Shui Jin Gui Wuyi Oolong

Sitting here while it steeps, I think this is one of the best smelling oolongs I’ve experienced. Smells like hot springs, with some floral and roasty notes.

Drinking it – The mineral like scent comes through at the forefront on taste. It is a little floral tasting for me as well, but different from other oolongs, which usually give me kind of a lavenderesque taste. Tastes a little bit like roasted nuts too now that I think of it. On the second steep some flan like flavors are starting to come through, and the floral notes are lessening.

Very nice!

A tea of the month addition from a couple months ago…finally getting a chance in this busy summer to trying it. Dry leaf is beautiful long one inch plus curls, very dark brown to black in color. Scent in roasty, spicy, with a hint of tart apple.
After a rinse and 5sec. steep: Wet leaf is mineraly, roast and green veggies. This first steep is relatively light with the leaves still mostly closed. Light apple with a little toast.
Steep 2(5sec.): Almost twice as dark as the previous. Nice sweetness coming through along with vanilla and light spice.
Steep 3(5sec.): Sweetness still getting stronger. Nice creamy fullness with a woodsy, earthy spice.
Steep 4(5sec.): Rotated leaves…Full and sweet. Almost no earthiness left. Nice tropical fruits starting to peak its head…star fruit tang in the finish.
Steep 5(5sec.): More green tea type flavors now. A little citrus and tropical fruit still. Starting to lighten in flavor. Will extend steeping next time around.
Steep 6(10sec.): Flavor kicked up a little, especially the tropical fruit. Would go a few more steeps, but I need to start my day.

After spending a year and a half focusing on greens, I decided to mix it up and try an oolong that arrived in my Verdant sample box. The leaves are gorgeous, twisted, enormous dark things with an amazing smell fresh out of the package. Super duper tippy magic pekoe this clearly is not, but there’s no breakage to speak of and the leaves are pristine both dry and after they unfurl.

My first and continued thought about Shui Jin Gui Wuyi: WHAT IS IT? Sitting there with my first cup, brewed as a compromise between western style and gong fu, that was the question that came back to mind with every whiff and every sip. It smelled oddly familiar, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. It tasted familiar, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. And I still can’t assign any specific name to it. Earthy, water chestnutty, coppery… but not quite. Like sucking on a dirty, tarnished penny… but not exactly. I realize I probably don’t make it sound particularly appetizing, but there’s something satisfying about it that demands continued drinking.

Second steep: The indescribable flavor continues to dominate, slightly stronger and with added notes of fire-roasted hazelnuts. For an intriguing juxtaposition, it also develops a cloying honey, slightly-fruity (summer melon?) finish that lasts between sips. (Verdant and other reviews describe it as elderberry; this Swedish-American doesn’t find that in his cuppa.)

Third steep: The sweetness moves into the main flavor profile. A more relaxed cup.

Fourth: Slightly more astringent cup. Scent now resembles a green. Flavors very mellow. Roasted coffee note develops. Continuing this tea’s trend of unexpected contrasts, the finish is heavy on the floral (citrus blossoms—a scent and taste I know well) with a hint of caramel and a slight creaminess.

Fifth: Very light liquor. Probably should have steeped longer. Grapefruit. Lingering citrus blossom/jasmine finish. Slight, passing copper note on the finish.

Sixth: The leaves aren’t spent quite yet, but results are getting light enough even with extended steeps that I called it quits. Copper moves up in the flavor profile, grapefruit moves back. Finish is extremely sweet with no hint of flavor.

Its been difficult trying to find good oolongs that suit me. This one is excellent quality, but it is not for me. I pick up too much floral aroma and flavor. It has other wonderful flavor notes too, but I can’t get past my dislike of florals enough to appreciate this one.

Woody for an oolong. Pleasant, but nothing special. I’ve talked before about how my palate doesn’t seem sophisticated enough for the subtlety of Vertant’s teas.

I brewed this gong fu style as Verdant recommends. It’s very tasty but I feel like after 3 infusions it loses a lot of it’s sweet flavour. I find it special because it tastes like caramel without any flavouring added to it.

Water: 8oz Boiled

Leaves: medium size brownish black leaves

Steep: 10s

Aroma: floral & woody

Color: golden yellow

Taste: To begin with this tea I did a 5s rinse. The rinse really brought the aroma to life the steam of the leaves gave off the usual floral sent I tend to get with most oolongs but with a woody tone. I’m not the big fan of oolongs,this was okay. The second steep was 20s I found it to be a little bitter.Third was 30s and the flavor was lighter with no bitterness.

Added some extra leaf this time and went with a shorter steeping. This tea is why I love tea. It’s just delightful. It’s got such an incredible organic aroma and flavor that I can’t quite place… it’s like drinking a rainforest? But it’s not leafy or green. It’s got an oddly sweet character, too. There’s just so much to explore! I think I’ll order more of this. (edit: not for sale anymore!?)

I’m on steep 9 of this now I think, and I have mo idea what to rate this. I just broke into the bag, the very last of my Verdant Tea $5 sampler. The instructions said either use a clay teapot, a gaiwan, or a small cup and a brew basket, so I forwent a pot and just brewed it in a basket in a half-full covered mug.

The dry leaf smells like nothing I can accurately describe, and not necessarily in a pleasant way, though I may have had some laytex powder on my hands at the time messing up the aroma. I used about 2-ish teaspoons and brewed with boiling water 10 seconds the first steep.

Early on, a burnt toast sort of flavor pretty much dominated and halfway through I got some orange notes, but the more I steep it, the more pronounced the what-I-guess-is-elderflower scent comes through. I think? It smells like a distinct flower I cannot put my finger on, lightly spiced and somehow exotic in a way totally opposite my beloved jasmine, and definitely not native to my area. In the same way some things just smell or taste light or dark, this smells gray, with all the wicked force of the thunderstorm that is sweeping up the valley as I brew it.

It’s weird. It’s pretty good. I think it’s getting washed out. Give it a shot.

This tea wasn’t what I expected at all. The first steep wasn’t sweet or floral/orchid-y like any of the other oolongs I’ve tried… instead it tasted rich and earthy. It had mineral/stone as well as woody notes, and drinking it was rather like entering an ancient forest and breathing it all in.
This tea wasn’t what I expected at all. It was much, much better =]