L'angfarm Review: Trà oolong đỏ (Red Oolong Tea)

Review:

I was gifted this tea from a friend who visited Vietnam and brought this back, and this tea is an absolute delight. The tightly rolled balls of tea triple their size as they unfold into broad and full leaves. The heavier oxidization process of red tea hides a bit of the malty oolong flavor that I'm less of a fan of, and instead allows for other flavors - floral and vegetal with a sweet honeylike finish - to take the stage. The more the tea cools, the more the sweetness comes through. As a bonus, the tea has a lighter caffeine content compared to black tea.

• 1st steep: 190 F for 40 seconds, less water than usual. Primarily malty and woody upon first steep, with little to no astringency. Would recommend a first rinse with hot water to open up the leaves before steeping.
• 2nd steep: 200 F for 50 seconds. Very floral, with the sweetness coming out more strongly.
• 3rd & 4th steep: 190 F for 60-90 seconds. A balance between sweet floral and woodsy.
• 5th steep: 190 F for ~80 seconds. Starting to lose some taste; steep for longer to extract more flavor. Gains a slightly astringent mouthfeel at this stage.
• 6th steep: 200 F for ~80 seconds.
• 7th & 8th: 200 F, 3-4 minutes. It feels like I could brew this forever, but I'll stop here. Much of the floral notes are gone, but there is still slight sweetness at room temperature. Far more woodsy notes the more you steep, but still not bitter at all. You could probably push this to 10 cups if you wanted to.