This was what I received for week 2 of the Canton Tea Club but unfortunately due to a bad cold I had to postpone the tasting. It didn’t dawn on me until yesterday when I received week 3 that I was behind and thought I should get a move on with the logging.
Firstly upon reading about the origin I found it super fascinating that this is considered by some to be a green tea and others to be an oolong tea. Imagine it…an oolong tea with a green effect (or a green tea with an oolong effect), it sounds so marvellous and magical!
Whilst raw the tea itself consists of very dark green and very dark brown twisted leaves that smell strongly floral and very green. Not especially grassy green but fresh and slightly sweet.
Once brewed this is very light yellow in colour and it smells toned down from the raw leaves. There is still a slight sweetness to a smooth floral smell but it’s very delicate. At this point I am still not sure whether I would class it as a green or an oolong…hopefully I will be able to make a decision at the end.
Alright lets get down to the nitty gritty of the taste test. This is very light and fresh, subtly floral, slightly green tasting as it’s slightly bitter (very slightly) and a little buttery. Due to the gentle nature of this tea I think it’s going to be something you either love or hate.
This does get stronger half way down the cup but still remains super smooth and light. Great for a mellow, relaxing drink. I have also been contemplating what I would categorize this as and the type with the most ticks is oolong BUT I feel that if the farmer himself grows and sells it as a green tea then it may technically be classed as a green. It says on the leaflet I received with this tea from the club that Xu (the farmer) sells it as a green personally but people claim it to be a slightly oxidised oolong.
Regardless this is very nice and cleanses the pallet wonderfully. My last few cups have been flavoured black tea’s and this has completely neutralised any remaining flavours.
In a few words this tea is: subtle, light, floral, buttery, green, and naturally sweet. That spells WINNER to me.
