ETA: since I wrote this review a few months ago, I have almost gone through the 2oz I bought…Today, I lost count of all the gongfu infusions I made. I’M IN LOVE WITH THIS OOLONG!!
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Major backlog:
Last Thanksgiving, I won Stacy’s contest for a Gaiwan of my choice. I was super excited and chose one especially for oolongs cause it’s 8oz and it leaves plenty of room the leaves to expend. She knows how happy I was, thanks to her, I am no longer part of those whiny people who “never win anything”! I also bought from her a clear glass cup and saucer that I enjoy using almost everyday, here’s a few pics of both:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/laafeevertee/8544559687/lightbox/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/laafeevertee/8545714720/lightbox/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/laafeevertee/8544559785/lightbox/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/laafeevertee/8544559745/lightbox/
Thanks again Stacy, love the Gaiwan, excellent quality and so pretty!
Now the tea. First aged oolong for me. Tommy the Toad’s raving reviews made it impossible for me not to buy it. Thanks Tommy, this is now one of my favorite tea and has helped me relax and focus lately.
Smoky ink black lustrous nuggets, they look like magic pebbles!
The rinse is super caramel and honey sweet with a faint mineral taste. ( yeah, I can help tasting my rinse, sometimes it turns out yummy like this one and it would be such a waste to just throw it!)
1rst steep: OMG! What? Really? Ahhh. I need more, this is so potent!
Fruity, slightly smoky, strong burnt caramel. I also get buttery macadamia nuts, I get coffee, there’s so much going on, wow!
There’s also a very interesting texture to it, it feels like a silk ribbon in my mouth.
The smell of the wet leaf is very pungent, an acre smokiness that doesn’t reflect in the taste being so smooth.
The 2nd steep is still honey like, but loosing a bit of its sweet intensity, leaving room for those burnt roasted notes that are trying to emerge more strongly.
What is that “je ne sais quoi” everyone is trying to describe? It reminds me of that honeycomb crunchy toffee my mom used to make out of corn syrup and baking soda. It had a strong taste of sweet burnt caramel and a mineral aftertaste that came from the baking soda, put in there for one reason: create a chemical reaction that made the preparation look like a volcano in eruption! A pan full of lava, how cool was that?
Funny, cause in my adult life, I’m not a huge fan of sugar and desserts, but I have so many vivid childhood memories related to them! Maybe some shrink could explain that?
3 tsp Gungfu style will render about 10 steeps, all better than one another. Just like Tommy says, this tea is “Liquid Love” and is good which ever way you decide to brew it!
Because it is equally as good as it makes me feel, it well deserves a 100 rating!
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Story:
When I was 7, a bad thing happened to me: I had a close encounter with child abduction. What saved me was that little voice we all have inside. Some choose to ignore it, I listen to it. It was a close call, but I acted on it at the right moment. I’m probably more in touch with it than most people are. It’s called intuition. Women in my family have lots of it.
It was also at the age of 7 that my Grandma introduced me to loose leaf tea.
When things get tough in my life, tea and music are my drugs of choice.
Elliott smith, a favorite artist of mine, wrote these lyrics:
«I’ll fake it through the day,
With some help from Johnny Walker red,
Send the poison rain down the drain,
To put bad thoughts in my head»
If I was a hard liquor drinker…but I’m not, so my take on this song is:
«I’ll fake it through the day
With some help from Four Season Oolong…»
Yep, this tea is really helps…
(If you don’t already know him and you’re interested, here’s a link to the beautiful poetry of Elliott Smith:)
