Green Oolong that is not SUPER Vegetal
This is the weirdest question ever given how inherently vegetal jade oolongs are: Has anyone tried a greener oolong with the floral AND fruit notes being stronger than the more savory, grassy, and vegetal notes? The closest that I’ve ever had to that description was a Li Shan, and was wondering if there were others.
Based on the discussion, here are my few top picks that I want to try:
Berylleb Tea King Ebay
Taiwan Lishan High Mountain Oolong
Taiwan Dong Ding Jin Xuan Milk Oolong (the reviews are so frickin’ mixed on steepster that I have no clue if it is flavored or not)
Alishan High Mountain Oolong
Dayuling (which I just ordered 50 g of)
Beautiful Taiwan Tea Co.
Yu Shan Oolong
Alishan Stone Table
Dayuling
Dong Ding (which I will def. reorder eventually-one of my all time favorites)
What-Cha: There are going to be so many I just want to try…
Taiwan Lishan (also a favorite I should have ordered more of last time!)
Taiwan Alishan Oolong
Taiwan Jade Oolong
Taiwan Four Seasons (Maybe’s for daily drinkers)
Thailand ‘Ruan Zhi’ High Mountain Oolong
Tealyra
Jade Oolong
Wenshan Baozhong Reserve
Almost any of their Jade oolongs
Flavored:
Cherry Lilac Jubilee
Mandarin Silk
Wonder Ayuverdic Chai (just want to try it-has nothing to do with the list)
Gold Rose Oolong
Rhaspberry Oolong
Holy crap I want to sample too much. Anyone who has had experience with these or has one of these please let me know. Thank you so much for all that you have already done!
AliShan and Shan Lin Xi might be the best fit. AliShan is usually pretty heavy floral whereas SLX has a high floral and pretty robust. Li Shan is mostly just high on the buttery.
I’d avoid He Huan Shan (that one is the reverse of what you are looking for).
What vendors are you going to? I’ve had some pretty not floral alishans or not buttery lishans at some places. I’d rec Floating Leaves Tea and Taiwan Tea Crafts for having good stuff.
edit: also play with your steeping methods. I boil all my oolongs, you get more complex and texture that way, than a slow grind of vegetal.
To clarify, Mrs. Owl, do you mean steeping with boiling temp water, or actually boiling on the stove? I’ve herd of boiling whites on the stove, but boiling an oolong would be news to me.
I’ve had the sampler pack from Floating Leaves thanks to your coupon :) I usually have very short steeps for most of my green oolongs, through it depends on how strong the oolong is. As for temp, usually between 180-boiling. 200 has brought out nice florals and sweet cream notes for the Li Shan’s I’ve had. I might check out Floating Leaves again, but I am going to wait till after Christmas for money on that one. What-cha had an excellent Li Shan that was a crigp green, but mega citrus notes with a plumeria and lilac florals. I might go pick that one, but if I can, I will find another oolong for cheaper. Is there a specific one from Taiwan Tea Crafts that you recommend? I am checking your blog now for suggestions. Taiwan Tea Crafts also has so many options…
Obvious choices (i think youve tried both of these right?) but Whispering pines – Golden Lily & Tie Guan Yin, fruit for days vs floral heavier than the vegetals. My go-to to show tea-newbs (teawbs? teabies?)- Teabies!, as they show off what good tea can taste like while not breaking the bank.
Chou shi, Jin xuan, alishan would be my go to’s im a HUGE green oolong fan. most of my online shop is green oolong lol amd i saw someone suggest and anxi tieguanyin, i agree with that too.
Hi UNYtea – What varietal is your chou shi? i’ve tried a ya shi dan cong in the chou shi style & found I had to steep with low temps & overleaf to get the best from it, any tips on how to drink this style of tea?
Im awaiting a response from my farmer on the varietal, but i find that vegital bite can be unattractive. its really messes with my stomach sometimes so i have found that sometimes that means brewing a bit lighter. so maybe a tiny less leaf OR less time. Now to fully contradict myself Dancong is typically drank in a fashion using more leaf. i personally do 4-5grams of my chou shi per 100-120ml. I never use more than 5 grams and i (like you im sure) also don’t like tea that just tastes like hot water. and i am always pleased with the ration of 4-5g:100-120ml. if you are intrested and want to hear more about the varietal. send me an email at [email protected] ill probably know within the day or so.- Jeffrey
Yeah I’m not usually one for large amounts of leaf but with this style the one I tried it seemed to work better with less temp, more leaf. Was very fussy imho! I’m guessing being dehydrated rather than roasted makes it even more fussier ? I would also like to see other varietal being made in this style, something fruity rather than perfumed.
Thanks! I’ve had Tie Guan Yin, and I like them when I am in the mood for them. They used to be my favorite, but I preferred Shan Lin Xi’s and Li Shans after a while. In short, I think I want something like a Da Yu Ling…which is hard to come by for a lower price. I am also covered in terms of Jin Xuan. :)
UNYteam, I’ve have not tried a Chou Shi Dan Cong yet though I’ve always wanted to especially after being used to other varieties of Dan Cong. And awesome! I am a green oolong lover too! I asked about the less vegetal note because it has made my stomach upset lately. I think I might take you up on that email too. I usually brew very lightly and I honestly eye ball my leaf amount. This usually works for me, though I want to say that the lowest amount of leaf I’ve used was 2.5-3 grams for 5.5 oz.
Green dong ding is another good choice for a floral tea. I tried one from Beautiful Taiwan Tea Company a while back that was incredibly flower packed.
Wish more companies would sell the green version because it’s so much more interesting than the common roasted dong ding oolong.
I was tempted to get more of Beautiful Taiwan Tea Co.‘s “Old Style” because it was one of my favorites and sample a bunch of their oolongs. Their Li Shan was really light and spinachy from what I remember. The Yu Shan and the Stone Table Alishan are my targets if I do buy from them again. I’m also torn between getting some from Berylleb.
BTTC has been hit or miss for me lately. I had to chuck 2 oz of the Old Style dong ding recently because somehow it was stale despite being vacuum sealed. Their bao zhongs were sort of meh this year. Although to be fair a lot of my favorites this year weren’t as good as last year’s harvest. Interesting how changes in weather and terror affect tea from season to season. The Yushan is a great tea for the money, I liked that one the best from my last BTTC order.
I’ve heard a lot of good things lately about Floating Leaves. Thinking of trying them out next time.
And I just Googled Berylleb…damn, what a selection! Down the rabbit hole I go…
Huang Jin Gui is pretty nice if you enjoy osmanthus notes. The one I have tastes like osmanthus clover and honey. I bought a high altitude anxi TGY that smells promising but I haven’t tried it yet otherwise agree with the mentioned Taiwanese offerings.
Thank you! Osmanthus notes are hit or miss for me. I am a lilac and plumeria kind of guy :)
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