Whilst I’ve really grown to love Green Oolongs, I’m still undecided about darker ones. Using a lovely little glass teapot that I got from the London Tea Club, I gave some of this a session a day or two ago. The smell of the dry leaves is pretty potent – smoky and roasty!
The first infusion was mild (after a rinse, I probably only infused it for ~10 seconds) – it was surprisingly tasty, too. Kinda like… when you melt sugar and it just starts to burn. Not when it gets all extreme and bitter, but at the point when it’s clearly starting to char a little. It was lovely and smooth to drink, though.
The next batch of infusions were much more potent – I stuck to short steepings, and I know that the amount of leaf I used was OK, but this was definitely a different beast to the green oolongs I love! It was just so intense and strongly flavoured! Not, of course, that this is a bad thing – it was really good! Just so different.
Over the course of the two days I used these leaves for, the intensity wore off, as did the kind of ‘burned’ flavour, and it just became a tasty, lighter cup of oolong. It grew a little sweeter, as well-infused leaves often do, but still retained plenty of flavour.
I don’t think I’ll score this just yet (for much the same reason I don’t score Puerhs) – I don’t really know enough about these teas and I’m not really used to drinking them. But I could definitely appreciate this one – I imagine trying it (and my other, roasted/aged oolongs) more will give me a better perspective :-)
Flavors: Burnt Sugar, Caramel, Roasted
i love this one
Any recommendation on how you like best to brew it? :-)