Description: “A brilliant oolong tea with a creamy smooth texture and delightful honey taste.”
Instructions: 90°C/194°F water | 1 teaspoon | 1-2 minutes
Review: The name ‘red buffalo’ was unique enough to catch my attention. However, when I saw the reddish-brown tightly rolled tea leaves, the name made complete sense to me! The tea was grown at an altitude of 1,100m and is of the Thanh Tam (Qing Xin) cultivar. I steeped for 1.30 minutes.
The dry leaves had a deep, earthy sweet aroma, which was similar to the infused leaves, which themselves had more of a reddish chocolate colour. It reminded me of oolong with its sweet, deep, roasted smell. The reddish brown liquor smelled like apricots, honey, and was malty and sweet.
The first notes of the hot liquor were sweet and fruity, followed by roasted. Reading the description, I can see why it is described as honey because it does evoke that taste! After drinking the tea, my mouth watered and my cheeks tingled. Once cooled, the liquor tasted more roasted with a shy bit of bitterness and dryness at the tail end.
In comparison to some of the other What-Cha’s I’ve tasted, it had a much more subtle flavour. Nevertheless, I did enjoy it. I found that it reminded me more of a black tea than an oolong. I would be happy to try more teas from Vietnam in the future (3.5/5 rating).
- Type: Oolong tea
- Origin: Vietnam (Moc Chau, Son La Province)
- Caffeine: Unknown
- Ingredients: Oolong tea
- Company: What-Cha
The question of the post: Have you tried tea from Vietnam before?