Shui Jin Gui Wuyi Oolong

Tea type
Oolong Tea
Ingredients
Not available
Flavors
Floral, Mineral, Roasted, Caramel, Cream, Espresso
Sold in
Not available
Caffeine
Not available
Certification
Not available
Edit tea info Last updated by derk
Average preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 1 min, 30 sec 5 g 5 oz / 139 ml

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107 Tasting Notes View all

From Verdant Tea

Commandingly rich and creamy Wuyi oolong with lingering honey, orchid, and citrus caramel flavors. . . .

In opening the first bag of this tea, sealed in Wuyi, we were struck by the rich honey orchid smell of the dry leaves. Commanding and rich even before steeping, we knew we were in for a treat. As we poured boiling water over a pot of the long twisted Shui Jin Gui leaves, the steam carried the nostalgic aroma of tangy simmering orange caramel in a copper pot.

The first sip filled the whole palate in the same satisfying way as a bit of creme brulee complete with creamy custard and burnt caramel qualities. The burnt caramel depth transformed in the aftertaste to a lingering dark elderberry and earthy hazelnut profile.

Later steepings revealed the rocky mineral taste that tea cultivated on the rocky cliffs of Wuyi is known for. The mineral notes gave way to sweet cinnamon and the warmth of ginger without the spiciness. Towards the very end, the aftertaste transformed into an almost vegetal creamy green bean flavor with a lingering honeydew melon sweet orchid finish.

About Verdant Tea View company

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107 Tasting Notes

3294 tasting notes

And here is the third selection from the April TOMC.
To me, this is like a delicious dessert! Not too sweet, but rich & tasty. Warming the leaf up in my yixing, the aroma is of cream, hazelnuts, & berries. The tea itself is caramelized brown sugar, hazelnut, & a creamy mouth, with a sweet hint of berry, like a luscious, but not too sweet dessert. There is a vaporous after-aroma on incense, but it is only faint compared to that of the Dancong. As this one steeps out, rocky qualities rise while the creamy sensation subsides.

Normally, I’d only drink one of these oolongs on any given day. But it was fun & interesting to followed the suggestions sent along with the April TOMC, to see how these oolongs differed from one another, due to differences in growing location, & processing methods. It amazes me how teas can be so varied! I guess that’s why I love tea so much!

MsWhatsit

Wow, that sounds awesome.

Terri HarpLady

I’ll put some in your box! I sent you a Gaiwan, right?

MsWhatsit

Yep. Looking forward to trying it.

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90
464 tasting notes

Sad sipdown! I probably should have bought more of this with my last order. This definitely is the never-ending gobstopper of tea. It’s always changing. A different aspect is highlighted every time I drink it.

Ah well! I’m sticking to promise to myself not. To do any on-line ordering until Black Friday. The blends sale is not helping me in this. Lol! So far I’m strong.
Terri HarpLady

This is another one I love :)

Alysha

I have a few cups worth of this that I doubt I will get to; I could send it to you if you like :)

Terri HarpLady

Seriously? You don’t like it?

Alysha

I do like it but I’ve been in an oolong rut for a while, so I figure it’s better used on someone who’s craving it rather than just sitting in my cupboard!

Terri HarpLady

There you go Fuzzy! What a nice offer! :)

Fuzzy_Peachkin

yes! I accepted her lovely offer and messaged her! I love this tea! :-)

Terri HarpLady

I love Steepster! We are all the nicest people we’ll ever meet! :)

Fuzzy_Peachkin

Indeed! Everyone is really nice on here!

Stoo

It must be the calming effect of tea :-)

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75
336 tasting notes

(Two days after the mini Verdant Teas rant)

(creeps out, looks around furtively, and makes some more of this even though she complained about the barley flavor)

(looks around furtively as she drinks it at night because she didn’t feel like white or green tea)

(eats crow)

(seriously considers buying a gaiwan)

(eats more crow)

Dammit.

Fuzzy_Peachkin

Lol! We’ve all been there! :-)

Terri HarpLady

I love this post!
One of my early posts here on Steepster starts with, “I need a Gaiwan”, lol. Now I have 4 of them, plus a yixing, a tiny porcelain teapot, & a crazy assortment of other paraphenalia, not to mention all the teapots, cups, & stuff that I had before I joined steepster. My yixing is for wuyi oolongs, including this Shui Jin Gui, which is one of my 3 current favorites. :D

TeaLady441

Hahah. That’s a great post. :D

TeaKlutz

I’m glad people like this post. :P Another part of my wanting to get a gaiwan is that I feel like it would force me to focus on the experience of the tea, especially if I was doing multiple steepings. One of the reasons I drink tea is that it’s one of the only quasi-meditative things I do, and I’d like to enjoy that more fully.

