” Tung Ting waiting for me, so I’m looking forward to trying that as a reference point, too.
Flavors: Apricot, Caramel, Custard, Dry Leaves, Floral, Lilac, Maple, Melon, Mineral, Smoke, Stems, Wood
