Fujian Rain

THANK YOU AUTUMN HEARTH FOR MAKING MY DAY! After opening the package I recieved today I wasted no time getting this one into my press. I will skip all of the formalities and jump to what I tasted. Wow is this tea complex and sweet and lovely. It was just busy with pleasantries. I’m actually backlogging so will do this justice in a tasting note later.
In no paticular order, because I’m going off of a memory that is always suspect, I found roasted, honey, the slight mineral tang so applauded, fruity, faint nuttiness, clean and light-yet pronounced and vibrant.
I’ve seemed to be in a slump as of late; less time to write notes than I desire, coupled with knowing that a few of the ones that I did write weren’t particularly my favs, left me feeling detached from the joy of exploration. Boy is that resolved!
I say it again, I love this tea. Sorry I have so little to expound upon, I just wanted to get this out for now. I look forward to giving a formal note the next time I treat myself to this drink. I foresee a bag in the cupboard.
tunes,a mishmash=Big Head Todd&the Monsters/Bittersweet,The Heavy/Sixteen,Rusted Root/Cruel Sun,The Temptation/Papa Was A Rolling Stone,Taj Mahal/John The Revelator,Kimbra/Plain Gold Ring,John Butler Trio/What You Want

So this tea was at the top of my Adagio wishlist and happened to be the first tea on sample when I walked into their store in Chicago. This store was everything I wish Teavana could be, in fact the layout is much what I pictured when I first applied to work at Teavana.

The teas line the outside walls, the are pre-packaged with two different sizes for loose leaf as well as bagged and each tea has its own smelling jar that you can sniff at your leisure. What’s more is you can taste any of the teas you want. As such they didn’t really have sample sizes like online, except for in the masters collection, because you can already try before you buy. So I had to limit myself to two teas to take home rather than six, I will probably order more online though as I’m signed up for their rewards program.

The guy who was helping me, who also used to work at a Teavana, brewed four for me in competition tasting cups with spoons. I sampled a Darjeeling Oolong, Oriental Beauty and the two Wuyi’s to compare, though I kinda wish I had tried the Twilight Ti Kuan Yin too. All were lovely, though the Formosa didn’t have all the notes I was looking for.

I chose the higher grade Wuyi and this to take home because they both showed promise for gongfu brewing, but in very different ways. With this one the sample was brewed for three minutes and was quite strong and complex and I just wanted to deconstruct it. I was rewarded for this decision today.

The first infusion was sparkling and stone sweet, well the second was a bit salty, and the third started picking up honey and roasted notes and the last two have just started to give hints of fruit.

I did 5 infusions before lunch and plan on resuming in a bit. I will update with any further observations today. For now I doubt it will become a staple in my cupboard, I’d rather have a Big Red Robe, but I am enjoying it for what it is.

Edit: I didn’t realize this was a Shui Xian (because I’m silly and didn’t read) no wonder I kept thinking of this yesterday when trying to pinpoint flavors I had experienced before in Verdant’s Shui Xian Wuyi Oolong. While this is an enjoyable tea, Verdant’s blows my mind and surprise! is actually slightly less money ($1.25 less for the 2oz). That being said I think Adagio is a great company, I had a wonderful experience in their store and their custom blends pull on my geeky heartstrings though I am more of a straight tea fan.

Lovely rock mineral tasting tea. Be sure to steep correctly to get MANY infusions out of it!

Dry Smell: Raisins and hay.

Wet Smell: Like Brussel sprouts.

Well, this tastes vary similar to Brussel sprouts. I like brussel sprouts so this works for me. There is a bit of mineral taste to it though that just peaks through.

I’ve never had anything like it – but I like it! I taste the mineral taste that everyone says is so characteristic of rock oolongs. It’s earthy but not in the same way that a pu’erh is – it’s very light. Delicious! I’m brewing gong fu and I really enjoy the different flavors which emerge as the leaves open up.

I’m new to oolongs and got this from a sampler. From reading other reviews, I do notice the rock mineral taste. There are also some peach notes after it cools. Very nice.

Well I tried to drink this yesterday.. but I was forced out the door too quickly when my boyfriend wanted to go swimming. So I threw it in my bottle and.. that was it.. BUT today I had nothing to take my morning away.. so I made the last little bit I had and it was delicious. I love oolongs so this was perfect. A very mineraly flavor. But it’s still smooth. You get a sweet aftertaste. This is now one of my favorite oolongs :]

Tastes sort of like a light pu-erh, or over brewed bai mudan, maybe. Overall, I’m not impressed. I think green oolongs are more my thing.

This oolong has a nice mineral aftertaste just like the other rock oolongs I’ve had. I taste a little bit of the honey but the peach is very faint. It has an interesting grittiness that the other wuyi oolongs didn’t have, almost sandy. The roasted flavor is great and comes through strongly without being overpowering.

Fujiam Rain is one of the best Shui Xian Wuyi oolongs that I have had the pleasure of drinking. If one is poetic in their tasting notes fujian rain would be the perfect description of how it tastes assuming that rain would have a light and sweet taste to it. Just be careful about getting this tea too strong as it quickly goes downhill but brewed right it is a very nice light and sweet wuyi oolong with amazing reinfusability. When gaiwan brewed I have literally brewed easily 10 cups or more from a single set of leaves.

Brad – fairly heavily roasted. I liked it.
Sarah – didn’t really like.