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2024 Big Red Robe

2024 Big Red Robe

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Wuyishan’s Most Famous Oolong
Perfectly-balanced Wuyi oolong, crafted to be an outstanding introduction to everything the region is famous for: deep minerality, cooling aftertaste, and notes of caramel, cedar, honey, and tangerine zest.
Spring 2024 ♦ Wuyishan, Fujian
Wuyishan’s Most Famous Oolong
Perfectly-balanced Wuyi oolong, crafted to be an outstanding introduction to everything the region is famous for: deep minerality, cooling aftertaste, and notes of caramel, cedar, honey, and tangerine zest.
Spring 2024 ♦ Wuyishan, Fujian
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Crafted by the Li Family

Hand-picked and traditionally hand-finished within the true Wuyishan Ecological Preserve on forested biodiverse, rocky, mountainous land for distinct Wuyi minerality.
 
The Li Family is an award-winning, highly respected force for sustainability, hand-firing craft, rare varietal preservation, and tea education in Wuyishan.
    • DATE OF PICKINGSpring 2024
    • Wuyishan Ecological PreserveWuyishan, Fujian
    • ELEVATION600 METERS
    • Qi DanTea Varietal

    Li Xiangxi's family grows this tea within the Wuyishan Ecological Preserve, hand picking every leaf and delicately roasting this tea in bamboo baskets over charcoal embers to bring out the natural minerality of the region. Li Xiangxi's eldest brother oversees the family's oolong teas, and believes strongly in standing against the modern trend to over-roast and cover the natural flavor of the tea. This makes the family's Big Red Robe unique among its peers. While Big Red Robe is named after five original bushes that still stand today in Wuyishan, modern Big Red Robe is made from Qidan varietal, which is known for its tremendous balance, and deep warmth. It is truly the archetypal tea of the region, and the place to start your exploration of Wuyi Oolongs as a grounding point of reference. The LI Family’s Big Red Robe consistently wins gold medals at Wuyi tea competitions.

  • true
    80
    toasted almond, caramel mousse
    true
    80
    sandalwood, cedar
    true
    80
    honey, wildflowers
    true
    80
    tangerine, citrus zest
    true
    cooling, juicy tingling

    Tasting Profile

    • savory - toasted almond, caramel mousse
    • spice - sandalwood, cedar
    • floral - honey, wildflowers
    • fruit - tangerine, citrus zest
    • texture - cooling, juicy tingling

the Li Family also recommends:

  1. 2009 Aged Fo Shou Wuyi Oolong
    2009 Aged Fo Shou Wuyi Oolong

    In 2009 the LI Family decided to set aside a fraction of their reserve-level Fo Shou Wuyi Oolong, and instead of high-firing it to remove all moisture, they allowed it to ferment with natural moisture, essentially making their own shu pu'er. This tea was still finished with yaoqing technique, making it absolutely an oolong, but with all the depth of shu pu'er. Note, this is not similar to standard aged oolong because of the unique moisture conditions. It has aged deep, dark, and foresty- a totally new hybrid style we are excited to share!
  2. 2023 Gold Medal Rou Gui
    2023 Gold Medal Rou Gui
    Rou Gui is quickly becoming one of the most popular Wuyi Oolongs across China for its intense concentrated aroma, and the textural cooling tingling sensation called yun that it shows off at the highest levels. Li Xiangxi and her family’s Rou Gui has been winning gold and silver medals at competition for years due to their incredible skill at coaxing the best aroma from each leaf through slow subtle roasting. This year, they set aside enough of their award-winning harvest for us to share.
  3. 2024 Full Roast Big Red Robe
    2024 Full Roast Big Red Robe
    This tea was hand-fired three times over three months for a much deeper, darker tea. The deep roast makes this tea even sweeter, while bringing out a unique sparkling / cooling sensation that you don’t normally see in Big Red Robe. The textural sensations of the roast accentuate and contrast with the warming flavor of the tea for a powerful dynamic. Each round of hand-firing takes over twelve hours, adding an immense amount of labor to finishing this reserve-level tea, but the natural biodiversity and mineral-driven terroir of the Li Family’s land make this worth the extra effort to finish so meticulously.

  • 'The emperor sent the symbolic red robes of nobility to the farmer who saved his wife, granting him land and status. In gratitude, the farmer named the tea Big Red Robe, and continued to climb the cliff each year to pick tea for the empress to remind her of their shared home in the Wuyi Mountains.'

  • 5
    6-8
    208
    20 seconds
    10
    7
    6
    208
    5 seconds
    3
    4
    12
    room temp
    8 hours

    Steeping Instructions

    Western

    5 g.6-8
    oz.    use 208° watersteep 20 secondsresteep many times
    add 10 sec. each infusion

    Gongfu

    7 g.6 ozuse 208° watersteep 5 seconds
    add 3 sec. per steeping    enjoy many steepings

    Iced/Cold

    4 g.12
    oz.    use room temp. waterrefrigerate overnight
    8 hours    add ice & enjoy

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