I bought this tea in 2020 just before the pandemic. As is true of a few other people here, Shibi is my favourite green oolong from Taiwan Tea Crafts because of all the tropical fruit. Fortunately, the vacuum sealing meant that this tea didn’t lose much of its flavour in the two years it’s been in my tea museum. I steeped 6 g of leaf in a 120 ml teapot at 195F for 25, 20, 25, 30, 30, 30, 45, 60, 90, 120, 180, and 240 seconds.
The dry aroma is of coconut, pear, apricot, lilies, honeysuckle, and grass. The first steep has notes of coconut, cookies, vanilla, pear, spinach, orchid, honeysuckle, butter, and grass. The second steep adds citrus, apricot, cream, and wildflowers. The third steep is all about the heavy coconut cream, with heady florals, vanilla, and what might be passion fruit in the background. The florals become more noticeable as the tea cools. By steep five, spinach, grass, and herbs are coming to the fore, though there’s still plenty of creamy coconut and honeysuckle, orchid, narcissus, and other florals. I also get an apricot/peachy aftertaste. The fruit fades by steep eight, though the florals persist until the end of the session.
As always, this Shibi is an excellent tea. Any oolong with so much coconut automatically gets a high rating from me, and the variety of other fruits and flowers is fantastic. My only small complaint is its relative lack of longevity, though that’s only in comparison to the other, pricier tropical fruity oolongs I’ve been drinking lately (the 2021 Longfenxia from Ethan and the 2019 Li Shan from Zhao Zhou come to mind). I highly recommend this tea for aficionados of fruity Taiwanese oolong!
Flavors: Apricot, Butter, Citrus, Coconut, Cookie, Cream, Floral, Grass, Herbaceous, Honeysuckle, Lily, Narcissus, Orchid, Passion Fruit, Peach, Pear, Spinach, Vanilla, Vegetal
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Damn, that’s a high statement for Zhao Zhous (I finished it too quickly)! I’ve always wussed out of Shibi from Taiwan Tea Crafts because of shipping…which is hypocritical now, but I am.
I’ve only had the Li Shan from Zhao Zhou once, but found it to be somewhat similar to the Longfengxia. I’m not surprised that you finished it quickly! Shipping from TTC used to be free over US$60, though I think it’s gotten more expensive. They also have a huge selection of teas, which means there are hits and misses for me.
Yep. They also either had only 5-10 gram samples, or 250 gram servings every time I try to buy it. I need to time it right.
Yes, it’s annoying that they only have 10, 25, and 250 g sizes. I’ve been tempted to get the 250 g megapack, but there are occasionally less-than-stellar harvests.
That’s what I saw in your and Luckyme’s reviews. It’s like I need to know the harvest is good, and then I can buy it…oh it’s sold out.
LOL! LuckyMe is generally more up to date on reviews than me, but there’s definitely a lag time.
@Leafhopper So glad you like this one! It’s also my favorite high mountain tea from TTC’s lineup. Also, I wish every company packaged their tea the same way. Keeps them fresh practically forever and relieves my anxiety about unopened tea going stale on me.
@Daylon, I’ve been buying Shibi for a few years now and it’s generally a consistent performer as opposed to others like Long Feng xia where I have no idea what to expect from one season to the next.
Woof, that sounds delightful!
LuckyMe, those vacuum packs do make a whole lot of difference.
Derk, I thought you’d already tried an iteration of this tea. I would have saved you some otherwise.
Damn, that’s a high statement for Zhao Zhous (I finished it too quickly)! I’ve always wussed out of Shibi from Taiwan Tea Crafts because of shipping…which is hypocritical now, but I am.
I’ve only had the Li Shan from Zhao Zhou once, but found it to be somewhat similar to the Longfengxia. I’m not surprised that you finished it quickly! Shipping from TTC used to be free over US$60, though I think it’s gotten more expensive. They also have a huge selection of teas, which means there are hits and misses for me.
Yep. They also either had only 5-10 gram samples, or 250 gram servings every time I try to buy it. I need to time it right.
Yes, it’s annoying that they only have 10, 25, and 250 g sizes. I’ve been tempted to get the 250 g megapack, but there are occasionally less-than-stellar harvests.
That’s what I saw in your and Luckyme’s reviews. It’s like I need to know the harvest is good, and then I can buy it…oh it’s sold out.
LOL! LuckyMe is generally more up to date on reviews than me, but there’s definitely a lag time.
@Leafhopper So glad you like this one! It’s also my favorite high mountain tea from TTC’s lineup. Also, I wish every company packaged their tea the same way. Keeps them fresh practically forever and relieves my anxiety about unopened tea going stale on me.
@Daylon, I’ve been buying Shibi for a few years now and it’s generally a consistent performer as opposed to others like Long Feng xia where I have no idea what to expect from one season to the next.
Woof, that sounds delightful!
LuckyMe, those vacuum packs do make a whole lot of difference.
Derk, I thought you’d already tried an iteration of this tea. I would have saved you some otherwise.