Quangzhou Milk Oolong

Oh, milk oolong, how I missed you. Thank you, Heather and ShayneBear, for both swapping me some of this. I love you both very much. This is one of my favourites from David’s Tea and my first oolong. I haven’t had it in a while.

The hot milk/cheese aroma resonates with my love of creamy and tangy things. This is also floral, which is yet another pro for me. The smell really does dominate, even invading the flavours and profile of my mug of second-steep assam tea that I’m drinking alongside it.

I think some people would see this as pungent, especially on first steep. The floral, slightly nippy veggie flavour can sour up a subtle notch if left to build in strength. It’s a very rich and heavy drink and I usually prefer steeps two through four.

When I get down to under fifty teas in my cupboard, and have tasted most of the Butiki selection, I’m probably going to buy a tin of this (along with many others). For now I will drink what comes my way and amuse myself with dissuading the scout ants (this is a hopeless endeavor).

Special Thanks to The Purrfect Cup for this one!
It’s a more delicate Milky Oolong that I have been sipping on as of late. It’s quite inviting. It’s more sweet than sour as compared to some of the other Milky Oolongs. It’s a bit juicy, too. Pretty Good indeed!

This tea is simply a marvel of refinement and sophistication. First infusion and I am captivated by its rich aroma and its multiple flavors which interlace. Some milk, yes, subtly creamy and sweet. Comparatively to Teavivre’s milk oolong which I also greatly appreciated, I detect no floral note so far.  It might come through in the next several infusions I’m about to have today… I know that the milk aroma is natural in Teavivre. I wonder if it’s the same for this one, does anybody know if the milk is manualy added?  If it’s all natural goodness, then this tea is a miracle to be so naturally creamy!!

Now, the body: so dense and silky, it is a creme caramel transformed into beverage! Adding anything to it would be a crime, to all the milk and sugar addicts (Seinfeld quote: not that there’s anything wrong with that! ) please have this one “au naturel” first, then decide if you need to pimp your tea :o)

I’m now having my second steep, the leaves have almost fully unfolded, and the taste is just as wonderful and milky as the first infusion, and I can now detect the orchid slowly emerging.

This is a home run for me, it definitely deserves 100!!!

I haven’t developed the sophisticated tea tastebuds yet, so I tend to be less excited to try straight teas, and more of a flavored fun teas kind of girl. But the last time I mentioned my lack of excitement towards straight teas, a few of you wonderful steepsterites suggested that I try this one. I must say: “Oh my, you are so right”.

Ahhhh, it’s pure nutty buttery goodness. During the colder months of the year, I find myself intuitively cradling my mug with one hand just under my chin, while I type, write, or scroll through pages with my other hand. I think I do this partially for warmth, and partially for the smell. But the smell of this tea is so delicious that without realizing it I raised my mug higher and higher until my nose and most of my face was stuffed in there. I’m glad I drank a good bit of this away; otherwise, my chin would have been tea-dipped.

The first steep was heavenly. I got distracted during the second brew and accidentally forgot the leaves and oversteeped it. But I was pleasantly surprised to find that there was no bitterness at all.

This is my favorite straight tea I’ve tried so far. Thanks to all of you who suggested this one to me :D

Loose
Appearance: large dark oolong kernel
Aroma when Dry: sweet, nutty, creamy
After water is first poured: sweet nutty creamy rice notes
At the end of first steep: sweet, creamy, nutty
Tea liquor:
At end of steep: clear
Staple? type Yes, would use brand again
Preferred time of day: afternoon, evening
Taste:
At first?: Nutty, mineral notes, velvety sweet close
As it cools?: Notes of chestnut, pecan, and milkiness surface, joining the other notes, tea deepens and layers
Additives used (milk, honey, sugar etc)? No
Lingers? Yes, sticky rice and nutty notes, pine nut, hazelnut notes

Second Steep (4min):
At first: sweet, mineral notes, then nuttiness
As it cools: mineral notes linger much longer, nutty notes deepen

Third Steep (5min):
Nutty, thick mineral notes, velvety, creamy close

Fourth Steep (5min):
Creamy nutty notes blend, light velvety close

Sipdown!

