85

My first experience with Japanese oolongs, and I’m impressed. Leaves are a rich dark green, rolled into irregular shapes. For this testing I brewed at 200F in a kyusu clay pot. The liquor was a dark gold with a touch of green, slightly cloudy. The taste is a rich but restrained floral flavor (the seller says it’s gardenia, specifically—I don’t know my flowers well enough to confirm). The light roasting gives it a smooth palate with light sweetness and not much bitterness. The texture is light and refreshing, but with a touch of buttery avocado richness.

By the time I got around to reviewing this, the tea was about 6 months old and had lost some of its initial vibrancy, but still quite good. I did three steeps. The third was noticeably lighter in color and, while it still had some nice tingly effervescence on the tongue, has lost much of its flavor. So I’d stick with 2-3 steepings on this (unless perhaps you’re trying very short steeps).

Overall a lovely discovery at a reasonable price that will proves Japanese oolongs have a place on my tea shelf next to the Taiwanese and Chinese.

Flavors: Butter, Floral, Green

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 2 min, 0 sec

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Bio

I’m not a tea expert by any means. I still have so much to learn and experience about the amazing and enormous world of tea!

I tend to prefer my tea unsweetened, with no added flavors. On the other hand, sometimes nothing will do but Earl Grey with lots of milk and sugar, spicy Chai, or taro milk tea. I usually take it hot, but will definitely enjoy an iced tea, or even a matcha smoothie, in the summertime.

Favorites:
Pu-erh
Darjeeling
Japanese green
Oolong (I’m still figures out which styles are my favorite)
Ginger

Key to my reviews:
95-100: Amazing, mind-blowing tea (I’ve never given this rating yet)
90-95: An exceptional tea, truly excellent. A work of art.
80-89: A very good tea, strongly recommended. Not just high quality, but something special that puts it ahead of the pack.
70-79: A good tea, a solid recommendation. Made with care and quality. Nothing obviously “wrong” with it, but may not have that extra special “something.”
60-68: A pretty good tea. One you could drink daily without disappointment. May have one or two negative qualities, but more good than bad.
50-59: The lowest level of tea I’d consider worth drinking more than once. Usually will only choose it if it’s the only thing I have around.
49 and below: Bad teas, from just “meh” to “spit it out and run for the Listerine.” I probably won’t bother reviewing many in this category.

Location

New England, USA

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