Wierd Da Hong Pao flavor

[Bubba_tea]

I was in the local Vietnamese market to buy a couple banh mi for lunch - and browsed their tea selection - they had a bi lou chun and da hong pao, for 6 & $7 - so I thought I would give it a shot.

The da hong pao has an odd flavor... really odd. It's like a roasted marshmallow. It's not burnt tasting exactly - but is this similar to the flavor described when someone says a tea is over-roasted or needs to rest for a while to reduce the harshness of the fire?

[Drax]

Yes, definitely a unique flavor. And pretty tasty, too!

This came up relatively recently and you can find some of that discussion here...

http://www.teachat.com/viewtopic.php?t=7462
http://www.teachat.com/viewtopic.php?t=7475

But it's true -- it's definitely hard to mis-identify this tea.

[Bubba_tea]

Well - this isn't that kind of good flavor - I have the dhp from Jing, and it's fantastic, but this is weird! Think strong roasted (just before burnt) marshmallow! It's not right I think.

[heavydoom]

never buy tea in supermarkets.

[gingkoseto]

As I observed, most (younger) Asians don't buy tea in Asian markets.
I've bought some cheap oolongs and black tea, mainly out of curiosity, and a few are not bad. The not bad ones are the smoky tasting ones (maybe consistent with what you described as over-roasted?) and sealed in double-lid metal cans. I guess the heavy roasted teas can survive a very long time. But I generally don't like smoking taste.

[tenuki]

bi lou chun and da hong pao, for 6 & $7

no they aren't, not for that price.

[Bubba_tea]

I don't know about bi lou chun, but the dhp at jing is cheaper than this one from the grocery store, but the one from the grocery is going into the compost!