92

It has taken me awhile to really get my thoughts together on this one. The first time I had this tea, I thought it was solid, but kind of simple. Every other time I have had it, however, it has just about blown me away. Today, I tried brewing this tea a couple of different ways and it continued to impress me. So, after all of that, there was nothing left for me to do but review it, so here goes.

I brewed this tea using a three step Western infusion. The temperature was set at 175 F. Note that while this temperature may seem too low for brewing an oolong, the merchant recommends it. Furthermore, with this being such a green oolong, keeping the temperature low ensures that the tea doesn’t develop any weird, bitter, and/or cooked flavors. The tea was then steeped in increments of 3, 5, and 7 minutes.

First Infusion: The infused liquor showed a pale greenish gold. Aromas of soybean, lettuce, spinach, honey, cream, and orange blossom were present on the nose. Strong flavors of soybean, lettuce, honey, cream, steamed buns, and orange blossom were underscored by notes of spinach, kale, minerals, and sticky rice. The finish had gorgeous orange blossom, honey, and cream notes with hints of minerality and leaf vegetables.

Second Infusion: The color of the liquor seemed to be pretty much unchanged. Floral, honey, and cream aromas really took center stage on the nose. The palate followed the nose, with robust, expressive notes of honey, orange blossom, and cream. I noticed that the mineral, steamed bun, and sticky rice notes were a little stronger here too. The vegetal notes took a backseat, but were still present enough to round things out a bit. The mineral notes were really apparent on the finish. I also noticed slight hay-like and buttery notes on the finish as well.

Third Infusion: The liquor was lighter in color here and appeared to be more gold. Very delicate aromas of cream, minerals, steamed buns, and sticky rice were noticeable on the nose. In the mouth, I picked up mild notes of kale, spinach, lettuce, and soybean balanced by steamed bun, sticky rice, and mineral notes. There was still a touch of honey and orange blossom, as well as what may have been hints hay and butter in the background. The finish was short, and really emphasized the interplay of cream and minerals.

Truthfully, I was tempted to attempt a fourth infusion of around 9-10 minutes, but decided to stick with my usual three. By the third infusion, the flavors were very mild and were starting to wash out more than a bit, so I stopped there. All in all, I really, really like this oolong. It is unique, very approachable, and to me, displays the best qualities of both a Tieguanyin and a Laoshan green tea. I would recommend this tea very highly to oolong neophytes and aficionados alike.

Flavors: Butter, Cream, Hay, Honey, Kale, Lettuce, Mineral, Orange Blossom, Rice, Soybean, Spinach

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 3 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML

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Bio

My grading criteria for tea is as follows:

90-100: Exceptional. I love this stuff. If I can get it, I will drink it pretty much every day.

80-89: Very good. I really like this stuff and wouldn’t mind keeping it around for regular consumption.

70-79: Good. I like this stuff, but may or may not reach for it regularly.

60-69: Solid. I rather like this stuff and think it’s a little bit better-than-average. I’ll drink it with no complaints, but am more likely to reach for something I find more enjoyable than revisit it with regularity.

50-59: Average. I find this stuff to be more or less okay, but it is highly doubtful that I will revisit it in the near future if at all.

40-49: A little below average. I don’t really care for this tea and likely won’t have it again.

39 and lower: Varying degrees of yucky.

Don’t be surprised if my average scores are a bit on the high side because I tend to know what I like and what I dislike and will steer clear of teas I am likely to find unappealing.

Location

KY

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