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95
1271 tasting notes

I sipped away at this oolong while I worked on some christmas knitting. Ugg, I’m watching a kdrama, City Hunter, and I get so zoned into it that I stop knitting! The pair of fingerless mittens I’m making are quick, but I only seem to get a couple rows an episode! Grr!

Anyways, this is a very nice oolong. I’m thinking me and roasty dark oolongs are best friends. They also pair very well with cookies!

MissB

Ooh, Christmas knitting! Me too. :) So many hats. SO MANY HATS. Fingerless mittens are a good idea.

Oolong Owl

I’m working on this pattern http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/catching-butterflies

last year I made SOO many ornament sized knitted socks and mittens. I thought I was gonna go blind knitting that tiny!

OMGsrsly

Those are SO pretty! Ugh, dare I get out my knitting?

MissB

So beautiful!

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612 tasting notes

Finally having this in my gaiwan (I don’t appreciate it enough…it’s so beautiful!). Wow, so much better (and it was tasty already). Dang. Always overwhelmed by the thick creamy, almost pudding-ish quality of the mouthfeel in the first couple steeps, and the caramel-y sweetness which I don’t expect given the barley grain aroma. Mmm. The rock and clean sweet melon come much later. I do really love this one!

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C
boychik

i have a sample, but never tried. always think i need a special moment to try to fully appreciate.

ifjuly

yeah, i do think it is better that way, when you can pay attention to it. i would just suggest to listen to the website directions about not trying to make a big mug of it all at once, but doing a tiny amount of water over and over again. it loves gongfu brewing apparently, man.

i hope you enjoy it when you get around to it!

ifjuly

(and i’ve had my sample for an embarrassing amount of time for the same reason, feeling i needed a special time and being too busy, so i hear ya)

Terri HarpLady

I love this one"

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92
1186 tasting notes

Ugh, do you ever look through your entire tea stash and just nothing is right for what you are wanting at that moment? I mean, out of all the teas, you’d think there’d be one..I think I know what one I want, some kind of yunnan black tea, like Golden Fleece or Yu Lu Yan Cha (ETA doesn’t look like Yu Lu is from Yunnan, but those sweet potato notes are what I’m after), but I don’t have much left of Golden Fleece and none of the other, so I am hoarding those until I decide to order more. Sigh. Then I wanted pu’erh, but I only have enough for Western in the open pack, and I wanted a fast little gaiwan brew..gah.

Anyways, enough of my complaining, I think I am just lonely because the bf was home for a day after being away 2 weeks, and TODAY is gone for another 11. Gotta love field jobs lol. Anyways, enough of me being boring and whiny and irritating. This oolong is the tea I decided on, because it has caramel notes but isn’t as dark and strong as a black tea, and I don’t really want a strong tea right now. Hopefully it will satisfy my tea need. Oh, and MINI SIPDOWN, as I have a big 1 oz bag of this from TOMC haha but I did finish my little sample at least :D see previous notes on this tea. I will possibly make some notes on this if the gaiwan adds a different element than my gongfu pot did :)

Sil

haha i totally have that problem WAAAAAY more often than i should :)

Alysha

Yup that problem seems to arise no matter how many teas you have!

mrs.stenhouse12

Haha it’s so annoying, there should be something there that catches my fancy..maybe I will find something later this evening

Terri HarpLady

LOL, I feel this way often.

El Monstro

Mrs. Monstro leaves for contract work that takes 5 months sometimes :O

mrs.stenhouse12

@ El Monstro – Awe I’d go crazy! I’m such a wimp when my guy is gone 2 weeks haha, but that’s mostly because I’ve seen him every day for the past 3 years almost lol.

@ Terri – Yay! I’m happy there’s so many of us in that terrible boat LOL.

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100
807 tasting notes

Full review will post on http://sororiteasisters.com/ on the 1st of March but here are my snippits:

The first word that comes to mind while I sniff the dry leaf is sweet honey sugar succulent dripping with lust omgoodness! Okay that was more than one word, but seriously, I do love oolong, but some oolong are far superior to others and this is like the king of dessert-y oolong!

The caramel is perfection, the elderberry brightens the cup and makes it just a tiny bit “zippy” the honey note gives the tea its depth of character adding to the caramel aspect its like something sinful. There is even a spicy note within this tea. Then there is a wondrous floral note that just gracefully lingers all over the tongue, roof of mouth, back of mouth, its dancing around everywhere with sugar berries, caramelized honey, earthy elderberry, and the nuttiness of almond that also adds a slightly, but never bitter astringency, yet this tea remains so smooth all at the same time.

