2011 "Qi Lan" Grade A Wuyi Mountain Oolong Tea

Earthquake tea! When the tower of the hospital that I work in started visibly shaking this afternoon, we did not assume earthquake, but it turns out that’s what it was. Enough to make the building sway fairly significantly, but not enough to do any damage. Anyway, now it’s time for some tea. Another at-random selection from the ol’ bag of dark oolongs!

The aroma on this one is decidedly less roasty, though that is only in comparison to the previous one I had, which was incredibly roasty. I do believe there are some floral notes lurking behind the roasted oolong scent. They come out in the flavor too, but surprisingly this tea lacks a very distinct sweet note you might expect, though it is faintly there. It definitely has the roasted nutty taste as the main note, but I’m liking this one for it’s slight floral character.

As others have noted, the honey-sweetness and roastiness are less prevalent in this than in the other China Cha Dao Oolong samples. However, I’ve really enjoyed five infusions of it. It’s certainly more subtle, and perhaps less complex. But, I like how it evolved for me. I was really surprised by the strong floral notes I got from the third steep onwards. It started out quite nutty, and the floral emerged to work alongside the nuttiness.

A very good Wuyi Mountain Oolong. This is the “Mama Bear” of the Wuyi Mountain Oolongs I tried from China Cha Dao. Not too smokey, not too sweet, but just right. Enough complexity to keep me interested through several steepings. It is distinctive in it’s aroma, and does not overwhelm you as some can. One note, this tea really depends on having good water that is not hard, best with bottled spring water (soft).

Thanks to Jerry Ma for the free sample!
This tea is excellent!!
This is only Grade ‘A’, but it was better (imho) than the ‘AAA’ Da Hong Pao sample…
It was deliciously fruity – strong honey and cinnamon, along with some kind of tropical fruit (not tart-, nor berry-, nor plum-, fruit like).

The cinnamon flavor was clearly present at first, but it always ended with a really good honey-like flavor, and a nice returning sweetness. I haven’t had much Wuyi Oolong before, but this was very good.

This is one of those high end tea drink as opposed to store brand tea. It is lighter in roasted flavoring; and honey like in taste leaving for a very smooth, almost velvety note on the palette.

The leaves are roasted, dark, crunchy and curled and when dispensed amidst the water in the cup the leaves unfolds to fullness; and what was dark in coloring of the leaves is a mild green; and yes the leaves are edible as well. Maintaining that honey flavoring throughout.

Texture is described as smooth and mellow and this conjures the honey sweetness in the cup making for a slight flora aroma and not vegetal.

This has a semi-strong scent that is sort of “standard oolong” -nutty/seedy with a barely-there honey tone.

Tasting it, this one’s a little weird but in a good way. It has a good sized flavor, brown (maybe walnutty) taste around the back of the tongue, a typical oolong flavor in the center of the tongue and a slight clover sweetness. It also has a strong “something” that is good but I can’t describe.

Conclusions: I like it but doubt I’d buy it. It’s good, I’m glad I got to try it, but it’s not a wow-er. I look forward to trying the other samples as this one makes me think it’s possible there’s a “buyer” in there.

Oh, and I must add the they are very generous samples. Enough for a few cups, unlike some sample-senders, which is great as it can take me a few cups to really decide on a tea. Sometimes a second or third cup will take something from “meh” to “gotta have” or vice versa. These samples are enough to really explore the tea.

This tea left me feeling very whelmed, it is nothing to right home about, but appranently it is something to write on steepster about. I’ve had worse yancha’s but I have definitely had better. If I was given a tin of this stuff I would drink it, unlike some others I’ve had. But this won’t be going on my wish list.

This tea is a bit dull and flat and lacked the floral subtleties that I have grown to crave in some of the better teas that emerge from the wuyi region. It held up quite well to multiple resteeps, on my third at the moment, but honestly I consider that a shame.

Again thanks to China Cha Dao for the sample but I can’t in good conscience recommend this one. 2 down 4 to go.

185F. 4min. 1g leaf per 80ml water.

Compared to the other samples I tried, this one is less toasty, but also less sweet.
It’s like a “lite” version of the other types. Which is not to say that this tea is bad, because it is not. I am currently on my second infusion, which I am enjoying greatly.
It is, however, less impressive than the other samples. Good, but not outstanding.

I haven’t had an oolong in awhile, so I decided this afternoon was as good a time as any. Although the first infusions of oolongs are never my favorite – I quite like this cup of tea. There is a bit of nutty and smooth with a slight sweetness that I hope develops more over subsequent infusions. I’m looking forward to drinking this cup a bit quickly so I can get to more and hopefully tastier infusions. Rating is on hold for now – will rate after having a couple more infusions.

_{This is my second review in a series of six samples from China Cha Dao}

Experience buying from China Cha Dao: I responded to an offer on Steepster for free samples. Received exactly what was stated in the offer: fresh tea and very generous sample sizes. On their website on eBay they have a good variety of tea for reasonable prices.

Age of leaf: Stated as harvested in 2011. Received in mid-summer, brewed in very early fall 2011.

Packaging: small, clear bags with small label printed with the full name of the tea.

Dry leaf: similar roasted aroma to the Da Hong Pao I sampled previously, but not quite as strong; long, slender, dark brown leaves.

Brewing guidelines: four 8-oz cups of water used, leaves loose in glass Bodum pot. Stevia added. _{(I tried to keep the following guidelines as consistent as I could throughout the series)}
…………….1st : 195, 2’
…………….2nd: 195, 3’
…………….3rd: 190, 5’ (mild flavor, so no forth attempted)

Aroma: very mild, fresh and pleasant fragrance.

Color of liquor: light amber color.

Wet leaf: aroma is intense, almost harsh, but they also have a tiny hint of caramel? Leaves are dark green with a few small brown leaves here and there. Otherwise same appearance as the Da Hong Pao: lots of large leaves with a fair amount of smallish pieces that look chopped and a few stems. For this oolong, most of the leaves were on the bottom at the end of the first steeping, and all were on the bottom for the remaining steepings.

Flavor: tastes like most oolongs I have had, with a roasted flavor—-like coffee—-but much milder than the Da Hong Pao. A little more pleasant once it cooled a bit. On the second steeping, not as harsh, and not as coffee-like. I’m not certain, but it seems I am picking up a very faint hint of something fruity in the after-taste.

Value: Free 10-gram sample (Thank you Jerry Ma @ China Cha Dao tea on Ebay!). His regular tea is very reasonably priced, I judge ($7/125grams).

Overall _{(I consider myself a newbie when it comes to oolongs)} This on was not as interesting as the Da Hong Pao, but it was still an enjoyable oolong. I tried it chilled, mixed with some chilled passion fruit flavored black tea: the combination was quite interesting! This tea is not something I would buy and brew up, but I don’t mind drinking it.

I’m pretty new to tea in general ,so it is rather difficult to express how this tea tastes. The flavor was only a medium in terms of strength, and it had a pleasing aftertaste. The scent of the tea was also unique, which simultaneously reminded me of flowers and roasted nuts. All in all, it was a very pleasing experience.

This was a rating of the first infusion, steeped for 3 minutes at 93 degrees centigrade.

So far, this has been my favorite Wuyi I received in the sample set from ChaDao. It reminds me of a wuyi TGY mix. It has a smooth/sweet flavor. I definitely stands alone. I am not used to Wuyis without smokiness. Love it. I am just surprised it has been rated so low.