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It’s a high quality tea but beware of the floral taste. This was a disappointment for me, but I can tell it’s very good stuff. Just doesn’t meet my personal tastes well. So it’s somewhat hard to rate.

The good:
A thicc, syrupy-even mouthfeel which is excellent. Notes of brown sugar, fruit, malt, and leaves.

The bad:
Flowers. There is a floral taste that almost ruins it for me, but I am getting more used to it. It’s too bad because this would be excellent tea without this flower taste.

Steeping it shorter does help.

I ordered this on sale and I don’t think I would order again, due to personal preference.

Definitely a bit harsh on the first steep, but I maybe oversteeped it. (Note to self: go less than a minute next time.)

It has that asparagus taste but sweetens out over steeps, hitting a good stride on the third steep. Mineral and sweet with grass. Maybe some green beans too.

Light to medium body.

Good amount of l-theanine hit to the back of the head.

This would be better if it had a bit more sweetness to it, imho.

As I sip, I am watching the falling snow and listening to Vespertine. It’s a nice moment and it seems to fit together well.

Another “all day” drinker and good dark tea for the price.

I’m tasting honey, hay and fruit – maybe grape? On further steeps I get more of a light pepper spiciness. Very smooth but mild. For me, good for 3-4 steeps or so.

Solid l-theanine vibe upping the rating.

The price is good on this, I recommend if you want to try dark tea.

I’ll be honest, there were two reasons I bought this: 1) it was on sale and 2) I really liked the name; in the way that I could say “I’m drinking Mr. Wang’s Hu Hong”.

Well, after sampling Mr. Wang’s Hu Hong, I’m definitely satisfied with this stuff. It’s a good quality black tea – I get flavors of malt, barley, potatoes, leaves, and a tinge of caramel/brown sugar. A nice full body too (thicc). Good for at least two steeps.

A quality black tea, very good but it’s normally pricey. Get Mr. Wang’s Hu Hong on sale if you can because I’m not sure it’s worth the normal price. That lowers the rating into a “buy it on sale” level.

Shou Puer tea blended with mint, clove, and licorice.

I can get overwhelmed with the added flavors in these TeaSource blends (Roasted Chestnut comes to mind), but they got the mix right with this one. Or perhaps the short steeps really help to minimize the added flavors. Either way, this is a nice little tea that does not really taste like a “typical” shou puer. It would be a great way to ease yourself into the earthy peat dampness of shou puer tea.

Not a ton of subtle flavors here – mint, clove, and licorice. Underneath I can taste some earthy puer but it’s not a scary amount like many other shou puers. That said, I feel like I need to be in the mood for this one, whereas I can always drink a smooth black tea for example.

I also am getting a very nice l-theanine puer buzz. I’m not sure if other people ever feel this but it’s a great ‘tea-drunk’ feeling that I get best with puers and dark teas. This always boosts the rating for me.

Steep it short and multiple times.

Another good tea in this vein is the White Chocolate Puer.

It’s not really what I expected.

Solid tea, but the overwhelming, almost artificial, almond/coconut flavor tends to drown out the others. It’s not bad but I feel like that lowers the rating overall for me.

Smooth, but a blast of almonds and coconuts. Underneath there’s some chocolate, caramel and vanilla. Hard to taste anything else.

I would turn down the almond/coconut – from 10 to like 4? – and I think this tea would be better. I’ll be drinking it through the cold months, but not sure I’d order again.

Mellow, sweet and smooth.

Definitely a Darjeeling. Malty but I’m tasting stone fruit, and some lemon/citrus. Very slight astringency. I can also taste that hint of vanilla. Good for two steeps.

Re-doing this.

The tea is fine. It’s got mango (duh) and dandelion in it, which gives it a bit of a floral flavor. It’s okay, but nothing great. Don’t steep this too long.

I did ice part of the brew and that was better.

I’m glad I broke this out of the cupboard because I kind of forgot how great this tea is. I was excited to have it again, but going through the exercise of rating it here really demonstrates the excellence of this tea.

Medium bodied, sweet tea with a fantastic aftertaste.

The overwhelming taste for me is honey, but I also get mineral, peach, pear, berry, and grass/hay to balance it out perfectly so it’s not too sweet.

It also gives me a solid l-theanine feeling which goes well with the mellowness of the taste.

Simply put, this is top shelf tea.

All in all, an fabulous tea that will be stored and saved for special occasions, as sadly it’s no longer available for purchase.

This tea is not for everyone, but after purchasing on a whim a month ago, it has quickly moved into my list of top shelf favorites. It’s just a fantastic and unique tea for me. It’s right in my wheelhouse – and has enough that set it apart from others that I’ve tasted to make it really enjoyable.

I should note that I may not be drinking the same version of Big Red Robe that previous people have reviewed. This version (bought in 2020) is a blend. Taken from the TeaSource website:

“This tea was made by Mr. Tang Shuang Jiang and is a blend of teas from Jian Ou County (Jian Ou is next to Wuyi, a traditional rock oolong area) and Anxi County. Mr. Tang has a classmate in Jin Ou who makes Shui Xian, Mei Zan, Qi Lan, and Rou Gui teas. He took all four of these finished teas back to Anxi to blend with Ti Kwan Yin. He then roasted the leaves to create this traditional Big Red Robe flavor profile.”

The flavors I get on tasting are sesame oil, roasted nut, smokiness, malt, caramel, and even (dare I say) a hint of cannabis. These flavors melt together into a delicious liquor.

It’s also great for multiple steepings.

Perfect tea to drink on a cold autumn night, right before training your lethal Wu-Tang sword style techniques with the other monks.

I’m surprised to not see any note of sesame oil in the reviews! That is the number one flavor I get with this tea. It sounds kind of weird – and it sort of is – but it’s really wonderful. (There isn’t a flavor pre-made yet but I just sent in the suggestion.)

Based on this tea, I think my next journey might be exploring rock oolongs in further detail.