Indigobloom

that sounds amazing!! How many steeps did you get?

Azzrian

I’m still sipping on my second now and its still very flavorful. I am guessing I will get at least two more, maybe more.

Azzrian

Second steep smells sweeter, but it taste riper, like someone else said in their tasting notes, like banana peel sort of but not bitter or sour. Very fresh, still floral, …. just mmmmmm Tastes the way a bouquet of flowers Smells, but sweeter.

Azzrian

And earthy and honey tones. I could just go on and on. I wish I could order a ton more seriously. I may be able to before it is sold out but this should go fast!

Emily M

I think I need to stop reading your reviews. I’m drooling over here!

Azzrian

LOL – now it is tasting like toasted bread!!! Maybe I am just tea drunk. I dunno but I am loving it!

Emily M

Haha. Well, tea drunk or not, this sounds amazing.

Azzrian

Awe thanks :)

Indigobloom

banana?! wow.

yappychappy

This was the first one I had today from my verdant package today too! Its so good! I’m doing super short infusions and you seem to be doing longer ones.

Azzrian

Yes that is correct – I was not doing gong fu but I want to soon.

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818 tasting notes

Phew! Finished a crazy work day! Time to relax! I tried the rest of my little sample of this tea gong fu style, since brewing it western style was an epic fail. This was the first time I’ve tried gong fu style, so keep that in mind! I steeped the leaves in 6 oz. for each infusion.

10-second steep: it tastes really burnt and woody.
20-second steep: the same, except it’s a little sweeter, and a bit fruity.
30-second steep: I identified the fruitiness as citrus.
45-second steep: woody citrus.
1-minute steep: more citrus, less woody, and more smooth.
1 1/2-minute steep: same as previous infusion with a little spice in the aftertaste.

I’m bummed that I didn’t taste the same notes as everyone else. Where’s the caramel and hazelnut? Made me think that they gave me the wrong tea, or my palate is too unrefined. :( Overall, this tea didn’t meet my expectations, and since it also isn’t good western style, it won’t be on my shopping list.

TastyBrew

Shoot, Were there a ton of leaves in the cup? For my gawain, which holds barely 4oz empty, I put in how much leaf I would need for between 12-16oz western style.

Tealizzy

Ya, there was a lot of leaf. I figured their samples are about 2 large cups worth, and this was what I had left over from my previous try. It was at least half of the sample. Do you think I overdid it?

TastyBrew

Oh no, If anything I worry about underleafing in the gaiwan. But I’m also pretty new to it. That’s too bad. I haven’t had that one so I have idea what it’s supposed to be like. On the bright side, not liking it saves you some money!

Tealizzy

That’s true! Haha!

Bonnie

Next time, watching the videos is helpful.I learned from them myself. Also, the tasting notes are great…but I don’t always taste whats mentioned either.

Terri HarpLady

I ended up buying a scale, since I had no clue what 5 Grams of tea looked like.

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92
359 tasting notes

Not much to say really…

Is there a proper way to describe such tea? What if there isn’t? I think you must experience it to feel whatever it is suppose to make you feel.

It’s sweet gold and glitters for the soul. Every steep evolves and brings a new level of enjoyment.

I first tried it a while ago… I was at a different place in my life then, but it still brought me joy, just not in the same manner.

Today, this tea reminds me that I must be grateful for what I have now, and not regretful for what I’ve lost.

This is how powerful it is in all its purity. Tea can be fun and silly, and tea can be wisdom and clarity. You get to choose as you feel and as you please, that’s the beauty of it.

I love birds. I feed them and in return, they let me observe their beauty at very close range. I have over 40 different species coming and going. Sitting outside as I’m drinking this special tea, I see this strong and magnificent male woodpecker, pecking on the grain I provide for him. It’s the only sound I hear, along with the breeze caressing the trees.

It is so easy to forget how beautiful life is… These moments are free, and yet, they make you feel as rich as you could ever be…

Today, this tea is just perfection.

JustJames

beautiful bit of writing. i agree—about tea, about birds, about gratitude and beauty. may you see beauty everywhere always…

TheTeaFairy

Thank you James for such a lovely and thoughtful comment…

Bonnie

I’m happy to read this lovely description of the interaction between tea, the natural world around you and how they fill you with joy.

Fuzzy_Peachkin

I love how people on Steepster compare teas to the other beautiful things they love in their life. This was a lovely image! And this tea is beautiful as well. :-)

caile

Such a beautiful post!!

Bonnie

Where are you?

Ysaurella

+ one with Bonnie, where are you dear Canadian Cousin !