I tried this one today purely because when I opened the can, it smelled very similar to oolong creme from sloane that I love. So I figured that maybe this would be similar and then I’d be able to declare with a resounding YES! It’s milky oolongs that I love. But sadly, that’s not to be. Now, to be fair, this is a uch more pleasant cup that most oolongs, and I am enjoying it. But I’d rather drink sloane’s version…in a heartbeat, mostly because I don’t love oolongs, so I have zero desire to spend my time on oolongs that are not as yummy :)

This for sure has that milky creaminess that I love…but there’s a slightly more floral taste to this one on the tail end of the sip. It’s not that “oolong taste” that I don’t like but it is a bit sweetly floral. So, while I don’t hate this one, ill drink another instead.

Ok so awhile back I said I got a panda gaiwan on eBay. Here it is with 2 of the cute little cups that came with it! http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lxnvzmGPU81qz5e5oo1_500.jpg

Since I somehow had yet to drink this tea I decided to play with the gaiwan finally..man I am glad burning my fingers doesn’t phase me.

I put three steepings of it in my mug and I am melting away in deliciousness. Butter, cream, subtly sweet, you know what, I think frosting should taste like milk oolong.

I can’t say anymore, I’m too busy drinking.

This sample comes from Alysha. I was in the mood for a Milk Oolong today, as I always seem to when I’m sick, so I figured it was a good time to try this one out. It smells delicious!

Brewed it smells nice and milky, creamy, and buttery with sweet notes and roasted notes. Yum.

Taste-wise, this is one of the more awesome Milk Oolongs I’ve tried. Very creamy mouthfeel and taste – nice and milky, too. There are also slight buttery notes in here, especially at the end of the sip. I’m also getting hints of roasted oolong flavor – not sure why, but it’s tastey and pairs nicely with the creamy flavors. This is one smooth cuppa. Glad I decided to try this one today. Seems it was just what I needed.

Thanks again, Alysha! Very happy to have tried this one – might just find its way into my permanent stash!

I finally get to try the illustrious Quangzhou Milk Oolong. I’ve been saving it until I had time to really enjoy it, and give it a good three steeps.

The scent of the dry leaf isn’t a surprise. That classic oolong semi-floralness mixed in with milkiness. Like a true cup of milk mixed in with the tea leaves. Weird side note, though. While I was waiting for the water to boil and had my tea ready to go in my Tea Stick, I caught a whiff of cheese. Like creamy havarti. Took me a while to realize it was coming from the tea!

I didn’t write down how long each steep was for, but if I remember correctly, I steeped this the first time for around four minutes at approximately 90°C. The steeped tea smelled similar to the dry leaf, although I found the milky aspect to blossom and take over the other notes. Now for the taste. Initially, I got a touch of floral, but the more I drank it, the more that went away. This has a wonderful, classic, underlying oolong, but the milkiness is domineering. It tastes like milk, but in a “dairy” way. I can’t really describe what I mean by that. It’s a more savoury milky note than sweet.

The second steep was even milkier. That slightly floral taste I was getting before was at this point gone entirely. And the milkiness got even creamier. A tad sweeter, as well. Second round definitely won. There was the perfect balance amongst all the flavours. It was more buttery, sweeter, and creamier.

The third steep was already getting rather weak. With the hint of floral long gone and the sweetness of the second steep gone as well, this started to almost taste like that havarti I was smelling earlier. That milkiness was going a little sour too. Not in an atrociously disgusting way, but it was noticeable.

Anyway, blah blah blah, that was my Quanqzhou Milk Oolong adventure. I bought about 16g or so, so I’ll gladly finish it off, but I’m not sure if I would buy it again? This made me realize that I prefer my oolongs on the more floral side. It’s still a marvellous tea.

