Your favorite Da Hong Pao

[FiveStar]

Hello all! So I've made my foray into Pu-erh and have been totally swamped by samples! I'm loving it!

So now I'm looking to delve into Oolongs more. I've picked up a packaged Dong ding from a local asian store that is VERY good for the money, and beats the tea offered by the local teahouse at half the price.

I love Da Hong Pao's high fired roastiness, and was wondering what your favorites were. I'm interested in both premium/high grade stuff, as well as what you think is a great value tea.

Also, my friend owns a coffe shop and can get all the "Art of tea" teas for half price (wholesale). Anyone tried their organic Da Hong Pao?

[javi_sanchez]

Da Hong Pao can be the most expensive tea to come out of China costing tens of thousands of dollars a kilo! Due to the premium placed on this name, there is a lot of stuff out there called Da Hong Pao that is not. You can get very similar tea by looking at other kinds rock tea. Shui Xian(water fairy), Rou Gui(Cinnamon) and Aijiao are all high quality teas that can don't have as high of a premium. Be warned, exploring Wuyi rock teas is a deep rabbit hole indeed

I recently had a similar style tea from Taiwan here that I really liked. This is not technically a da hong pao nor a "real" wuyi rock tea since it is from Taiwan and not from Wuyi. However I really liked it.
http://www.floatingleavestea.com/index. ... 2977e7a0fa

This is what is currently in my cupboard. I'm super impressed by the price/taste.
http://www.yunnansourcing.com/store/pro ... oduct=2091

I had this a couple years ago and would like to try it once more. My tasting notes are vague and I don't quite remember it.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Nonpareil-Da-Ho ... 33631c138f

Edit: I forgot to add that I've liked everything I've tried from here:
http://www.redblossomtea.com/tea/oolong/wuyi.html

[FiveStar]

Thanks for all the great suggestions! I will make sure to include some of these in my next tea order. I'm definitely set for Pu at the moment, and need to diversify my tea collection a bit.

That is the problem with this tea business, I never know if I'm actually drinking what I think I am I am happy to travel down the rabbit hole of oolong for a bit though. As with all the rest of the teas I've been interested in, I just have to wrap my mind around nomenclature a bit first. That truly is a bear to wrestle with!

Thanks again!