Jinxuan Oriental Beauty

Tea type
Oolong Tea
Ingredients
Not available
Flavors
Autumn Leaf Pile, Citrus, Floral, Grass, Honey, Lemon, Mineral, Muscatel, Nutmeg, Pine, Rose, Tannin, Wood
Sold in
Loose Leaf
Caffeine
Not available
Certification
Not available
Edit tea info Last updated by Leafhopper
Average preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 0 min, 30 sec 5 g 4 oz / 120 ml

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  • “This tea has so many names, and I’m surprised that vendors persist in using the one that’s potentially the most problematic. (Personally, braggart’s tea is my favourite, though I go with Bai Hao.)...” Read full tasting note
    85

From Sipscollection

Oriental Beauty is a type of oolong tea made in Taiwan. It’s name used to be 膨風茶 (lit. braggart’s tea), but is now called 東方美人 (lit. oriental beauty). It’s name stems from a few possible origins, with one even recognising the late Queen Elizabeth II as the one who coined the term. Unlike other teas, Oriental Beauty tea is made from bug-bitten leaves, where jassids bite on the tea plant, releasing terpenes that give the final product a honey-like taste.

Typically, Oriental Beauty Oolong is made from the Qing Xin Da Mao (青心大冇) varietal in northwestern parts of Taiwan such as in Hsinchu or Miaoli, but this Oriental Beauty we have here is made from the Jin Xuan (金萱) varietal in Pinglin District, northeastern Taiwan. The honey-like taste is strong in this tea, paired along with some complex flavour notes that make this tea really enjoyable to drink. It also boasts a juicy and oily texture as well as a lingering aftertaste that really makes this tea an experience that you need to try.

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1 Tasting Note

85
435 tasting notes

This tea has so many names, and I’m surprised that vendors persist in using the one that’s potentially the most problematic. (Personally, braggart’s tea is my favourite, though I go with Bai Hao.) I’m honestly not picking on this company in particular, as most Western-facing vendors do the same thing. I’m not sure what Asian tea drinkers call this tea, but it’s probably something else.

Rant on the name aside, I enjoy this type of tea and wanted to try one made from Jin Xuan. My 10 g sample was nicely packed in two 5 g pouches, with extra cardboard sleeves inside to prevent breakage. I steeped 5 g of leaf in a 120 ml porcelain pot using 195F water for 30, 20, 25, 30, 30, 45, 60, 75, 90, 120, 150, 180, and 240 seconds.

The dry aroma is of autumn leaves, honey, muscatel, citrus, and florals. The first steep has a thick body and a fuzzy texture from the many trichomes in the tea. I get honey, autumn leaves, rose, other florals, muscatel, citrus, and some tannins. Lemon and pine emerge in steep two. In the next couple steeps, I get lots of tannins and terpenes, plus honey, lemon, muscatel, and wood. The next couple steeps are fairly tannic and drying, with nutmeg and the honey, muscatel, lemon, and autumn leaves mentioned above. The final few steeps focus on autumn leaves, honey, muscatel, wood, grass, minerals, and rather aggressive tannins.

With my remaining 5 g, I did a session using the vendor’s parameters (30/45/60/75/90… seconds), and I was surprised that the tannins didn’t kick me in the teeth. I got more autumn leaves, citrus, and muscatel and less lemon, pine, and florality, though these flavours were still there. I found this method produced a smoother tea with less character.

Could I detect the contribution of the Jin Xuan? Maybe it appeared in the rose and other florals, but otherwise, I’d say this is a nice midrange Bai Hao. It lost a few points for those tannins, but was pleasant and more interesting than other Bai Hao I’ve had recently.

Flavors: Autumn Leaf Pile, Citrus, Floral, Grass, Honey, Lemon, Mineral, Muscatel, Nutmeg, Pine, Rose, Tannin, Wood

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 0 min, 30 sec 5 g 4 OZ / 120 ML

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