Deciphering Da Hong Pao

[@cannibalisticwolf3319]

I need like 59373 updates from this channel daily.

[@MeiLeaf]

Cannibalistic Wolf ummmmm we will try to up the schedule to 2 a week? 😬

[@adamgreenhaus4691]

Thanks so much for this. I've been trying to piece together this crazy story from all kinds of contradicting sources ever since I got into tea! Finally someone puts it all in one place and it makes sense! This is the video I've been waiting for! The Don of Tea does it again!

[@MeiLeaf]

Adam Greenhaus it had to be done and long overdue!

[@annathy]

The smell of the wet leaves reminds me of the hike we took at the caves. Turns to bourbon soaked fruit cake made by the Trappist Monks. Then the smell of sun hot apples and fresh mushrooms outdoors. This cup transports me to freedom in the woods and on the trails. Thank you!

[@42ZaphodB42]

I always smell wild berries and oak, hint of dark chocolate.

[@nekosimp7751]

watched this after buying a semi expensive one from a new tea vendor, and i think from your description i have a real one! Really impressed with the flavour, on the 3rd infusion it starts to go a bit like a tie guan yin which really surprised me (in a good way). I think oolong is my favorite kind of tea now. Great video by the way, really liked the way you told the story, and you can definitely tell you have a passion for tea.

[@nikitayang9920]

I am very impressed Don. As the world often misunderstood Chinese tea, I thank you very much for spreading the knowledge. Great Job!

[@Ambient5oul]

I tried Lost Robe today for the first time. All I can see is wow! A great taste experience. I'm new to tea's and can see why people get excited about the flavours.

[@longboardoli]

Drinking a fake one as I listen to your video ;) Still, it's always enjoyable to drink tea.

[@MeiLeaf]

+Olivier Plante true, can't argue with that one.

[@kinghazzah]

Especially if Don either sold or "gives" you the B batch tea at a reduced price after the seller sends a "fake" instead of the real deal tea he ordered! Love the way you do that and also let the seller know that they didn't get away with it!!!

[@kinghazzah]

It sometimes pays to watch ALL of the You Tube videos!

[@snehalkrishnan618]

How can you tell if it’s fake?

[@tinysmolgame6705]

.... ah dang .. mine tastes kinda fishy... I wonder if it is this fake type

[@Mr_Lee_Watermelon]

Thank you so much for sharing the ancient stories and all your knowledge. I purchased Empress and Lost Robe recently .. really excited about brewing both! .. :) Xx

[@AndrePio473]

+Mei Leaf - Hello from Brazil ! I just discovered your channel right now and I'm in love ! All the informations about Tea. I was thinking of making a channel for the same purpose and you gave me all the motivation I needed! We don't have this type of channel here in brazil ! Thanks a lot for this, and you ear one more fan !!!!!

[@DarrenHuckey]

EXCELLENT video! Thank you so much for the clarification. I couldn’t figure out how people could give away Da Hong Pao if it was so rare. Not only did your video explain this, but it made me crave the Lost Robe! Great job!

[@jaakkokuja]

This was really interesting and informative. Thanks!

[@FPSadict1612038]

Just got this tea in today. Wow! It's everything you describe. You nailed the slate flavor. I was imaging the smell of the slate formations at the river l fish during spawning season. I also purchases some Empress Oolong as well. I suppose I'll have that next session. Thanks for all the great information Don. You are a absolute legend.

[@tc9511]

Thank you so much for this information about Da Hong Pao. I love that tea and it would be a dream to taste some from the mother bushes (if they ever start using those bushes again!). The problem with tea, which you've mentioned in your videos before, is the integrity of teas, for example the age of tea trees, the age of Puerh cakes, the cultivars of certain teas, and the areas from which the teas come, among others. Pulling some inspiration from the wine world here: in Italy, the Italian government puts DOCG certification on the Proseccos that meet it. The European Union also enforces designation of origin for other wines, for example only true Champagne may be labelled Champagne, only true Port wine may be labelled Port, Cognac, Bourbon, etc. I wonder, if maybe some organization (perhaps the Chinese government?) would create a system of certification for teas, including age of trees, plant cultivars, and area of origin. Just a thought; not sure how well this would go, but it would be nice to go off something more than just the word of farmers and other tea companies. Thank you so much for all the videos!!

