This was from Rachel’s sale a while ago! thank you! I’ve sipped this once before but I didn’t feel like the steep parameters were right (especially with the high rating on Steepster). The flavor just seemed a bit muted. Seeing the instructions for Teavivre’s oolongs… 3-4 teaspoons at boiling(!) gave me the idea to try more leaves are a hotter temp. I’m a little confused if this is a actual milk oolong though, or just flavored. This one isn’t actually called a Jin Xuan. The leaves are lovely looking though – bright green bundles. Two teaspoons this time. The last cup was one teaspoon with the water cooled for about forty minutes.
Steep #1 // water cooled 15-20 minutes // 2-3 min steep
BAM the basket is FULL of leaves. I have no idea how Teavivre’s 3-4 teaspoons would fit in this. The flavor is much less muted this time around. Creamy /milky definitely. But I’m so used to oolongs having COMPLEX flavors. This doesn’t really taste floral/peachy/vegetal. Just creamy. And very drying.
Steep #2 // water cooled 10-15 minutes // 3-4 min steep
Another lovely cup! Much less drying of the mouth this time around. Still very creamy and sweet. Still no other notes somehow. Very weird! I much prefer the tea steeped this way rather than the muted way. I just don’t see how this QUITE gets one of the highest rated teas on Steepster, but it isn’t bad. I’m also very sad that thePuritea has closed. I did manage a mini-order of a few samples.
Steep #3 // just boiled // 3 min
I thought this would be too hot for this oolong, but it was actually better than the second cup while it was hot, but as it cooled, it got a bit too “leafy”. Still surprisingly creamy & sweet. Not burned anyway. I don’t think you actually NEED two teaspoons of leaves for this one, but a hotter temp helps.
