2011 Spring "Shi Ru" AAA+ Wuyi Mount Chinese Oolong Tea

I’m brewing this tea Grandpa style – which I’ve never tried – but am definitely enjoying it. I’m having a hard time describing the flavor of this tea. There is a definite light mineral taste with a hint of wood. I also taste some floral aspects which remind me of a greener oolong. But while I’m not sure about the flavors, I am really enjoying this tea prepared in this manner.

Another very good quality Oolong from China Cha Dao. Nice aroma, slight scent of roasted apples and wood fire. A very mild sweetness to the flavor, and a wonderful feel in the mouth. Beautiful amber color, and you can see nice unfurling of the medium sized leaves.

I fist brewed a sample western style, with about 1 heaping teaspoon for 7 ounces of near boiling water. It lasted for several infusions and really got me hooked. This afternoon I tried brewing gong fu style in a small 150 ml zisha yixing, and the results were equally pleasing.

A very interesting journey in tasting this tea. It is one that I have enjoyed very much and look forward to drinking again.

Brief 10 rinse.
The first steep is almost light feeling, some mineral and staying with the barley and birch flavors. The floral layer comes out when it cools somewhat.
Second steep is even lighter, more wheat and woodsy.
The third is lightly grain and floral, very nice.

I wouldn’t call this one sweet but gives the impression of sweetness, which I love, usually in white teas. The cloud of heavy metal I asscociate with Wuyi is absent and the roasted flavor is welcome in this tea, a blanced brew indeed. The large leaves and subtler flavors make this the best contemplation tea of all the samples. I think I like this one best and I burned the first cup!

Another China Cha Dao sample. I think this one has the most pleasing aroma when brewed of the ones I’ve tried so far; it’s a nice balance of roasted grains (but not over-toasted) and sweetish, honeyed florals.

This is definitely one of my favorites of the samples. The roasty flavor is light and not to charcoaly or overly robust, which I am enjoying. I find that I like my teas to have a sweet feeling to them, if not a sweet taste, and the exceptionally roasty ones seem more savory. Which is funny because I don’t get a distinct sweet flavor from this one (but did on the roastiest one, the Golden Key). A very slightly vegetal floral character, like one you would see in a green oolong, peeks out here and there. Overall this is just a nice, balanced cup.

Another obtained China Cha Dao sampler that is most enjoyable. This is a good morning cup of tea which is very mild and fresh in aromatic flavoring. I don’t find this to be heavy at all.

The liquor is lightly greenish in color, almost yellow like and it is very smooth in texture; and sweet not vegetal. I drink it all day long and find it most enjoyable.

I am grateful for a simpler cup of loose leaf tea. It is gentle on the palette, not demanding much investigation.

I was going through my box of Oolongs, and realized that I hadn’t had this tea in over a month. Needless to say, I corrected this oversight.

The first infusion had a wonderful aroma, and the coloro of the tea suggested a medium-roast Oolong. The aroma of the tea reminds me a bit of honey, and be wvery sweet (if that makes any sense). The taste is very interesting, with light wood and floral tastes mixing together. The aftertaste of the tea is the distinct Wuyi mineral aftertaste, but it was a bit overpowered by the other flavors of the tea.

The second and third infusions were noted for incremental decrease in the strength of the flavors of the tea. Because of this, the mineral aftertaste became more prominent, which was really pleasant. I love Wuyi Oolongs more than other types because of that aftertaste, and this tea was just a bit shy of my Da Hong Pao in terms of the balance between the more overt flavors and the aftertaste.

More to come later, if I have time.

I just love the look of these Wuyi Oolong. They are so long and twisty. Beautiful leaves.
This tea is good. It didn’t wow me like the “Golden Key” sample did, but still it was a pleasant cup. A bit woodsy with a smooth sweet aftertaste.

The scent of this one is big.. it reaches right out and smacks you! It’s honey and tobacco with a hint of burnt.

On sipping it very hot there is a green note.. think dark green lettuce, cabbage or kale. Somewhere in there.

When cooled to warm, it has that burnt edge to it -but in a pleasant way, the vegetal flavor is much lighter, the honey sweetness comes out. The tea is generally light in the mouth and not actually sweet but puts you in the mind of honey, instead.

Not my favorite of these samples, but good.

_{This is my 5th review in a series of six samples of Wuyi Oolongs 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 fall 2011.

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

Appearance and aroma of dry leaf: leaf looks and smells basically the same as the rest of the Wuyi oolongs with the exception that many of the leaves are broken into smaller pieces.

Brewing guidelines: three 8-oz cups of water used, leaves loose in glass Bodum pot. Stevia added. _{(I went with one less cup than the four previous Wuyi oolongs in the series)}
…………….1st: 185, 2’
…………….2nd: 190, 3’
…………….3rd: near boiling, 5’
…………….4th: boiling, 6’

Aroma of tea liquor: smells a little different than the other Wuyi oolongs.

Color of tea liquor: like coffee.

Appearance and aroma of wet leaf: smells about the same as the other Wuyi oolongs, with a hint of caramel. Lots of little bits and pieces.

Flavor of tea liquor: fresh and roasted, with a tad of bitterness towards the end of the third cup of the first steeping. Had mild flavor in each cup on the forth steeping.

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: Although nothing really stands out about this oolong as compared to the others, it is tasty. The fact that the leaf is comprised of many more small broken pieces than all of the other Wuyi oolongs makes me question the quality of this one. Overall, this was an OK tasting Wuyi oolong as compared to the rest.