[@MeiLeaf]

tc9511 yes I agree it would take away a lot of confusion and hype from the market and lead to a much clearer picture of what you are buying. The issues are that it is such a huge area which will be very expensive to set up and I guess that most small farmers will not be able to pay for the certification expenses.

[@wreagfe]

Tried your Empress Oolong yesterday. Mind and taste buds blown. Amazing experience. :)

[@Tasman_Tea]

Nice summary of Da Hong Pao's enigmatic history and an intriguing tasting!

[@realdeal905]

Hey love the videos.....I recently got promoted into R&D at a large tea company that makes/pkgs Dunkin Donuts and Tim Hortons tea blends and found your channel extremely informative.....right now were focusing on pyramid bags and capsules...long story short thanks for the vids keep them comming

[@jgbailar]

Wow. I would love to know what you managed to achieve seeing this comment from 7 years ago! (Working with R&D people in Europe).

[@denisemi]

Great video about Da Hong Pao! I tried the empress oolong for the first time a few weeks ago from my Tea Master Selection gift box and loved it. I'm very anxious to try the Lost Robe as well.

[@WinnydeJong]

Hi! Thanks for publishing all these video's, really informing for new teaheads like myself. I'd love to learn more about how to taste tea's and the SCOPE analysis you do. (I figured that in order to love and learn tea, I should keep track of things.) Could you maybe do a video on this? Thank you in advance! Best, Winny

[@MeiLeaf]

We are working on these videos!

[@anthonytam3315]

From your description of what a Da Hong Pao should really taste like, I am drinking a blended version that gives a pretty good account of itself. Bought this one in Beijing and paid top dollar for it from a tea merchant I usually deal with. Wasn’t able to get too much information about it but my local friends agreed that it was one of the better ones they’ve tasted. Anyway, I’ll get some from you guys when I’m next in London again and just hoping that it’ll be sooner rather than later.

[@OfficiallySarabi]

So glad this video exists. I live in Shanghai and because it's so close to Fuzhou tons of people are selling Da Hong Pao for extremely low prices. I didn't even know selling fake Da Hong Pao was a thing; I must be drinking blend, haha. Either way the blends are nice, but I'm curious as to what a pure Da Hong Pao actually tastes like.

[@grzegorzcichosz8240]

Have you ever drank original milky ulung? Not fake ones with milk aroma but the tea from original bushes with less intense but more stable aroma.

[@MeiLeaf]

+Grzegorz Cichosz yes we sell it and is called Alishan Cream made from Jin Xuan: chinalifeweb.com/shop/product/tea-acoc/

[@Myzenan]

Thank you for sharing the history behind the tea! Really surprised by how complicated a single tea can be. The current da hong pao that I've bought tastes really similar to tie guan yin with that really sweet and flowery taste but with an added bit of chocolate (although the smell is exactly as you described). Is this normal or is my tea a blend of multiple different oolongs like you've said?

[@magetaaaaaa]

I have your lost robe and empress oolongs. The lost robe was very good, and was similar to the last DHP that I had. The empress on the other hand, I found to be quite dialed back in flavor. I got some wood, sour cherry and minerals, but it just seemed to be a lot less than I would have thought. I probably had 3/4 of a 100ml gaiwan full of leaf. Rinse and then 20 second infusion. Seemed kind of low key so I hit it again for 40 seconds, then closer to a minute for the third infusion. By that third infusion, there wasn't much left at all, so I quit the session. I'll have to weigh the leaf next time and try again to be sure, but I think the lost robe is definitely the superior DHP of the two. Unrelated to this video, but I also tried your Alishan cream, and that was possibly the best I've ever had.

[@chrisladouceur4093]

To muddy the waters, I’ve heard there was a more recent study done that tested the original mother bushes, and there were 3 completely different varieties. Supposedly 2 of the bushes were Qi Dan. I’m unsure of what the other two were. So perhaps the original da Hong pao was indeed a blend. This would also mean Qi Dan is definitively a true da Hong pao but only a piece of the full puzzle. It’s too bad we didn’t have more information on how Bei Dou was developed.