And here’s my second-ever milk oolong. DaisyChubb was kind enough to send me a sample of this in a swap, and I’m excited to try another one! The dry leaf on this smells more sugary-creamy and less buttery than the ATR, though there’s definitely some butter-cream note in there. I can also catch whiffs of a vegetal note at times.

I steeped this tea basically according to the directions on the DavidsTea site, but I will say I looked through the tasting notes first and wow do people steep this one with wildly varying parameters! Their directions are perhaps a little longer (4-7 min) than I would steep a green oolong normally, and it is both longer and hotter than I steeped the ATR (following their directions). I had a little more leaf than I would normally use, so I decided to drop the steep time so that I didn’t overwhelm the cup. After steeping the tea smells very floral, almost like some orchid oolongs I’ve had, creamy and buttery with a fruity undertone.

This is a pretty tasty tea, floral and vegetal and a touch fruity. I just reread the product description where they describe a “subtle hint of orchid”… I definitely agree on the orchid, but I don’t think it’s very subtle! That’s fine with me, but it means I identify it more with orchid oolongs than the milk oolong I’ve had. There is a smoothness and butteriness, but the creamy milk flavor is fairly light. It does grow a bit as the tea cools, as does the sweetness, which gives it a slight condensed-milk flavor in the aftertaste. If I had never had ATR’s Milk Oolong I might have rated this into the 90s, honestly. I still find it delicious and absolutely would very happily drink it any time.

Thank you Amanda for including this in your tea sample sale! I’ve wanted to try a milk oolong for a while now!

The first steep was for four minutes. The unsteeped leaves smell like a sugary sweet, creamy floral oolong. And that is basically what it tastes like — sweet & creamy! This type of oolong just naturally tastes like this without flavoring? It is strangely like drinking actual milk… but with a nice floral oolong with it. I really don’t drink a ton of milk, so this is way better in my opinion. I had second & third steeps at 4 & 7 minutes that were both equally delicious. I wish I had more to say about this one – it is very complex. I love creamy teas and nice oolongs, so this one is amazing!

HEY! This is my 100th!

This is the last of the samples I got with my order and I put off trying it because…because…because the name was boring! (I mean, come on. They sent me Love Tea #7 and Strawberry Shortcake and some kind of milky oolong?)

I was so wrong. I’m on my second steeping now and am going to pop for the 100 gram tin. Then I have to stop buying tea for awhile.

Buttery, creamy. Just like everybody said before. So interesting! How can tea do this? I started out on Steepster thinking I wanted to learn about black teas but the oolongs and some green teas are really fascinating.

Having this with coconut lemongrass chicken and I almost don’t want to eat because it might disrupt the tea flavors.

Oh, and why does the packet say to steep 4-7 minutes? So glad I didn’t pay attention to that.

The dry tea smells green and spinach-y with hints of something sweet and flowery. The taste – oh the flavour! This is what a milk oolong is supposed to taste like! It’s almost like drinking smooth, sweet cream rather than tea. I can also taste some very faint floral notes – the tea description says orchid, but the flavour suggests something more like honeysuckle to me.

This tea comes dangerously close to being as good as the milk oolong I had from The O Dor – which officially ranks as The Best Tea Ever in my books. That tea had a thickness and butteriness that this tea doesn’t seem to have, but other than that I think this one matches up.

I am home from work for two days, so I thought that I would use these days to compare a few straight oolongs. I decided to start with this one, the free tea I got a few weeks back when DAVIDs had a promo…buy…whatever it was, get 50g of any tea for free. (Unless you were ordering online, and then you got saddled with 50g of backstock of their hibiscus nightmare, Paradise Found. Sorry, online-only people! My condolences.)

I decided to go for this one – because it’s pricey as hell, of course. I don’t know what to make of it…maybe I should have just stocked up on something I know I like.

The dry smell in the bag is very milky, with a fresh green smell underneath.

