I bought this roasted high mountain oolong in winter 2016, though it’s currently not listed on the company’s website. I was initially turned off by the amount of roast, but this tea has grown on me, especially since I got a clay pot a couple weeks ago. I brewed my last 6 g in this 120 ml clay vessel for two steeps of 30 seconds, two steeps of 40 seconds, two steeps of 30 seconds, and one steep of 40, 60, and 120 seconds.
Along with the roast, the first steep has notes of honey and flowers, with a kind of grassy aftertaste. The tea is also pretty drying. I oversteeped the second infusion by about five seconds and got a very astringent cup (the fragments that always accumulate at the bottom of the bag probably aren’t helping either). There’s also a bready note that makes it resemble a weirdly bitter honey glazed doughnut.
Much of the honey disappears in the third steep, but sadly, none of the astringency does. I think I need to dial this back down to 30 seconds. A roasted vegetable quality also comes out in this steep. The fourth steep, though still astringent, is back to being full of roast and honey.
Back at 30 seconds, the next couple steeps are typical of roasted oolongs. The astringency is down, but so are the sweetness and florals. Probably due to user error, it’s kind of downhill from here, with minerals and astringency in the last three infusions.
This was probably the worst experience I’ve had with this tea. Though it always has a bit of a bite, it’s usually balanced by the honey and florals. I began by using the same brewing parameters as I normally do, although I started changing them when things began to go wrong. I can only guess that the leaf fragments were what turned this into a bitter mess. I’m still giving this a decent rating because it’s usually quite drinkable.
Flavors: Astringent, Bread, Floral, Grass, Honey, Mineral, Roasted, Vegetables
