This is an incredibly sweet tea that fills your mouth leaving a syrupy coating that you need a glass of water to wash out. Seriously, I had to put down the gaiwan after a few cups and reach for something salty to cleanse my palette. Verdant aptly describes the flavor of this tea as “sweet lingering…juicy lychee”. This tea is heavy on the sweeter notes and if you pay attention, there is a bit of floral background and some mineral notes that begin to emerge with subsequent steepings.
Overall I liked this tea but wasn’t blown away by it. It’s high quality for sure but is a little lacking in complexity. Yunnan’s Wu Liang Gao Shan Oolong (last year’s harvest) remains my favorite green oolong. Like Verdant, it’s intensely sweet, but that sweetness is balanced with creamy vanilla and florals.
I brewed this gongfu style per Verdant’s instructions (5g of leaf, 205 F water, short steeps) and found it lackluster. It fared much better when brewed western style following a quick rinse at a slightly lower temperature.
Flavors: Honey, Lychee, Nectar
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Oh man, I’m going to have to get me some of that YS oolong! I’ve always liked this tea, but I agree, it seems simple. I’ve found that I like this tea best when I compound all the gong fu steeps into one cup and drink that. It’s more intense than western style!
Oh man, I’m going to have to get me some of that YS oolong! I’ve always liked this tea, but I agree, it seems simple. I’ve found that I like this tea best when I compound all the gong fu steeps into one cup and drink that. It’s more intense than western style!