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“I decided to finish the remainder of the sample of this tea this afternoon. Last time I used water at 195° but, in hopes of getting more of a higher, floral note out of it, I’m doing this batch at...” Read full tasting note
“WOW! Dry Smell: Dry Roasted peanuts Wet: Earthy nutty So that was not what I expected. The smell is very misleading, at least for me it was. This tastes just like a very subtle jasmin tea. There is...” Read full tasting note
“Drinking this today out of a beaten up chipped and stained infuser mug I got in Chinatown – lmao! Looks like I might need a new mug very soon. :) When I think of a classic high mountain oolong...” Read full tasting note
“Got the samples from Tea from Taiwan today, and they were packed in nice little vacuum-sealed pouches. I decided to start with this one. Not sure about everyone else, but whenever I get something...” Read full tasting note
Winter 2009
Four Season oolong tea (wu long tea) is a varietal grown in the Alishan (Mount Ali) tea region of Taiwan. Alishan is one of Taiwan’s most famous tea areas. The rich soil combined with the daily fog produces ideal conditions for growing tea.
Four Season tea is a high-mountain (gao shan) tea which has been hand-picked and hand-processed by traditional methods. It is an excellent daily tea with a smooth sweet taste and pleasing colour. Four Season tea is the best oolong available in this price range. It compares well with some of our more expensive teas.
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Method: 1 heaping tsp. @ 182 degrees, grandpa style
Dry Leaf Aroma: Floral and sweet, like honey
Brewing Aroma: Green and vegetal
Flavor: This has a lightly buttery taste, and a very slight bitterness. I can taste some of the floral from the aroma, and this also has a nutty finish in the first cup. The second cup was fascinating and had a light vegetable flavor. Then there were some fruity hints in the third cup, like grape. This tea was a chameleon!
This is a great every day drinker. Very nice leaves, lots of stems if you like that. I’m noticing that with the 2 or 3 teas I’ve tried so far from Tea from Taiwan.
The dry leaves have a kind of buttered popcorn smell to me with a little bit of a floral background.
I’m getting some sweet corn taste in the liquor, real nice pale yellow color. I get about 6 or 7 solid steeps Gaiwan style.
Nothing spectacular overall, but very solid all around and great deal for the price.
Flavors: Floral, Popcorn, Sweet
The reason love oolongs so much is because of their “chameleon” qualities :-)
I think you’re right! I need to pay closer attention to that. I am really starting to appreciate oolongs, but as I try more, I find that many of the lightly oxidized oolongs taste similar. None have been exactly the same, though. I was a little disappointed at first, but I think I just need to be on the lookout for what makes each one unique!
For me, their true colours really shine with gongfu brewing method. I mean, you still get a decent cup western style, but you miss so much on the way they evolve with short steeps.
Have you tried some aged roasted oolong? My favourite is 2003 Reserve Four Season from Butiki…a REAL chameleon that one, roasty with super sweet caramel notes, spectacular!
I know. You’re totally right, but I am just way too lazy to brew that way most of the time. I do try to do at least one gong fu style brew with each tea at some point. By the time I get home from work, I am beat, so I really just want to curl up with a book and a cuppa. I know I am probably missing out on some subtleties, but I’ve also found some teas that are truly amazing, even when brewed lazy style :p
I totally understand, short steeps require more prep and time. Lol, “lazy style” works for me too most of the time ;-) In fact, there are teas I even prefer that way. Laoshan Black for instance is one of them!