93

I have been working on this tea for some time now. This differs from Verdant Tea’s regular Qilan in that the teamaker utilized a much lighter roast in order to bring out the pronounced notes of spice and orchid that are so common to this particular cultivar. I think fans of traditional Wuyi oolongs would really appreciate this one.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. As I’m still playing with my brewing method a bit, I did not follow Verdant Tea’s brewing outline all that closely. I started off following their suggestions, but just went with my gut after a point. For this session, I started off with a quick rinse and then steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 208 F water for 5 seconds. Additional infusions were conducted at 8 seconds, 11 seconds, 14 seconds, 17 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute 15 seconds, and 2 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry leaves emitted mild, yet intriguing aromas of plum, raisin, sandalwood, and dried flowers. After the rinse, the orchid aroma really emerged. The first infusion produced a pronounced orchid and sandalwood aroma underscored by minerals and a subtle fruitiness. In the mouth, there was a pleasant blend of orchid, raisin, plum, lychee, sandalwood, and mineral notes. The second and third infusions produced much heavier aromas and flavors of orchid and sandalwood. Infusions 4-6 saw the floral quality reigned in significantly, while mineral, raisin, plum, and lychee notes began to push to the fore. There was also something of a wet stone quality on the finish. Steeps 7-9 saw the tea fade earlier and faster than I wanted. I still noted mild sandalwood, orchid, and mineral aromas, as well as mild flavors of sandalwood, raisin, and orchid beneath the stone and mineral notes. Steeps 10-12 saw the tea continue to wind down. There was a slight mineral tinge on the nose, while mineral and stone notes dominated the mouth from start to finish. I found that I could still just barely detect hints of raisin, orchid, plum, and sandalwood when I really focused. I ended the session at this point.

For me, this tea was a hard one to properly evaluate. On the one hand, those early steeps were so wonderful, but on the other hand, this tea did not retain much of its character for the length of time I generally prefer. I think what saved this one for me was that unmistakable Wuyi rock texture in the mouth. It stuck around from start to finish, focusing the robust flavors of the early steeps and the ghostly flavor sensations of the last infusions. In the end, I’ll grade this one rather liberally just for that.

Flavors: Floral, Fruity, Lychee, Mineral, Orchid, Plum, Raisins, Wet Rocks

Preparation
Boiling 6 g 4 OZ / 118 ML
Evol Ving Ness

Your reviews make my tea world is much richer. Thank you.

eastkyteaguy

Thank you. I appreciate that very much.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

People who liked this

Comments

Evol Ving Ness

Your reviews make my tea world is much richer. Thank you.

eastkyteaguy

Thank you. I appreciate that very much.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

Profile

Bio

My grading criteria for tea is as follows:

90-100: Exceptional. I love this stuff. If I can get it, I will drink it pretty much every day.

80-89: Very good. I really like this stuff and wouldn’t mind keeping it around for regular consumption.

70-79: Good. I like this stuff, but may or may not reach for it regularly.

60-69: Solid. I rather like this stuff and think it’s a little bit better-than-average. I’ll drink it with no complaints, but am more likely to reach for something I find more enjoyable than revisit it with regularity.

50-59: Average. I find this stuff to be more or less okay, but it is highly doubtful that I will revisit it in the near future if at all.

40-49: A little below average. I don’t really care for this tea and likely won’t have it again.

39 and lower: Varying degrees of yucky.

Don’t be surprised if my average scores are a bit on the high side because I tend to know what I like and what I dislike and will steer clear of teas I am likely to find unappealing.

Location

KY

Following These People

Moderator Tools

Mark as Spammer