Recently, I introduced a dark oolong called Big Red Robe (Da Hongpao 大红袍）to my friend. He inspired me a lot with his deep and joyful experience of this tea, so I have decided to share some of the experience of the extraordinary and phenomenal flavor and aftertaste of this tea with you.
Big Red Robe was created more than 350 years ago in the Ming Dynasty and is the most well-known of the Wuyi cliff teas in Fujian. Moreover, its aroma and flavor distinguish it from other famous teas in China.
As I brew the tea, the aroma not only fills my nose and mind, but also travels into the whole room and even all the way from the teashop to my home. This is a real experience which happened one week ago. After preparing Big Red Robe at the teashop, I left without washing my hands and took the bus directly home. After more than one hour of travel on the bus, I finally got home. I put down my backpack and rubbed my nose. Surprisingly, my fingers still held the toasty and orchid aroma of Big Red Robe. I was absolutely amazed by the distinctive powerful aroma, although it is hard to imagine such a nuanced, enduring, smokey, toasty, orchid fragrance was from the dark twisted tea leaves.
Enjoying the beautiful aroma is a great pleasure and an important part of the process when tasting a cup of tea. After that, I sip a little of the velvety amber liquor and the complex flavor permeates my entire mouth. The lush, mellow aftertaste with its slightly syrupy finish was so pleasant. There was none of green tea's bitterness or black tea's astringency. The flavor of the tea was vivid, rich and expansive. It was also a flavor of nature - from an earthy, misty cliffside - and filled my senses in a way I cannot express. Chinese people call this special flavor and aroma yanyun (岩韵). Yan means "cliff"; yun has no exact match in English. Its means that something is harmonious, graceful, delightful and meaningful.
My friend sent me an email about his experience drinking this tea. "The second infusion is even more smooth and more powerful. As I sip the second cup, my soul is filled with strong emotions and my mind is in another world. A world free of earthly stress, negativity and all that exists is warmth and artful beauty," he wrote.
Yes, I was his witness. The inspiring aroma and taste also bring me to a peaceful spot, relax my body, calm my mind, stimulate my passion and purify my soul. In other words, if excitement and passion are fire, while relaxation and calmness are water, then I have both fire and water balanced together at the same time. That's yanyun.
Tea leads me to understand more about human nature and to develop a more embracing spiritual life. Savoring a tea is like understanding a human being. Enjoying tea emphasizes the people you drink with, the atmosphere and environment around you. Drinking tea with a peaceful mind, in a quiet place and with a few close friends is the perfect harmony between human and nature. However, sometimes, I still find it hard to believe how so much power could come from a sip of tea in a tiny Chinese cup.
