Da Hong Pao tastes roasted and warm first, then opens into stone fruit, orchid and a long mineral sweetness. Here is how roast level and each steep change the cup, who will like it, and how to fix a bitter or smoky brew.
Real Da Hong Pao comes from the Wuyi Mountains, never claims to be from the mother trees, and keeps its flavor for six or more steeps. Five checks you can run at home, led by the steep count test that a 2020 Scientific Reports study links to the growing zone.
A mug with one 3 g sachet gives you 2 to 3 steeps. A gongfu pot with 8 g gives 6 to 8, and top grade Wuyi rock oolong can reach 10. Round by round steep charts for both methods, three signals that the leaves are finished, and what a 2020 Scientific Reports study measured across 14 infusions of Da Hong Pao.
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