Monkey-Picked Oolong

This is one of my few “every day” teas. Yes, it is expensive. It is REALLY expensive. But because it is an imperial, a little goes a long way. You don’t need a whole lot of this tea since you want the leaves to expand (for this, you’ll want to make sure your infuser is big enough for large leaves). It can also be re-steeped up to five times (other reviewers say eight, I find five before I feel there is nothing “new” from the tea). It was the only tea I tried in store at Teavana that both my mom and I liked well enough to go in for a tin together (given the price).

Another unusual aspect about this tea is that I find the second and third steeps to actually be better than the first. Much milder, with buttery notes. I find the first steep to be quite strong, clean, with a light floral finish. The floral finish continues throughout each steep.

Depending on your palette, this tea may taste like cardboard to you. It is hotly debated amongst my tea drinking friends. All in all, one of my favourites.

Works hot or cold. Light, simple flavor.

No doubt, this is good tea. Is this $25 tea? No. I would price the Monkey Picked Oolong at around $13 per 2oz. But, the price aside, it is a complex tea with a lot of flavors happening on the first sip. It is a very “green” oolong, so you can expect a fresh taste, with some dark, musky notes. I have found that it is most flavorful by the 3rd or 4th steep, the first steep can be a bit strong, but it is good for a lot of steeps…probably more than most people can drink in one day.

Brewed gongfu-style in yixing pot reserved for Oolong teas. I do not rinse Oolong teas, so I did the same here. Brew times were: 30s, 40s, 1m, 2m

I agree that this is an average tieguanyin – the color and smell are lackluster and the flavor is flat. It was hard to extract much from these leaves and I stopped after 4 steepings.

I was tricked into buying this, but I’m glad I did. I usually blend this with a Formosa Top Fancy Silvertip Oolong I picked up while vacationing in Austria, and it really helps to bring out the flavors of both. I use a 2:1 mix of MPO and FST when I steep. The flavors are very well-rounded with an extremely small hint of a bitterness. The bitterness may just be from my penchant for inexact and often forgetful timing, however.

Very Good! Subtle yet satisfying! Expensive though!

A fairly smooth, somewhat nutty and earthy oolong. I really don’t think it is worth the price, but it’s still a decent basic oolong tea and tastes great when blended with fruity herbal teas.

A good tea. A little too strong for me, and I’m a big oolong tea fan. To me, a good oolong tea goes down smoothly and has little after taste. This along is just a bit too much for me. May try blending it with another tea for a different effect.

Update: tonight I tried this as a blend with Teavana Youthberry. OMG – night and day to my review above. Blending it with this light fruity blend is delicioso!! So happy I found a way to enjoy my oolong. I did 1.5 tsp of each tea. Steeped at 190 for 3 minutes. Super good. For me, the Youthberry really took the edge off of the oolong. You gotta’ try this! Changed 66 to 93 based on the blending.

I absolutely love this Oolong, but I don’t like the price. I love the mild flavor, and steeping it multiple times provides a nice cup each time.

I can definitely taste the orchids – I love it. Very subtle. I have resteeped it four times now and it has almost no taste now, although I’m not that surprised. Mixes very well with youth berry.