Wang Family Tea sent me their entire line up of Taiwanese Sun Moon Lake black tea. This was the perfect opportunity to compare the different cultivars. I have the Sun Moon Lake Assam Black (Taiwanese Assam), Red Jade Ruby 18 (Taicha No.18 Red Jade), Red Rhyme (Taicha No.21 Red Rhyme), and Native Black Tea (Taiwan Native Mountain Cang Ya).
All teas I am brewing 1 gram per 15ml of vessel size, gongfu style with boiling water.
Sun Moon Lake Assam Black Tea
As per Wang Family’s information, Taiwanese Assam came to be grown via India Assam seeds during the Japanese Occupation.
The leaf has a dark cherry and wood scent.
After a rinse, the cherry scent leans more sour than sweet.
First and Second Infusion: Sun Moon Lake Assam tastes as it smells – it is strongly fruity with cherry notes with a gentle woody flavor in the background.
Third, Fourth, and Fifth Infusion: The thing with Sun Moon Lake Assam is it is on the astringent side, but this tea is high on fruit notes and maximum body. With each infusion, the woody richness intensifies and the tea finishes with a dry bite in the throat.
Sixth Infusion: The final infusion is still just as strongly fruity but also astringently dry.
Go for the Sun Moon Lake Assam if you want robust black tea that is max fruity, rich, darker flavors, and full body. However, this tea comes with a side of dryness. Sun Moon Lake Assam makes for great cold brews, iced teas, and heck, fine with milk.
Sun Moon Lake Red Jade Ruby 18 Black Tea
Ruby 18 is a modern tea. Some places say it is a cross of Assam, others say a Myanmar (previously Burma) large leaf Assamica with a native Taiwanese tea.
The dry leaf smells like white bread toast and honey, whereas the hot leaf smells like berries and honey.
First and Second Infusion: Ruby 18 always has a place in my heart. This one sports a blackberry flavor with honey. The background is softly woodsy though the tea is overall lighter than the Assam. This Ruby 18 has a soft cooling feel in the throat after you drink.
Third, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Infusion: I’ve hit the meat of the tea. Sun Moon Lake Red Jade is blackberries, stewed cinnamon, and honey. Some aftertastes have a touch of floral notes. It did develop some astringency that got stronger and stronger with each infusion until the tea waned.
Sun Moon Lake Red Jade is a lovely classic Ruby 18 that shines with great fruity and honey notes with a bonus cooling aftertaste sensation. This is a black tea to try if you aren’t into black teas as they are light and fruity.
Sun Moon Lake Red Rhyme Ruby 21 Black Tea
Ruby 21 is another modern hybrid tea, but a cross of Chinese Keemun and Indian Kyang variety. I’ve had Ruby 21 a couple of times at shops but not enough to play with at home.
The scent of the leaves is sweet, almost like tayberry.
The hot steeped leaf continues with the sweet scent but also a cinnamon one.
First and Second Infusion: I was thinking Sun Moon Lake Red Rhyme would be a meld of the Assam and Ruby 18 but it is in its own category. It tastes like raisins and stewed mulled spices. The texture is thicker and oily compared to the previous teas with the finish having a fresh ripe grapefruit note.
Third and Fourth Infusion: Each steeping gets less fruity and sinks more into spices and citrus. Sun Moon Lake Red Rhyme has an excellent oily mouthfeel making the experience awesome. At the fourth infusion, the astringency finally shows up.
Fifth and Sixth Infusion: Red Rhyme slips in flavor and develops stronger astringency, the flavor shifts strongly to be of grapefruit and pith with a tangy sweet aftertaste.
Sun Moon Lake Red Rhyme is an interesting tea to try something a little different with the great mouthfeel and interesting complexity with the spices and grapefruit. This tea leans more refreshing compared to the others.
Sun Moon Lake Taiwan Native Black Tea
Sun Moon Lake Taiwan Native Black Tea indigenous to Taiwan and known as an heirloom variety Cang Ya.
The dry leaf takes it another step forward smelling like raisin bread.
While I was doing the rinse, I could smell the tea’s strong aromatic blackberry scent. Scratch Ruby 18 smelling like blackberries, this Native Cultivar is dead on.
First and Second Infusion: Sun Moon Lake Taiwan Native is thick cottony mouthfeel with notes of river rocks and almost bubblegum and blueberries. This tea is on the subtle side compared to the others, the flavor intensity is much lighter but hits the tongue different like thinking thick soup.
Third, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Infusion: Sun Moon Lake Taiwan Native has developed a stronger presence tasting like how a blueberry bush smells. The background has notes of driftwood and rocks with the aftertaste softly citrus and lightly refreshing. It’s a gentle tea with chill energy. At the fifth infusion is got some astringency but not as much compared to the other teas.
Seventh and Eighth Infusion: The last infusion is blackberry tasting and lightly astringent. This one seems easier to steep out of the rest.
Sun Moon Lake Taiwan Native is one of those teas where you want something special and a fun tea to nerd out on. I think this one has the best mouthfeel of the bunch and complexity, but it is a more subtle tea compared to the rest. This one would thermos and grandpa style the best as it is more forgiving to steep.
In the end, pay attention to what Sun Moon Lake you get as the flavor profiles vary. A few times I’ve been surprised as I was under the assumption everything Sun Moon Lake was likely Ruby 18 but then getting the Assam cultivar, which wasn’t what I wanted. After trying all these, I enjoy the Cang Ya for my thermos, but I also love the Ruby 21 for summer tea drinking.
(tea provided for review)
