Red Robe

I believe this is the last sample I got from the puriTea that I have yet to try. I love the fact that the samples come in mini tins instead of plastic bags because I will reuse the tins or they can at least be recycled.

Red robes are one of my favorite teas for the winter time. This is a nice example of a wuyi roasted oolong. I am getting flavors of charcoal, cocoa, raisins and toasted barley. It’s comforting and somehow warming. Not the best RR I have ever had but still really enjoyable with a stone fruit after taste. This would be a great tea to cozy up with on a rainy day with a good book.

I’m surprised I am the first to log this one, too!

Dry leaves somewhat smell like Cocoa. Yum.
Post infusion liquid smell is slightly smokey or maybe roasted would be a better fit. Almost like roasted pumpkin seeds, perhaps.

It tastes roasted and a bit like nuts or seeds. I will agree that the end of the sip and after taste are sweet…this amazes me! It’s like a HAPPY ENDING tea. YAY!

I’ve had this sample for awhile but I have never wanted to try it. Partially because I have no idea why I ordered it, as it doesn’t seem like something I’d care for. Well, time to find out if that’s true or a dumb assumption.

It smells very much like cedar chips. And tastes like them. And a roasted pumpkin. I’m not sure I am a fan of it because it has so much going on. Every sip there’s something new. Now it’s cedar chips, roasted pumpkin, and mineral water. I can’t say I am a fan of that combination of flavors.

It was probably a stretch for me to like an oolong this dark. It’s intriguing, but it’s not for me. But it was worth a try. I’ll probably swap the rest.

Okay this is the only tea from The Traveling Tea Box I am using all the leaves up on. It really was only enough for one serving, but ironically it is the one I would be the most likely to keep if there was more. I love Big Red Robe, namely Verdant’s but this measures up pretty well and it is much better than Adagio’s. It’s got the nice mineral sweetness, roastyness and woodsyness with a hint of cassia, caramel and cocoa. I have steeped this around 5 times today, but I really need to move on to another tea so I can get the box on its way tomorrow. Yum!

Steep Information:
Amount: 5.8g
Water: 750ml 180°F
Tool: Breville One-Touch Tea Maker BTM800XL
Steep Time: 4 minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: chocolate
Steeped Tea Smell: chocolate
Flavor: bakey, lightly vegetal, smooth, a little malty
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: sweet
Liquor: translucent light orange brown

Resteep: 5 min, 750ml 180°F
The same, but fuller

Did not have time for a third steep.

Delicious oolong, not as loved as I love my Zealong, but a nice runner up.

Pictures: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/12/thepuritea-loose-leaf-oolong-tea-red.html

First impression…WOW! It is full of flavor and sweet at the end of the sip. I felt like it was woody and earthy but not at all in a grassy way. It is way more bolder than that. This is another spectrum of earthy tastes we don’t normally get in teas and I am certainly going to have to pick some of this up. I am truly happy I got to try this.

It seems like the Wuyi oolongs do not excite me very much. This is definitely better than an average wuyi though. The initial note I get is roasted rice, but then some flowery sweetness kicks in. Okay for a nice afternoon but ultimately nothing to write home about.

This is a good tea, but I really don’t like it very much. I know, that sounds like a contradiction. I admire the roasted, chestnut, smooth and sweet flavors in this tea — it has notes of honey and something else sweet that I can’t quite identify. But I really don’t want to spend a lot of time drinking this. I prefer flavors that are a bit more robust or in your face. That’s not to say this tea is weak or flavorless — far from it. It’s just that something in its flavor profile isn’t quite to my preference.

This tea has dark leaves (practically black) and reminds me quite a bit of Golden Moon Honey Orchid. So if you like that, I think you will like this.

Another oolong from RachanaC (A.K.A. Rachel)!

This tea looks particularly cool… the leaves are long and rolled up like stems.

This tastes very toasted. I agree with what others have said about this tasting like toasted pumpkin seeds. It reminds me of that very much. I’m starting to get a feel for what oolongs taste like, thanks to this. Warm, nutty, and pleasant. Would be good with breakfast as a mellow alternative to a kick-in-the-face black tea.

oo.. this is lovely. For whatever reason, I’ve been afraid to try Reb Robe oolongs, and I’ve had this sample for a while. So I finally tried it, and it’s lovely. Toasty. Caramel overtones, and a bit astringent. I could drink a lot of this. :)