High Mountain Oolong

This came to me through my son via an exchange student. Very little English on the envelope. A quick web search of the company name led me to believe this was a whole leaf tea. Alas it is definitely not whole leaf. It is a 2g bag of tiny pieces. It is at least a fair amount of tea. Directions say to use boiling water and steep 3 minutes.

I got distracted at work and the first bag steeped more like 12 minutes. It was very strong and astringent. My main oolong is Yamamotoyama (YMY) it doesn’t care how long it is steeped. Obviously Ten Ren is a different animal.

The second bag was carefully timed at 3 minutes with boiling water. It was much improved and just a little harsh. I don’t drink coffee but that is what the flavor brought to mind. The aroma of the Ten Ren is very similar to YMY in that it smells, as one reviewer described it, like bad pot. Neither admitting nor denying a misspent youth, I must say that description amused me enough that oolong has become one of my favorite unflavored type teas. The two teas taste quite a bit different. YMY is smooth. Ten Ren had a breakfast tea bite and attitude about it. Knowing what I like but not having the tea expertise to back it up, this could be an Assam based oolong.

The bag of tiny pieces plumped up so nicely I decided to attempt a second cup. The brew remained dark but the taste was slightly weak and lacking in the full depth of flavor. It was much smoother. If I had more of this I know I could find the sweet spot where this teas shines. I believe if on the first steep the water was cooled and the steep reduced to no more than 2 minutes, it would allow a second cup of equal taste and depth from one bag. A worthy, not too shabby tea. I need some munchies.

I got a box of this tea filled with tea bags that contain whole leaves. The bags they are in are pretty dense paper and allow very little room for the leaves to expand, so I’m planning to try this again in the future by opening the bag and steeping the leaves as though they were never contained (since they are definitely whole leaves).

The steeping time was longer than I usually would for a tea like this, but it was required with the bag containing the leaves. By the time the tea was ready for consumption, the leaves had expanded in the bag completely (as in, the bag was absolutely packed) but they clearly were not fully unfurled.

Despite this, I believe I steeped them long enough to achieve a decent infusion. The liquor is a very light hay color and the aroma is quite nice as well. It smells almost malty or oaty. The flavor is very mild, slightly roasted in flavor. There is almost no astringency at all and it is very smooth to drink. I think it will have a bit more flavor with the second round of steeping (despite the bag it’s in). So I’ll give it a shot as soon as I have the opportunity!

I also look forward to trying and logging again once I try it without the bag at all.