Country of Origin: Thailand
Leaf Appearance: dark, tightly rolled
Steep time: 30 seconds
Water Temperature: 195 degrees degrees
Preparation Method: porcelain gaiwan
Liquor: reddish amber
When Good and Proper Tea offered to send some tea for review, I immediately asked to try some of their Ruby. It is a heavily oxidized oolong from Chiang Rai, Thailand. My sample bag was labeled Ruby #17. That leads me to believe that it was made with the Ruan Zhi (TTES #17) cultivar but it is not explicitly stated on their website listing. That kind of nerdy tea info is something I always like to see but I understand that it might not be useful for the average consumer.
Leaf
The dry leaves were tightly rolled with a dark brown, almost chocolatey color. They had a sweet, slightly toasty aroma. I initially brewed Good and Proper Tea Ruby gongfu style in a porcelain gaiwan. My water temperature was 195℉, and my first infusion was 30 seconds. While that was nice, I definitely think that I preferred it to be prepared in a more western style. Good and Proper Tea’s recommendation of 4-minute brews seemed to be a good sweet spot. The leaves unfurled show uniform oxidation. They were surprisingly large for having been so tightly rolled.
Liquor
Good and Proper Tea Ruby brewed up a reddish amber liquor. The taste was slightly sweet with notes of chocolate and black cherry. I might have guessed that it was a black tea if I had not been told it was oolong. The toastiness that I smelled in the dry leaf did not come through in the cup. It did have a grounding earthiness that made this a warming and comforting tea to sip. There was only the slightest bit of astringency, but it was not bitter at all. It re-steeped extremely well, even when made in a larger mug.
I really enjoyed this tea and found myself quickly drinking through my 50g sample. Darker oolongs like this are just the thing on a cold and rainy day. Ruby is a good tea to try if you are already a fan of Taiwanese black teas since they also tend to be on the milder side.
Have you ever tried Good and Proper Tea Ruby? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
Ruby sample provided for review by Good and Proper Tea.
