Tuesday, December 7, 2021

Tea Review: Rou Gui (TeaSource)

Rou Gui
TeaSource
Type: Oolong
Origin: China
Product Description:
These amazing, large, hand-made leaves have a slight caramel/toasty aroma and deliver a cup that is very complex and evolves as it steeps.
Temperature: 195° F
Amount: 3 grams
Steeping Time: 3 minutes

The dry leaves have an aroma of seared wood, nuts, nut shells, sweet oats, and a hint of cinnamon.

The copper-orange infusion has a pungent roasty aroma with notes of caramelized fruit, sweet spice (cinnamon and more), and something that reminded me of papaya or guava.  The taste is rich, roasty, and almost savory with notes of chestnuts and something herbaceous and a chestnut and fruit finish.  

This is a delicious oolong, which should come as no surprise since I've never met a Rou Gui I didn't like.  A 3-minute initial steep worked well for the purposes of this western-style tasting session with longer subsequent steepings bringing out more flavor.  Meanwhile, a 30 second initial steeping works very well for gongfucha preparation, followed by increased time with each new steep.  On a more personal tasting note, something in the flavor reminded me of the baked persimmons that were served as dessert at a restaurant in Kyoto, a happy memory.  

This tea was purchased by me.





No comments:

Post a Comment