Medium Roast Ali Shan Oolong Winter 2008

I got my hands on this tea courtesy of TeaEqualsBliss – she was a sweetheart a sent me a box full of teas to try a couple months back, and I still haven’t gotten around to sampling all of them.

The steeping instructions seem to indicate that this tea should be brewed gong fu style – unfortunately since I don’t really have the tea or the tea ware to do it that way I just stuck with the usual 1 teaspoon per mug of tea.

The brewing tea smells distinctly bakey and it lacks the light, floral scent I remember from the last ali shan oolong I tried. The flavour of the first steep (@ 3 min) is bakey too – bakey and toasted, like a piece of toast that just on the very verge of burning. This steep also has a slightly nutty aftertaste.

The second steep (@ 3:45) is less bakey and a much smoother cup altogether with hints fo sweetness as the tea cools, though it isn’t as nectar-sweet as some green oolongs can get (I’m not really sure if this qualifies as a green oolong or not). It also has faint nutty nuances throughout.

The leaves are a dark green. The smell while infusing is a hard veggie scent. The leaves are taking a while to unwind. The liquid is typical oolong looking-type and the smell is that of slightly roasted veggies! The taste is a little nutty but pretty soothing. It’s interesting and fairly smooth!

I’ve noticed that several people enjoy the fall and summer Alishans from Norbu. I think we should try to do a comparison of all the different Alishans there. But now I have only this 2008 winter version (which BTW is 35% reduced in price).
It’s difficult to add to the notes from the vendor and what TeaEqualsBliss has already posted. I would simply join in the enthusiasm for Norbu’s Taiwan teas.
This Alishan is from the same cultivar as the Norbu Old Plantation Qing Xin. I think this must be an exceedingly complex plant, given the experience of these two teas. And while in Taiwan this would be considered a certified organic tea, Norbu can’t market it that way because of different US laws. Nevertheless, the care that has gone into the making of this tea is very much evident in the tight dry rolls, but even more in the finished leaves, which are beautifully purply green and intact.
There is very little oxidation, I think, so the florals really come through. They are not as intense as other Alishans, however — more sober, more solid, more restraint. But the richness is amazing. It just rolls around in your mouth. There is a sweetness that makes you think someone has slipped in honey to your cup. The roast (notwithstanding the label “medium”) is very mild, much less roast that the Old Plantation Qing Xin. It’s really interesting to taste the difference that processing makes to the same tea cultivar. The same floral, veggie, and roasted notes as the Old Plantation are there in this tea, just arranged in a different chord. Very gentle but substantial. D-minor, I would say. Later infusions loose the complexity but not the sweet fullness. Pretty amazing.
I find this tea more meditative than other Alishans. It’s a tea you can stay with.