Anxi "Hairy Crab" Mao Xie Fujian Oolong Tea * Spring 2017

Lovely light color. Subtle smell which intrigues i.e. it smells like there could be something rich and tasty afoot. The taste is very clean and pleasant. This is a tea I can easily drink all day without becoming tired of it. I originally gave it a 73 because it is subtle, but now that I find myself appreciating it for long periods of time it is being revised to 80.

I started my day with monkey picked tie guan yin. As I was raking out the tea leaves from my small 70 ml clay pot from Crimson Lotus, I lost my grip, and the clay pot fell into our porcelain farmer style sink. It shattered into many tiny pieces on one side. Bummer.
So, I’m finishing the day with Anxi Mao Xie oolong. I really don’t know why this tea isn’t more highly rated. In a lot of ways, I like this more than tie guan yin. It’s a fabulous tea for introducing to new tea drinkers, especially American tea drinkers. It is very sweet. It actually tastes like it has been sweetened. It’s very delicate and mild. It’s very slightly vegetal, but leans more green and isn’t spinachy or asparagus flavored. It also lingers sweet in the mouth. I would just add that I consider it a great bargain at its current price.