Tasting: Zi Hong Pao Purple Leaf Da Hong Pao
Da Hong Pao is one of the most famous and sought after oolong tea in the world, and is one of my personal favorites. So you can imagine how intrigued I was when I discovered a purple leaf version while picking out purple leaf tea samples. This tea is made of a natural mutation of the Da Hong Pao varietal names #303.
The dry leaf showed similar characteristics normally found in a regular Da Hong Pao. Warm, roasty aromas, with notes of wine grapes, black cherries, summer fruits and a hint of nut. The wet leaf showed more of burnt charcoal aroma with notes of toasted nuts, summer fruits as detected on the wet leaf, dark coco and a hint of smoke.
The tea itself is strong and pungent. Warm comforting flavors of roasted walnut and pecan, with fruity undertones of peach and red plum. The tea finishes with a light delicate floral flavor on the end. The strength of the tea softened and became more mellow with further infusions.
A very nice natural version of the classic oolong. Personally I don’t think it’s as good as the original but hey when is anything ever better then the original? The tea however has a good body and a warm, comforting flavor, and I would recommend it to someone new to roasted oolongs. I think a fair rating, especially in comparison to the original is 3 out of 5 stars.
https://yunnansourcing.com/products/wu-yi-shan-zi-hong-pao-purple-da-hong-pao-oolong-tea-spring-2018