[@randellrussell2400]

I just had my first da hong pao. The first brewing in my gaiwon was alright, I wasnt impressed then the second brew was much different. I was blown away by further brewings. I might have brewed 7 or 8 times before it started loosing its potency.

[@chadczternastek]

I love when people say they smell and taste all these different notes. I smell, just i smell tea. Pretty much same tea and the difference smells i cant distinguish the separate notes. Ugh.

[@Servant316]

Great video Don, learnd so much. Don whould you make an Video on gunpowder green tea? Whould love to hear your take on that

[@MeiLeaf]

+ChaChaEMG added to our list of videos. Thanks.

[@Servant316]

Mei Leaf awesome, looking forward to that :-)

[@junweipan2494]

There are only 6 Dahongpao trees left in the world, and the Chinese government has restricted the export of Dahongpao tea due to the decline in production. The current price per catty is 5.2 million RMB (approximately $90,000 per catty). It is recommended that lovers who like to drink Dahongpao go to regular official channels to buy, as cheap ones may be counterfeit.

[@nikitayang9920]

Very clear & well explained!

[@SeattleRowingCoach]

So informative, thank you!!!

[@conrad7429]

Fun to watch when you like a tea you get pretty excited. Burn your fingers hold your earlobes, I thought I was the only one to do that anymore :-)

[@MeiLeaf]

Love that trick!

[@Mephistopheles019]

Have you ever thought about doing a history of teas series? I really enjoyed learning about the history of Da Hong Pao in this video and think you're a great person to do a history of tea X,Y,Z series. Cheers!

[@MeiLeaf]

Yes we will add these to our video lists - the history of tea is fascinating.

[@kkjin1]

Thanks. That was very informative. You should do a video on Wuyi mountains for your next trip there.

[@MeiLeaf]

+Kay Jin we did actually try filming on our previous trip but didn't get great footage because the farmers weren't producing and we sat around going lots of sampling. We will try to visit during picking and film a video.

[@ferdinandludo8851]

as always awesome informative video... any videos you can do on aged white teas ?? Thanks

[@heartdyedpurple]

Don's comment about the good gaiwan made me think of the meme "Good Guy Greg", but changed to "Good Gai Wan"

[@CrescentGuard]

I had a weird experience with a cheap-ish Da Hong Pao where it had a really rich flavor on the first infusion (despite a bunch of broken leaves not even a rinse got rid of), but it trailed off by the third. It smelled really interestingly, like lemon and a freshly-extinguished campfire, and tasted like oranges and pine with hints of cherry and something else I can't describe. I'm genuinely perplexed by it, because that first cup was to die for, but then the tea's flavor just collapsed.

[@miguelg.7232]

Maybe it was scented? If you're interested in learning more, I know Mei Leaf has a great video on scented teas.

[@MeiLeaf]

+Aardvark Lord I am sure that most Teaheads have similar experiences. This tea can fall off a cliff in terms of flavour from complex to flat in a couple of infusions and it really is dependent on the cultivar and age of tea trees. I find that Shui Xian blends have this effect unless it is Lao Cong Shui Xian. This is why I would go for true Qi Dan or Bei Dou myself (Rou Gui can be great but there is a lot of low quality Rou Gui too).

[@ayupinatih8894]

Nice info. Thanks for sharing. I bought Da Hong Pao tea in Indonesian marketplace. Quite pricy compared to other kinds of local tea here but I don't think what I had was the real Da Hong Pao. Any suggestion where I can get the real one in Indonesia?

[@kreigindexzensur]

hey, the tea head shirts are awesome! got four of em and eatchone has a slightly different gaiwan, awesome. the quality feels very nice. everyone should get one. i got one for my domestic tea supplier as a gift :D

[@MeiLeaf]

+kriegindexzensur nice one and thank you for ordering.

