I bought this tea in early 2016. I’d only found the Dong Pian harvest of Four Seasons oolong in a few places, and wanted to see if it was different. ($20 for 75 g also sounded good.) And then, I let it sit—for two years.
I opened the vacuum-sealed package a couple weeks ago. The smaller-than-usual winter petals gave off a sweet, floral aroma. I steeped 6 g of leaf in a 120 ml teapot at 195F for 25, 20, 25, 30, 30, 30, 40, 50, 60, 90, 120, and 240 seconds.
The first steep has notes of orchids, other flowers, nuts, cream, and grass, and the second adds a touch of veggies, arugula, and citrus. The vegetal and floral notes dominate the next few steeps, and though the tea starts out sweet, it doesn’t stay this way for long. By steep six, it’s entirely green and vegetal. I steeped it out, but it was basically over by this point.
I’m not sure if the tea aged badly or whether it was short lived to begin with, but compared to other offerings from this company, it didn’t perform well. It’s a decent daily drinker, but I don’t think I’ll buy more.
Flavors: Citrus, Cream, Floral, Green, Lettuce, Nutty, Orchid, Vegetal
