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I got this as a mystery tea in my Black Friday What-Cha haul. It’s something I probably never would have ordered, but it fits my interest in Taiwanese oolongs. I steeped 6 g of leaf in a 120 ml teapot at 195F for 25, 20, 25, 30, 30, 30, 45, 60, 90, 120, and 240 seconds.

The dry aroma is of orange blossom, honeysuckle, and cream. The first steep has notes of butter, baked bread, lilac, orange blossom, honeysuckle, cream, lavender, faint fruit, and grass. The fruit resolves itself into cantaloupe and citrus in the second steep, and the orange blossom becomes stronger. I also get hints of corn and spinach. The grassy, vegetal, and spinach notes grow stronger in the third steep, but those citrus, orange blossom, and melon notes do as well. By the fifth steep, I get more vegetal flavours, plus minerals and umami. However, it’s still full of orange blossom, honeysuckle, lilac, and other flowers I can’t put a name to. As the session progresses, the vegetal, umami, and mineral flavours gradually take over, although the tea retains its florality for a long time.

This oolong punches well above its price point and I enjoyed it a lot more than I expected. It has a wide range of floral notes and the hints of melon and lavender were a pleasant surprise. While it’s not as nuanced as a high mountain oolong, it’s definitely one of the nicer low elevation teas I’ve had in a while.