Oriental Beauty

I actually almost misidentified this as not being by Ten Ren, because it’s more prominently labeled as being from “Midori & Tea” . I am also going to admit that I bought this for the gorgeous tin that it’s in. I’ve actually had a whole bunch of teas labeled Oriental Beauty Tea that weren’t oolong as this is. I think my favorite was a Pu-ehr by Life Rising. This is mild and generally a good tea. It’s a good thing I’m enjoying it as much as I am, because I now have a lot of it. Tastes a lot gentler than your average Chinese restaurant oolong. Beauty enhancing effects? Unverified.
(I forgot to set the timer and steeped this a bit long. No harm done.)

This is a really nice tea but I think I brewed it too weak so I am not going to rate it. I used 3g to about 9 oz water at 185 F for 2 1/2 min and I gave the leaves a quick wash before really steeping. It is the color of gold and is really pretty in my glass Bodum insulated mug. The taste is very light for me (probably used too much water for the tea). I am getting mostly floral notes in both the taste and the smell.

Thanks Lizbet for the sample!

Brewed gongfu this is not the best Oriental Beauty out there as it has a light and sweet dark oolong taste that comes off as plain and almost borderline black tea as their is no roast taste to make it more interesting like wuyi. Although it is a cheap oolong it makes a great ice tea in the ice tea maker which is one of my summer staples.