Wuyi Ensemble

The re-steep of this actually brought out some surprisingly fruity flavors! This is such an interesting and delicious oolong I LOVE IT. In fact I am going to raise the score right now.

Used more leaf this time just because I didn’t have enough 2 separate sessions, just one large-ish session. Cut down the steep time a bit to compensate.

The first thing I though upon taking a sip was “Pineapple!?” That sweeter flavor that I found before but couldn’t ID is apparently coming across as a pineapple flavor today. More fresh than canned… the taste of one that is a lighter yellow and not so juicy. So mild pineapple, but yeah. Plus some honey. So more like not-juicy-pineapple brushed with honey.

Not at all what I was expecting with this but it’s good!

My first Wuyi Oolong and quite a tea for its smoky camp fire without the over powering essence like Lapsang. Its quite akin to roasted nuts maybe close to a Dragonwell but without its sweetness of chestnuts…alomost like roasted banana leaves. A light tea, not too savory, a bit like Chinese greens, certainly a tea for the late afternoon and even at night. A perfect tea to go with a delectable Phillipino/Malay dessert called “Suman” or roasted coconut sticky rice wrapped in banana leaves! Certainly a must have tea!

Aroma reminds me of toasted rice. Nice, golden color and a smooth taste. This one’s a winner.

Ah, so smooth and sweet with no astringency or grassy flavors. I’m picking up apple, almost and applewoodsy taste, as well as grape and a hint of pecan. I had three infusions of this one and the flavor doesn’t seem to vary much with each steeping.

This is my first Wuyi oolong so I can’t really judge its quality or how it compares to other Wuyis but here goes…

I feel overwhelmed by flavor. Especially in the first infusion. It’s like drinking dirt mixed with burned wood and decomposed fruit. It’s very earthy, strong and sweet. I can’t pick out any particular fruit but the sweetness is cloying with the lasting aftertaste. I spent some time trying to figure out what exactly it is and the closest I get is canned sweet corn. I love sweet corn and can eat it right out of a can but it just doesn’t seem to work well in tea.

On the positive side the leaves keep going even after the 3d infusion and I might actually get a few more out of them but I’m stopping here.

Will I be trying more Wuyi? Absolutely but I’ll stay away from this one.

This is one of my favorite oolong because of its slight nutty flavor. Unfortunately this will be my last pot for a while since I just finished off the tin.

Sipdown (115)

It’s a tea and homework day with my cousins! Wuiy Ensemble. Part of that dragon sampler pack from Adagio I got like.. Actually I just checked my order history, and I got it less than 2 months ago! So not as long as I thought it was, but happily sipping down this nice, roasted oolong :)
This is the kind of tea that I would like to keep in my cupboard, but I’m not too upset with letting it go.

I got three steeps and then it got a little watered down. I definitely liked the earthiness and the sweet aftertaste. I’ve always been a black tea snob, especially Keemun and Lapsang Souchang but I think oolongs are slowly winning me over.

Yau. VEry warm and nutty – think I used just a bit too much, as it had a bit of a bitter aftertaste. Nothing that won’t be fixed with a little experimentation.

Lovely caramel color. Will try a second round tomorrow!