[@weilinggan4213]

Great video! I was told that there’s actually 3 cultivars of the Da Hong Pao mother tree: qi dan, bei dou and que se (bird’s tongue). But I don’t see you mention the bird’s tongue over here. Am I getting the wrong info??

[@MeiLeaf]

They are probably all different genetics but I have heard similar information. Definitely Qi Dan and Bei Dou are close matches to some of the genetics of the mother trees.

[@wei301]

I like all your Rock oolongs. Would you consider offering Shui Xian and (Old Bush) Lao Cong Shui Xian? ^^

[@MeiLeaf]

Yes we have tasted many Lao Cong Shui Xian but we have never chosen to purchase any but we will search as always!

[@Mindful_TEA_Break]

Great portion of tea knowledge again :) I haven't been lucky with tasting really good tea from Wuyi mountain yet. Had some really nice Taiwanese oolongs and some from Anxi mountain but still looking for a good one from Wuyi. You're slowly starting your spring process of selecting tea for new year - right? I would be very happy if you could do a video about picking and processing some tea while being "in the field" and show us plantation, equipment, how it is used etc :) I know you did some sneak peak to it before on videos from trips to China but I'm thinking more of video that would be specifically about this.

[@MeiLeaf]

+just4fit yes we are planning our trips and will be filming as much as we can!

[@kinghazzah]

Don, I've seen some other sellers use the terms "nonpareil", "premium" and "supreme" which I'm making an educated guess that these are listed in ascending order (least to best) in the sellers version of classifying the grade of the tea. Is there a standard scale used (which may be this one)? The only thing I'm basing this on is that the price goes up from nonpareil, to premium to supreme. Thanks Don for keeping great quality products for us Tea Heads!

[@MeiLeaf]

Hey, There is no official grading system (apart from the Indian standardisations). Non-Pareil literally means 'like no other' and so it theoretically should be the best but there are always grades higher and lower. In China they usually use terms such as Grade B, Grade A, Best, Superior, Imperial.

[@kinghazzah]

Thanks for the lesson Don. I thought that was the case. It makes more sense to use the Grade B, Grade A etc. as you describe above (and it also explains your Grade B White Crest). I've seen the Indian standardisations but never REALLY totally understood them. In short there is a traveler who eats many different things from all over the world by going to their places of origin for these food products on the Travel channel named Andrew Zimmern the show is called Bizarre Foods) who has a tag line about food that I'll paraphrase and change slightly for teas,....if it tastes good, drink it!

[@tvlooy]

That explains why I was not impressed by the da hong pao I had once. It was pricy and had a nice packaging but it didn't do it for me in the cup.

[@MeiLeaf]

+Tom Van Looy an experience shared by all of us!

[@simongiegerich7710]

Can you make a Video about the most important teaplant cultivars and what makes them special? =)

[@MeiLeaf]

+Simon Giegerich that is a very big video with hundreds of varieties but we can pick out a few of our favourites maybe.

[@simongiegerich7710]

that would be great as it's quite hard to getsome good information about this topic. =)

[@TomasSliz]

How many infusions you usually do with this tea and gong fu tea ceremony? I'm able to do 5-6 infusions with 6 grams / 120 ml water / 20s - 40s. In your brewing guide is mentioned up to 9 infusions but there is no flavor after 5 infusions in my case. Maybe I'm doing something wrong 🤔

[@MeiLeaf]

Certainly the first 5 infusions are the most flavourful but I enjoy the minerality of the later infusions too. It doesn't sound like you are doing anything wrong but maybe you do not enjoy the later infusions. Is it our tea that you are brewing?

[@magetaaaaaa]

Sounds about right to me. I usually get the same number of infusions out of that tea.

[@TomasSliz]

Mei Leaf No, it is not. I will try your tea and maybe there will be difference ;-)

[@goyocode]

Drinking Lost Robe as I watch this, 8gr recommended, I thought that was an error so I only used 5 and oh man this shit's on another level so delicious and soothing. Great find, thanks.

[@thegreatballplayer1]

I just got the Zi Hong pao purple da Hong pao from yunnan sourcing. Haven’t tried it yet but it had good reviews. Do you know if they have genuine good quality da Hong pao?

