Honestly, it’s hard to tell that this is an Oolong. This is a very light roast, an you can tell immediately just by looking at the leaves. The tightly rolled leaves are green, and smell strongly of lilac, completely lacking the usual roasted smell of Oolongs. Of course, my experience is mostly with Wuyi oolongs, that that might not be a fair comparison.
Anyway, the first infusion was interesting. The tea was very much like a green tea, with very strong vegetative notes and a flowery aftertaste. I was a bit surprised by the astringency that was present, but that disappeared after the first infusion. The aroma of the tea is something between an orchid and lilac, and is very pleasing. Later infusions become sweeter, and the flavors mellow nicely, but I only got six infusions out of the tea. Regardless, The tea did improve, peaked with the third infusion, and then mellowed until it was lightly-scented water with a bit of flavoring.
The bottom line about this tea is that it is light, flowery, and a rather pleasant tea that I look forward to enjoying again.
