Qi Lan Xiang Rare Orchid Oolong 2016 Spring

Quick overview/TLDR: A delicious tea featuring intoxicating creaminess and rich brothiness. Dark green (but not bitter) vegetal flavors mix with gentle minerality and subtle floral notes.

Dry leaves: Very dark, twisted/curled leaves, mostly intact, with some stems. Dry leaves have characteristic oolong roastiness, brown sugar sweetness, a bit of cocoa powder.

Brewed in gaiwan (~100 ml capacity), 4 g of tea. Started with ~200F water. Quick wash. Wet leaves look deep green and smell that way too, smell of cooked hardy greens like collards, a touch of vegetal bitterness, but with a lot of butteriness in the smell too.

First steep: ~5 sec. The color is a clear light brown with touches of orange and green. Wonderful creaminess in flavor, with light to medium body. A slight tickle of bitterness and minerality on the tongue as it goes down.

Second: A bit more than 10 sec. Leaves are still somewhat compressed and partially curled but starting to open up. Leaves smell quite savory. The liquor has even more of that luscious creaminess. Like a tasty vegetable broth made with lots of extra virgin olive oil. Still feeling that minerality on the tongue and throat.

Third: ~20 sec. Color remains that light golden brown, but a bit deeper in shade. Some of the buttery texture has thinned out, but it leaves a wonderfully soft, gentle, creamy aftertaste (or “afterfeel”) in the mouth.

Fourth: ~30-60 sec (let it go a bit longer here). Leaves still haven’t completely unfurled, but are starting to expand and fill the bowl nicely. Liquor was noticeably darker this time. Intoxicatingly creamy aroma with those light savory/brothy notes. The longer steep brought back more of the buttery texture, while I’m also getting noticeably more tingly minerality. I’m starting to notice a gently floral quality and sweetness, particularly at the back of the mouth/throat. As the tea evolves it’s becoming more balanced, blending the creaminess, minerality, savory and sweet components.

Fifth-Eighth: Bumped the water up to near boiling (whatever temperature my kettle kept the water on its “keep warm” feature). Increased steeping time.

Overall these steeps feature a lighter, honey-like color. They continued to have less creaminess (although still a noticeable amount) and more minerality, with an overall weaker flavor. But the flavor was different with each infusion, some bringing out more roasted flavors, some with more sweetness.

Overall feel/energy: Mellowing, comforting, the creamy quality of the tea seems to spread through your body. Mild giddiness/drunkenness. Very easy on the stomach, helps control appetite. If you do a lot of steeps, you’ll start to get some caffeine energy/jitteryness, but I find it overall balanced and pleasant.