# Notes Gongfu -- Liquor is dark enough to be black tea. Okay, this is, in fact, quite good. And kind of hard to describe. The roast is prominent but very well balanced, with sort of a wood smoke thing going on. I don't know what specific woods smell like when you burn them, but this smells like one of them, lol. Sweet as well, Sort of an herbal liqueur thing happening as well? I dunno. Some minerality pops up around steep 3. Mild astringency starts around steep 5 or 6. I can absolutely see why this is a very expensive tea, but I probably will not buy a ton of it at $1.24 a gram. But it definitely makes me want to look for other moderately roasted or perhaps aged da hong pao teas. # Vendor Copy Price per gram: $1.24 > _flavor notes_ toffee, dried fruit, oak barrels > > Beidou, or "North Star" is famed as a direct descendant of the true Grand Scarlet Robe, or “Da Hong Pao”, variety. As true Da Hong Pao teas are reserved for elite government officials and dignitaries, we spend our sourcing trips searching for descendant varieties like this Beidou, which is reputed to be one of the closest in flavor to the famed mother plants. > > This batch is carefully hand-crafted using strictly traditional methods, and then finished by our roaster to receive several layers of traditional “heritage” charcoal roasting. > > The result is the best Wuyi oolong in recent memory. The initial brew releases the intense toffee and caramel notes from the charcoal roasting. But it’s the balance of the tea that sets the Heritage Beidou apart from other Wuyis: at the same time rich, viscous, sweet, floral, fruity – each characteristic distinct, but balanced and in harmony with the others.