Da Hong Pao ✦ ◆

Da Hong Pao (oolong de roche des Wuyi)

What it is

Six mother bushes survive on the cliff at Jiulongke; they were picked for the last time in 2005 and harvesting them has been banned since 2006, so everything sold under the name comes from cuttings. Twenty grams of that final harvest went at auction for 208,000 yuan.

In the kitchen

Roasted to charcoal, it behaves like a spice rather than a drink: 8 g infused ten minutes in 200 ml of stock finishes a game sauce, or steep it in warm cream for a ganache. Boiling water is right here — it is one of the few teas that will not turn bitter on it.

Goes with

Dark chocolate Venison Prune Cocoa nibs Walnut Coffee

Same species

Assam tea Ceylon tea Darjeeling tea Earl Grey Genmaicha Gunpowder green tea

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