I LOVE jin xuan! The milky creaminess, sweet buttery notes, and crisp finish make it feel like I’m drinking creamy yogurt.
After spending a few months bed-ridden after a really serious ankle injury and not being able to make tea to ease my deep depression, as soon as I was able to start making tea again I took full advantage! Tonight is the first time I’ve been able to sit down and do a gungfu session, and I reached for the sample I got from Tea from Taiwan of jin xuan to celebrate.
The sample was packaged in a single serve vacuum sealed package, enough for two gungfu sessions (I tend to use less leaf when doing oolongs this way because of the shape of my little glass gungfu pot. Too much leaf, while giving a more authentic steeping session, unfurls to block the sieve in the spout, and I can’t actually get any tea out! haha) or for one mug. the leaf is tightly curled and bright green with a lovely sweet cream scent as soon as I tore the packaging. the vacuum sealing was a smart move on the company’s part, and protected the leaf well during transit. There was minimal leaf “dust” at the bottom of the envelope.
I typically do 5 steeps in the following order:
30sec
30sec
1min
1min30sec
45sec
The liquor retained the thick creamy sweetness right through to the 5th steep, and I’m actually going to lay the leaves out to dry so I can use them some more in the morning. I’m really impressed, other milky oolongs I’ve tried have “dulled down” by the 3rd steep, but this one has some staying power. By steep 3 there was a bit of vegetal notes coming through, like sweet peas with fresh churned butter. Simply lovely!
I’m definitely enamored with this tea, and I’m glad I have enough left for a few more steepings. It’s definitely one to restock!
