Premium Jin Xuan Milk Oolong

Placed my first order with Green Terrace Teas recently. At this point I’ve done TTC and Tea from Taiwan to death and wanted to try something new. Ended up buying a bunch of samples of my usual go-to Taiwanese oolongs from here – Ali Shan, SLX, Dong Ding, etc. – and will be reviewing them in the days to come.

This Jin Xuan was the first tea I tried and as far as first impressions go, it left a lot to be desired. When I opened the pouch, it had that dreaded stale seaweed aroma, a telltale sign of lost freshness. The description promised milk and osmanthus but instead my cup tasted musty and vegetal, like raw turnips, with a little butteriness.

I was able to salvage the rest of the sample by cold brewing but this was a disappointing start. Hoping for better luck with the other teas in my order.

I am not an oolong lover so I am definitely not the target audience for this tea. With that said, I can still appreciate that someone who likes this type of tea might be quite pleased with this one. It has strong floral and grass notes while also containing an element of cream that floats around the cup. It’s nice though not for me. 219.

Sipped this down tonight. A lovely oolong with strong orchid and grassy notes, but no milk.

From the SSTTB…it’s a pretty standard milk oolong, though I may have been slightly overzealous in my measuring and used a wee bit too much leaf, so it is a little stronger than some milk oolongs. I think I still prefer Teaopia’s and Teavivre’s the best.

This is one I picked up in Green Terrace’s sale a few weeks ago. I don’t drink milk oolong too often, but sometimes that distinctive profile just hits the spot. This one hits it, but not quite a bull’s eye.

I did 5 steeps in a gaiwan at 93°C as GT suggested. After the first 30s steep, as expected, the leaves were still tight and the taste pretty light. There was a gentle version of the classic milk oolong scent, but no sweetness and slightly vegetal. The next 30s steep gave me a stronger scent, somewhat thicker liquor, and a bit sweeter, but still nothing to write home about. After a 45s steep, it came into its own, with a nice freshness to the flavor. Steep 4 didn’t change character, but was steadily pleasant. I tried one more steep at 60s, but my tongue may have been tasted out by then because the milkiness seemed pretty faded. To be fair, I was also starting to make salsa, though I didn’t sample that until after my final sips lest the jalapenos toast my taste buds.

All in all, a reasonable milk oolong and I don’t regret buying it. Next time, I’ll start with more leaves and see if that raises the profile.

I’m feeling quite Tea Drunk so please excuse any rambly-ness.

I THINK that this is my first milk oolong? But I’m not really sure. Seriously I feel like milk oolong is soo talked up on all the various tea blogs and discussion boards that it’s been on my wishlist since I’ve been on Steepster. Thank you Green Terrace for the sample!

So I didn’t really know what to expect. I generally like oolong, and I have a love/hate relationship with milk. There are times when I really like it, and there are times when I really can’t stand it- and it’s not even like I’m lactose intolerant, well maybe a little, but it’s just the taste/texture. When I’m in a milk drinking mood, it’s almost always non-fat or whole, there’s just no in-betweens. So I’ve been in a ‘milk is OK’ run this week, so it was the best time to try this, I felt, just in case, you know? haha.

This is a light oolong, green and with a heavier mouthfeel. I think this is were others get the ‘milk’ texture. The heavier mouthfeel is denser and slightly creamy, but not in a fatty way. It’s a rather more green oolong than I’m used to. The taste is quite sweet and soothing. I can see why soo many people find milk oolongs addicting.

It doesn’t remind me of cow milk, or soy or but milk, or even milk candy. It’s mostly (for me) a textural phenomenon. But if I wasn’t tipped off by the name, I might not have associated it with milk at all. It would just be ‘awesome oolong’. =D

This tea EXPANDS. A LOT. I probably overleafed it. I used 1 tbs/12oz, but short steeps. I’ve gotten through 4 steeps of this one, and added to the other teas I’ve had this evening, I wonder if I’m ever going to go to sleep. The liquor with a short steep is quite green and bright. If you let it brew longer it deepens to a tan-green color. The liquor remains clear throughout the brews and sweet to taste.

