Thank you to FONG MONG TEA for this lovely Sample
Yesterday a box of tea samples arrived from Taiwan! How exciting to recieve tea’s from a company that is new to me and see what the tea is like.
I picked this Oolong at random to begin with. It is fortunate that the instructions for brewing were listed here on Steepster.
My choice of equipment was a small porcelain Gaiwan. I used spring water, the steep time was 6 minutes at 212F. The leaves are hand picked, hand rolled and lovely deep green nuggets.
The liquor ranged from a dark gold on the first steeping to medium yellow then light yellow thereafter.
1. Having little experience with Oolongs, I had no preconcieved rule about what they must taste like. However, this Oolong right out of the gate struck me as an amazing experience! Like a series of bullets from a Gatling Gun I was struck with one flavor after another in rapid succession. A flavor would begin and go away, another begin and leave quickly on and on.
Wild Mint Coolness, Artichoke, Floral Orchid, Juice, Light Sparkling Water,Tingling, Minty Coolness, Smooth, Creamy and Sweet!
What kind of tea was this?
2. With the second steeping the heavy vegital taste and rapid fire flavor bullet experience ended. Now, with my head out of the clouds, I could think clearly. The wild mountain, minty coolness made me think about the creek where I used to sit by a waterfall under the canopy of coast redwood trees. It looked very prehistoric…the riverbank covered with ferns and wild orchids. Sticking my toes in the water as I used to do, and sipping this tea would be the best experience! So refreshing and mystical! Like time standing still. Thinking on this, I could imagine the influence of high mountain mists on these tea leaves. You could taste the mist in the coolness…and it moved me deeply. I noticed a warmth at the back of my throat like a ray of sunshine or the comfort of honey. A small gift from the earth in this fine tea.
3. This Oolong was not giving up at three steepings. I could tell that there were many, many beautiful steepings to go. The flavor stayed cool, sweet, smooth, buttery, juicy and lush. I let my cup cool down to see what would happen to the taste. Ha! There was no astringency or bitterness. Loved that!
Some tea’s are meant to be special. Company tea. Special occasion tea. I think this tea is one of those special tea’s and more. It is truly elegant and refined.
This Oolong should be enjoyed often!