Steeped, it tastes like…well, so far it tastes like warm milk heavily watered down with hot water. I’ve gone through 3 infusions now – one at 30 seconds, one at a minute and one at two minutes. The first infusion tasted like sweet milky water. The second infusion tasted like…water dipped in tea. This infusion finally seems to be showing promise of something, with a heavy, creamy mouthfeel and a distinctly milky taste. I do like it the best, so although I usually get bored enough to stop at three, I think I will try at least one more infusion to see what happens. I won’t rate it for now.

I still don’t think I’m quite seeing why people are so excited about this one, though. Am I doing something wrong?

Edit: ALSO, has anyone tried the 52teas Southern Boy Teas hot vs. cold steeped? I’m debating between cold steeping, or hot steeping and then cold-steeping the leaves again. Any opinions?

Edit II: Well, now I’m on the fourth infusion, and there is a thick richness to it that there wasn’t before. I won’t give it more than a 70 though, for how long I had to steep it to get any real flavour.

It’s my birthday today… what’s better than birthday cake?

This tea. Oh, and smoked gouda cheese. But mostly this tea.

To reiterate my other reviews…
First steep @ 94°C for 2 min: creamy, buttery notes first, which subtly z give way to something reminiscent of leafy greens, with the slightest hint of sweetness.

Second steep @ 95°C for 4 min: Like the first, but much more delicious!

Third steep @ 96°C for 5 min: Almost identical in taste to the first, less flavourful than the second.

Fourth steep @ 98°C for 7 min: Still delicious. Might even get a 5th!

Had 3 infusions of this on Saturday, but I had the first and third with pizza, which kind of ruined my ability to discern specific flavors in this tea. Garlicky white sauce…yum! So, I had another two infusions (new leaves) on Sunday.

This tea did not turn out as expected, but that doesn’t mean I don’t like it. To tell you the truth, I’m still unsure about whether I like it! It has a very thick creamy quality, which is nice. The taste reminded me of a creamy cheese with a slight floral note. I think one of the reviews said it tasted like havarti cheese, and I think I agree. I thought maybe I’m getting cheese because the water I used was too hot? I don’t know, any recommendations? Or is this how a milk oolong should be? I steeped it for 3 minutes each time.

It has been an oolong kind of day for me. I was glad I left this one at the shop last week. Considering I forgot the Milk Oolong I picked up from thepuriteas…ooopsie. Anyway, this one has a very buttery, creamy taste to it that I really love. It is so smooth and well smooth. I love it, but it will be interesting to see how it stacks up against thepuritea’s milk oolong.

Ahh I had this tea sometime back in the summer in a free sample, and FINALLY I bought some of it! Omnomnomnom…milky, creamy, buttery oolong! I lovee this as I did the first time I tried it. Delicious. I will have to resteep, did for about 3.5 mins. Haha, as I continue along on my oolong kick, it must be the weather! Sorry this note isn’t overly descriptive, I just want to gobble it down mwahaha.

After a very long and awesome day at school I thought I’d sit down to my now 5th steep of this tea (still going strong!). I am wondering if anyone else thinks that this smells slightly of cheese? Or at least butter. This is my 2nd experience with milk oolong and I’m glad that they were so wildly different. :) The 1st one was by Teavivre.
This milk oolong has much more of a milk taste instead of Teavivre’s more floral liquor. They are both very good in their own special ways.
For this one I noticed that the smell is just a bit stronger; it hits you right when you open the bag. The flavor itself is very buttery. This was the perfect tea to drink during the snow recently! I have to admit that even though I’ve now had 5 cups of this that I still haven’t really given the flavor too much nitpicking because you know what? I drink it too fast. This really tells me something. A+ tea.

My first Milk Oolong :)

It’s delicious. But I can’t rate it yet, because I don’t really know what’s going on in my mouf. I didn’t know what to expect to be honest, even after reading every single review.

It is buttery, creamy, milky and very spinachy on the first steep. (2.5 min)

I really don’t know what’s going on, but I do know that I like it. Just perplexed! Like nothing I’ve ever tried before.

EDIT: Second Steep (3.5 m)- yep, even better than the first, as is the consensus. Even creamier, mm it’s sweeter too. But I still don’t understand! I’ll just sip.