Jin Guanyin Wuyi Oolong

My green and oolong adventure continues.

This is the second time that I’ve steeped up this Jin Guanyin Wuyi Oolong from the Li Xiangxi Collection.

The first time I steeped this last week, I used water at a lower temperature, something like 180 degrees—user error, apparently— and what I got was a flat murky, woody, earthy, spice type of brew. Not great.

This time, however, I steeped with boiling and kapow! The flavours in my cup brightened and new distinct flavours emerged. Wood, earth, spice, char, a teeny bit of smoke, slight bit of sourness, and a roasted caramelized sweetness in the lingering aftertaste. A bit of prune if I squint.
And this is all from steep one. Remarkable cup.

The honeyed caramel sweetness stays well into four or five steeps.

Mindblowing how the correct water temperature influences tea and enjoyment.

Steeped: 5

It’s crazy, but I’m squeezing another gongfu session into this day. I found the sample of this oolong in my sample pile and just had to try it. I greatly enjoyed the last Jin Guanyin I tried, so I figured that this one would give me some insight into how well this cultivar reacts to different terroir and different processing methods.

Obviously, I prepared this tea gongfu style. After the rinse, I steeped 5 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 208 F water for 8 seconds. The initial infusion was only supposed to be 6 seconds, but I mistimed it. I followed this infusion with 12 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 10 seconds, 15 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, and 3 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves emitted interesting fruity, floral aromas. It was like a mixture of mandarin orange, peach, lychee, Asian pear, and violet balanced by char, wood, and herbs. After the rinse, I picked up more intense spicy herb aromas, as well as a hint of honey. The first infusion produced a similar aroma. In the mouth, I got the expected notes of lychee, mandarin orange, Asian pear, peach, honey, wood, char, violet, and herbs coupled with unexpected coffee bean, lime, and plum notes and a hint of minerals. Subsequent infusions emphasized the tea’s fruity and floral characteristics. The impressions of violet, plum, pear, herbs, and orange grew particularly pronounced. A subtle orchid presence also emerged around this time. I caught deep, dark tobacco impressions too. The later infusions were mostly a wash of minerals, herbs, mandarin orange, lime, and Asian pear.

An interesting, flavorful oolong with extremely unique aroma and flavor profiles, this was most definitely the kind of tea that is perfect with which to end a long day. I especially appreciated that I could still detect some of the core citrusy, floral characteristics that are so typical of the Jin Guanyin cultivar. Compared with the Dan Gui I reviewed earlier in the day, this was a much more complex and refined tea. I greatly enjoyed it.