[@aswinsekar1019]

Why he is pouring tea on table

[@RinaArlingMedia]

wau... I think I need to start drinking tea... I mean real tea :) Lots to learn.

[@wesdashman]

Thanks. We enjoyed it!

[@MeiLeaf]

+Wes Brinkman thanks!

[@ollietwist8860]

i was wondering how it tasted after 7-10 cups ?

[@giangiair]

The color seems darker because you have a blue shirt, maybe :) A video comparing Lost Robe and Empress oolong would be interesting! Thanks ;)

[@grzegorzcichosz8240]

Hi. I've been drinking ulung teas for some time now. As far as I know they are different in production and aome are like really dark (formosa) but some ulungs are nearly like green tea in leaf color. Should I use different temperature depending on tea's color?

[@MeiLeaf]

+Grzegorz Cichosz yes Green Oolongs I prefer to go slightly cooler but not much as they are made from lower leaves. Around 95 vs 99 celsius.

[@supersonicyou]

Can Da Hong Pao also be concidered to be red/black tea and hence the name?

[@MeiLeaf]

+Anton Malmi no it is always considered an oolong.

[@khannu-en1124]

hi, i would like to know where to buy good jasmine tea. or high grade. i bought my jasmine tea and after drinking/brewing for the second or third time and i saw the leaves/stems unfold. some are leaves, some are stems. the jasmine in the container is rolled in tiny beads. is my jasmine tea a high grade? how can you distinguish between high grade low grade or fine

[@MeiLeaf]

Dragon Pearl Jasmine is usually made from a bud and one or two leaves with a long stem but the quality varies even if they are made this way. You can try ours if you would like to find out what I consider a high quality Dragon Pearl Jasmine: chinalifeweb.com/shop/product/tea-peac

[@khannu-en1124]

Mei Leaf do you ship to usa? do you have products listed on amazon?

[@MeiLeaf]

Yes we ship to the USA more than any other country! We are not on Amazon at the moment sorry.

[@Contessamy]

I was going to buy some, but the tea is sold out :(

[@MeiLeaf]

+Contessamy back in stock!

[@tudorludusan6820]

Hi! By any chance, are going to have the porcelain gaiwan back in stock anytime soon? Thanks :)

[@MeiLeaf]

+Tudor Ludusan we are trying to get them in but everyone has stopped working in China for New Year celebrations so it will be a few weeks!

[@kinghazzah]

I agree but I too have had trouble getting something from Shanghai that I ordered in December thinking it would be here by now. To his credit, the seller did say he'd refund my payment but I'm still willing to wait for something. I know Don carries quality products and I enjoy his purchases and they get to the US very quickly! I wish he could carry more items like you suggest but with I'm sure limited storage space I'm sure that his shop is already pretty well stocked. Maybe you can acquire the shop next door (not Accumedic :) ) and expand? It would be nice for us but I also know that you try to again only keep QUALITY not quantity in your shop. CHEERS!

[@GTShere]

today my first order in Chinalife!!

[@MeiLeaf]

Enjoy! :)

[@6dxd6hxru68]

In all honesty i dont think exchangimg tea to opium doesn't seem that wrong

[@Richard-if2xm]

Do you ship to America

[@wheelchairboy88]

Yes they do. I live in the states and get tea from them.

[@sunstar2599]

Drinking da hong dao oolong. Its crazy special taste. It tast like straw

[@grzegorzcichosz8240]

I don't know if I missed that or you don't talk about it - why real mother bushes aren't used now? btw - I bought myself a yixing pot uesterday - should I use it for my favourite pu erhs, oolongs or green teas? What's best for that kind of pot

[@miguelg.7232]

The remaining mother bushes grow very slowly now. To harvest them, would most likely kill them. It's viewed as being of more cultural importance to keep them alive, and healthy, than to produce another harvest of tea. Make sure you season the pot first! You could use it for either oolongs, or Pu Erhs, but I would advise not using it for green teas. Yixing retains more heat than porcelain tea ware. That's a desirable quality, but not when brewing green teas. That heat retention will end up baking the green tea between brews. Which will in turn, hurt the taste. I'm not an expert, but that's my understanding on these two topics. So please, take my comments with a grain of salt! Hope that helps.