This is the last of the samples Green Terrace sent me in exchange for reviews. I need to clean up the reviews before posting on their site, but I was glad to get the chance to try the teas. I definitely want to hit up their current sale too. Anyone have other recommendations? I’m thinking this one and Honey Black.

This is one of 3 free smapels I received from greem terrace. I was waiting until I had quiet time and no allergies to start sampling. This one surprised me with how delicious and logn lasting it is. I brewed it gonfu style (in a tiny western style pot). I was surprised by how vegetal and floral the dry leaves smelled. They traveled so far and tightly wrapped I thought they would have little aroma but they smelled like kale, Meyers lemon and something floral. The first brews 30 and 45 sec were a very light liquid with a fair amount of that kale scent. The taste also kale and kelp with some lemon. The leaves didn’t’ fully unfurl until brews 3-4 and then the milky flavor also started to develop with the lemon dropping out. Surprise is brews 5-6 were sweeter and a bit vanilla with cream then more of the florals which continued to develop. Brews 5-6 floral almost jasmine like with a hint of kale scent and still creamy and sweet. 7! and *! less creamy still sweet and floral. I had to do 9 to see and still an oolong scent and sweet flavor. I brewed a 10th and it still had some sweetness and overall green tea flavor but I had drunk so much tea by then I set it aside and I’ll do a second sampling soon to be sure. This is one very pleasant and long lasting milk oolong. Not as much milk/cream as some but I am loving the green floavor and scent!

Thanks to Green Terrace Teas for the free shipping code! :)

I am quite liking this tea! I don’t have much experience with oolongs, but I have to say that this one has flavours I like. It’s a little green, a little like buttered corn, a little spinachy, and floral. I’ve been sipping on it as it cools, then making another cup.

The first steep at 1 minute was very buttery and very light.

The second steep at 2 minutes smells a little spinachy and very sweet like lilacs, and tastes quite creamy.

The third steep at 2 minutes is very similar to the second. I could probably get more steeps out of this, but instead I am focusing on making cookies and popsicles. :)

Finally broke down on this crazy restrictive diet and said I’m having a tea or else I’ll blow the whole diet and have something else. So a tea it was. Brewed this in my teeny tiny yixing teapot. At least with the pot being so tiny, it reduces the amount of caffeine I’ll be getting. I remember getting this teapot and thinking “You’ve got to be kidding!”. Now I think I prefer super tiny pots!

I brewed for 30 sec on the first steeping. Noticed the wonderful floral notes. My breathing is getting a bit better from the diet so I’m smelling and tasting more. Although I smelled floral notes, nothing came through floral in the taste. This oolong is very clean, clear tasting oolong. That may sound contradictory since it also has a buttery, milky flavour. It’s a bit lighter than other milk oolongs I’ve had. I noticed from other reviews that most prefer a heavier milky taste & aroma with milk oolongs but I think this one has it’s place depending on what you prefer or feel like.

2nd & 3rd infusions were still good at 45 sec each. The milky , buttery flavour seemed lighter.
I think next time I have this tea, I might play around a bit with the steep times to see what different tastes come out.

What a piece of heaven in my day. Since it’s been awhile since I’ve had a cup of anything but peppermint or rooibos, it tastes like heaven to me. I think this tea has make me calmer instead of feeling a rush of caffeine.

The scent of this tea reminds me of buttered corn. It smells very rich and creamy! I can’t wait to see what this one tastes like… always eager to try a new milk oolong!

Sipping… this is so weird, but what I’m tasting is really buttered corn. It has that rich sweetness that corn kernels have, but a nice buttery background as well. What I like about it is that it’s on the sweeter end of things and not the savory. It’s not sugary like some other milk oolongs out there, but still retains enough of that sweetness to make the cup delicious. The entire sip is smooth and gentle. This is really tasty. I wouldn’t say that this is my favorite milk oolong in the world, but it’s buttery, unique and very enjoyable.

Thank you so much, Green Terrace Teas for a sample of this tea!