I know that I will have to write more on this tea later. I have immensely enjoyed drinking this tea on what turned out to be a rather crazy day at the office. I honestly believe that the tea has kept me sane. This sample was sent to me by the wonderful Doulton and I can’t thank her enough. Thank you, thank you!!! Not only is this oolong absolutely lovely, the Seven Cups tea company is fantastic. I urge all of you oolong lovers to check out their website. www.sevencups.com – I honestly haven’t gotten very far into the site, I’ve been too overwhelmed and super excited about their oolong section. I love all of the details (harvest dates!) and origin notes that they include for each tea. They also host 14-15 day tours in China that are absolutely to die for. I know, I know…it’s one more tea company to bookmark. But you should do it!
Eight Immortals, besides having an ultra rad name, is very strong for an oolong. It tastes like a lightly roasted oolong…0% green tasting (which scores big points for me). The dry leaves look just like the picture, but once they steep and unfurl, I was surprised at how green they really were. The tea has a heavy and oily mouthfeel to it. (I think this is the first time I’ve ever typed the word “mouthfeel”. Maybe it’s just me, but the word strikes me as slightly perverse.) This is the first tea I’ve ever thought of as oily tasting. It’s a rather odd sensation. The tea is filling…almost like it is full of calories. I did not experience the strong floral smell that the description details. It just smelled oolong-y to me. All in all, Eight Immortals is an oolong for those who want their oolongs to taste like oolongs. I do not particularly detect any floral or bread-y notes. It’s almost like an oolong concentrate. I think this might be another contender for my Yixing pot. Yay!
Thanks again Doulton!
