Gui Fei Oolong

Brew style: Gongfu in gaiwan
Temperature: 205 degrees F

Dry aroma: Flowers, cannot place the exact type, but ones that occur in tropical places, plumeria, creamed honey, sugarcane, ripe tropical fruit, hint of cotton candy
Throat: Hard caramel candy, sweet buttered cinnamon toast, touch of tropical flowers
Wet leaf aroma: Roasting wood and leaves, honey, plumeria, hint of fruit and cinnamon
Brew aroma: Melted butter with brown sugar, flowers, hint of green woods, fruit, small hint of vanilla and almonds
Brew color: Medium gold with tinge of brown
Taste: Overtones of fruit that turns into a sugar like sweetness at the end. Distinct note of plum upfront and apple in the middle alongside other fruits that mingle seamlessly (to the point in which I can only say that it mainly tastes of fresh tropical fruit salad). Small note of woods, almonds, cinnamon and cream. Subtly complex. Slight creamy mouthfeel. Medium length.

This one smelled SWEET dry and for the first steep, was just as sweet. It was very fruity but smooth. I steeped it once more, and it was a lot more floral, which was interesting. The strength was about the same each steep, and I imagine if I had enough hours in the day I could get a few more out of this no problem. I definitely recommend it.

Today was NOT good. I started by spilling my AM oolong all over the counter. Then I had to make tea at work where the water temp isn’t high enough. Then I ran around like a crazy person all day because 2 girls are on vacay, so everyone keeps dumping their stuff on ME!

But I had a nice dinner with my Mom and my Aunt, and now I am settling in with a lovely summer thunderstorm and a cup of this tea! On to the review!

Method: 1.5 tsp, 8 oz, 200 degrees, 2 minutes, Forlife Brew-in-Mug strainer. And of course, the Dr. Who mug because the Doctor always makes you feel better!

Dry Leaf Aroma: Lightly floral and also fruity. What’s that? Dried apples? And this also has a lovely buttery aroma.

Flavor: Interesting. This one has a more subtle flavor than I expected, after going for 2 minutes. It’s a little fruity and has a very pronounced floral taste when slurped. Almost perfumey. I pick up some of the buttery notes, also. I thought this might be a little sweeter, but I haven’t found that to be the case. I’d like this to be a bit stronger, so I am going to try 4 min on the resteep.

It didn’t look like the leaves opened all the way on the first steep, but they definitely unfurled all the way on the second steep. The tea is darker and has a little astringency, but not anything unpleasant. The floral is still present, but not the apple or butter. I think I like the first steep better, though I do pick up a very nice raisin note on this steep! This is a good tea, but I think I can get a little more out of it. I am going to try it gong fu style next time.

Thanks to GTT for the sample!

I left the last sample from Green Terrace Teas to this afternoon when I could spend a little time with it. Leafhopper tea! I was very excited to try this oolong.

As with all the other samples this one smelled very fresh dry. I brewed at 195F , gave the leaves a quick rinse and brewed for 40 sec. This tea isn’t as buttery as some of the other light oolongs. It brews up an orange colour and there only a hint of toasty notes in it. A honey sweetness on the tongue. Floral aroma and floral notes. There was apple notes as well. With all this going on, you would think this would be my favourite oolong but it’s not. It is very good but I believe it’s the toasty notes that are not something I love. I did 3 infusions of this tea and it had good flavour on all 3. (40, 60, 60)

I am very thankful to Green Terrace Teas for providing this sample for me to try.

The leaf has a darker fruitier smell than other green oolongs, though brewed it returns to the green and floral, slightly toasty scent (though I think I detect something like apple in there).

I brewed a western two minutes in a teacup, getting a honey yellow liquid; it’s smooth, and I’m mainly getting cream and apple. Not as buttery as some oolongs, although it’s still got that similar mouth-feel to it. Toastier notes when I breathe out, with a touch of honey. It’s really nice to just roll around on your tongue, and I can see myself definitely buying more of this to enjoy.

All three samples came very nicely packaged in labeled vacuum-sealed bags. Long ago I invested in a box of tiny clamps from the office supplies aisle to keep track of my tea samples (I’ve only got the three now, but when I went on a sample-buying spree through Teavivre…).

Since I didn’t rinse it beforehand, the leaves opened up a lot more during the second steep (also 2 minutes). Sticking my nose in there for that sweet appley smell. Taste is definitely stronger; I’d almost have kept the second steep to 1:30, maybe (but it’s not bitter); the apple’s gone completely. Toasty butter, maybe a bit of cream, definite floral notes.

Third steep was definitely a little sharp, very floral.

I am re-visiting this review to say a couple important things. First of all, I love this tea so much I have a $115 dollar yixing pot dedicated to it (I occasionally let some other fruity/floral unroasted oolongs in there, but not often). The seasoning on this pot just keeps getting more deliciously sweet and rich. It smells like caramel and fruit when I open it up. Secondly, LYCHEE!!! I had some trouble putting my thumb on what the flavors of this tea are the first time. I kept thinking apples and roses/magnolias… then I had a lychee fruit beverage yesterday and suddenly it hit me. Lychee has a really floral kind of fruitiness to me, and it is almost identical to the flavor of this tea (Lychee flavored Calpico is the drink I had, FYI, which is a creamy non-carbonated soft drink from Japan).

All that said, here is my original review from several months ago when I first tried it:

This is my first bug-bitten oolong! I’m so excited! I received this as a sample from Green Terrace Teas, a new company based in Taiwan. The samples were vacuum sealed in attractive gold foil packaging and labeled elegantly and clearly in both Chinese and English. I am very impressed by how professional these samples are presented!

After a quick rinse of the leaves, I am totally enamored by the aroma of this oolong. There are notes of apples, cream, butter, warm honey and magnolias (or roses). This is unlike anything I’ve encountered; the smell is so wonderful I sat and smelled it for a strong minute or two before brewing the first infusion.

Despite an even more floral aroma after a quick 30-second steep, the gold liquor yielded by this tea tastes very sweet and mellow. I primarily taste subtle notes of apples, honey and flowers. There’s a very evident hui gan. The taste is surprisingly mellower than the aroma.

The second steeping has all the same flavors. It is exceptionally mellow and honey-like with crisp notes of apple and floral magnolia tones coming through. The brew is a deep yellow color.

As the brewed leaves unfurl completely, they are gorgeously green with red-brown edges. The tiny holes from leaf hopper bites are quite fun to look at, and the tea has become noticeably more floral. By the third and fourth infusion, it is still sweet but more floral. I can see this tea lasting a good many steepings and I intend to sit and enjoy them without thinking and focusing on describing the tea, so I will end my review here. I’ve become rather tea drunk from this one tea. I feel like I’ve become flowing water.

This really is an incredible tea and one not to overlook.