[@grzegorzcichosz8240]

Ok, thanks for an advice. I think I will firstly try out some more oolongs and put erhs and then I'll decide which type of tea will get the pot and which type will have to be brewed in gaiwan

[@apollostefan7592]

Grzegorz Cichosz Ripe (Shou) puerile works great with Yixing teapots!

[@miguelg.7232]

I believe that's exactly what they did, a long, long time ago. All "true" Da Hong Pao tea is grown from a clone of one of the mother trees.

[@miguelg.7232]

Do what? Create clones from the mother trees? Again, I suspect they don't do that because it would harm the trees. I'm also pretty confident in saying that there is more "true" Da Hong Pao out there, than any other Wuyi Yancha. I think the reason they don't have certificates, is purely a business one. Certificate programs would cost money to do; and I frankly don't think anyone selling fake tea, is in the business of morality. I think the best thing we can do, as consumers, is have a few tea vendors that we really trust. If you trust the vendor, that's as good, if not better, than a certificate.

[@jangtsedude]

I'm always a little bit confused when I get different temperature recommendations from different sources. For example, where I buy my tea brewing Da Hong Pao is recommended at 85 degrees Celsius and not close to boiling as you say. Black Tea is recommended at close to boiling and not 90 degrees as you say and silver needle is recommended at 85 degrees. Whenever I am confronted with deviations like these I try both of them and decide which one I prefer. So far 90 degrees for Silver Needle is my preference, Da Hong Pao will still be tested at close to boiling since I got it on Wednesday (what luck you guys made a video just about now!) and black tea is very nice at 90 degrees Celsius in my opinion.

[@MeiLeaf]

+jangtsedude there is some disagreement due to taste preferences but a lot of it is that knowledge is repeated by tea sellers without trying each tea individually. I like DHL with boiling water myself and this is how they prepare in Wuyi.

[@MeiLeaf]

+jangtsedude DHP not DHL (autocorrect annoyance).

[@bhagathind6360]

My dream one time drink da Hong pao . But it's not true

[@adamgreenhaus4691]

Would you suggest resting teas like these? If so, how would you suggest going about it and for how long? ... Maybe a video on resting oolongs could make its way into your busy schedule? ... Pretty please?

[@MeiLeaf]

Adam Greenhaus yes I would wait at least 6 months from final roasting before drinking and up to a year for heavy toasts (this is medium). After that it will age like other Oolongs but that is a whole other story.

[@shraz8094]

Is it just me or the video playing on the smartphone in the side is this same video played live and the matter that he's pausing it in between and playing again just fucks my brain... Btw great video on tea love it

[@stationshelter]

dou bei dou bei dou bei dou

[@MeiLeaf]

;D

[@mahfuzchoudhury1623]

Go play with your phone. You seem to busy to review the best tea in the world.

[@moomoopuppy5810]

Can people distinguish a tea from one plant and tea from another? Who here would buy the Da Hong Pao or jin jun mei?

[@Extys]

You can't really, that would be almost like distinguishing between individual leaves

[@ทักษ์มากสังข์]

ชอบดื่มชา

[@CruznN4th]

how can you prove its "direct lineage"?

[@MeiLeaf]

All Bei Dou cultivar comes from the ones planted by the scientists who were working with the mother bushes cuttings.

[@Poraqui]

Only through genetic/genomic ancestry studies. In these, DNA typing can be done by comparing special types of genetic variation. One example would be to compare sets of Short tandem repeats (STR) between the two cultuvars by ans estimation technique called Pricncipal component analysis :P

[@othmanlima4398]

Too much information 😂😂😂😂

[@Vintexx20]

Coming after rajesh kumar fact😁

[@ranbirgill4718]

Another top video

[@eymerichinquisitore9022]

So are you one of the few who sell 100% Da Hong Pao from Qi Dan (奇丹) cultivar? Really? What a lucky man.

[@simongiegerich7710]

Can you make a Video about the most important teaplant cultivars and what makes them special? =)

[@MeiLeaf]

OK