TheTeaFairy

Awww! thank you my dear Steepster friends for your heartfelt comments. Sorry for not answering before. For those of you inquiring about my whereabouts, i’m afraid my «fairy wings» are still broken…but I’m hoping to return very soon, I miss tea and mostly, I miss each and everyone of you!

Ysaurella

we hope too ! take care of you

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94
390 tasting notes

i am a great admirer of verdant teas… my reviews reflect that clearly. it isn’t just the quality of their teas, or their credit given to the He family of tea farmers and traditions, it’s also admiration for their customer service and their understanding of their clientele. this tea, however, expanded my horizon in a manner i wasn’t anticipating.

i joined steepster when i began to take loose leaf tea seriously. i had had a strange series of unfortunate tea events at david’s teas… i’d been back and forth several days in a row with problems ranging from allergies to just not liking what had been recommended to me! my patience was running thin and i was tired of spending my meager budget on gas. i decided to research my teas online before i bought. there through steepster i found verdant teas, butiki, teavana, andrews and dunham… and yes david’s teas (i just improved my margin of error). my eyes were opened and i found myself in love with leaves and flowers across the globe!

i had no idea that the simple act of opening the sample package of this tea would be the start the next stage of my education. the tea was brown as opposed to black, curled, with some leaves as long 2 centimeters. alright, so maybe not a hugely intellectual description, but not too bad either. my real problems arose when i tried to describe the taste.

it was… it reminded me of…. words hadn’t just failed me, they had made mass exodus out of my beleaguered brain. that is a rare occurrence for me! once upon a time i was an english major, i have been an english tutor and editor, always a writer and poet (don’t even get me started on art school). i was very much out of my comfort zone as a digital wordless and stammering goof. time to study.

the taste that was so familiar was a refined echo of a pecco orange black tea…. however, that particular genre can be quite harsh and acrid, whereas this tea was not. why not? because verdant uses (i think my terminology is accurate here) flowery grades… as opposed to many bagged tea blends that use fannings of minute size referred to as dust which are the lowest quality, and quite brutal to drink. i am beyond unqualified to estimate the grade of whole leaf used in this blend, LOL.

back to words i know: i taste earth and ceylon, i taste autumn and not spring, minute traces of citrus. i wonder what crops were planted nearby that vicariously influenced the tea bushes and their progeny. there is also an understated acidity that could have evolved into a harshness but did not and instead added freshness.

i have always been curious, but i can honestly say that A tea has never on its own pressed me into multiple feverish searches through wikipedia.

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 6 min, 0 sec
Bonnie

Verdant has videos and podcasts, lots of info on their website that over time has proved very useful in my tea education.

JustJames

REALLY?!! this i did not know! thank you for the info!

scribbles

Your beautiful poetic words depict images of what a tea tastes like. A tea is not restricted to what it actually tastes like; but also a feeling and imagery that words cannot always express, which is how you often describe a tea. This is not a bad way to convey how you feel about a tea and how it tastes to you.

scribbles

Sorry ’bout double post..thought was editing original post. My bad.

JustJames

LOL… i can fix it! ZZZZZZZZZAP! see?

Fuzzy_Peachkin

I too find it very hard sometimes to come up with the words to describe, especially as I just started trying more quality teas. It’s as if we have to develop a whole new vocabulary!

canadianadia

Hmmm…sounds good. I think I’m going to have to check out the Verdant website

TeaLady441

Fuzzy – I agree. Sometimes it’s hard to fully describe the experience of a tea. And for me at least, sometimes I"d rather just enjoy it than try and quantify it. :)

Justjames – I’m happy you made your way over to Steepster. It makes me sad to think of others like you who might have just given up and missed out on the best teas.

JustJames

this has become a special place for me. i don’t do facebook and i don’t do clubs…. but i always have steepster open and i’m frequently drinking a cup of tea.

Bonnie

Most of the time with spent leaves, good ones, I put them in a bottle of filtered or Spring Water and in the frig it goes to cold brew. Amazing how much flavor is left in the leaves. (If you cold brew oolongs with hard water the flavor can change and become bitter).

Bonnie

Reading my comments I sound like an idiot because I didn’t tell you I liked your review. Stretching beyond the common drinking of the tea to ‘listening’ is what the journey is all about! Not everyone is ready or willing to go there.

JustJames

i look at this exploration as a journey into health (i hardly drank anything in a day before tea) and something that is worthy of my attention. i was at art school for more than a decade among other things and the artistry and technique… the sheer volume of knowledge put into each creation is incredible. when i like something/one and it/they have earned my respect then they have also earned the effort of my data mining. =0)

TheTeaFairy

lovely review.

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