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I just got a big order from Wang Family Tea, and I couldn’t be more excited! This was one of the teas I was most looking forward to trying. I steeped 6 g of leaf in a 120 ml teapot in boiling water for the recommended 55, 45, and 55 seconds, then had to guess about subsequent brews because the vendor doesn’t provide any instructions. I chose to steep it for 1:15, 1:30, 2, 3, and 5 minutes.

The dry aroma of these big tea nuggets is of orchids, brown sugar, and stonefruit. The first steep is surprisingly sweet, with orchid, brown sugar, butter, other florals, lettuce, and lots of peach. I still don’t really know what osmanthus tastes like and haven’t knowingly had mung bean paste, though I have had red bean buns, which may or may not be relevant. The second steep has more orchid, butter, grass, that other flower that I suspect is osmanthus, beans, and lots and lots of peach, especially in the back of the throat and in the aftertaste. The next couple steeps have a little less stonefruit and more florals and beans, but are still very smooth. I also get a hint of sap that is typical of Shan Lin Xi. The sappy character continues in the next two rounds, along with peach, beans, orchids, osmanthus, and grass. Near the end of the session, the stonefruit and florals fade and I get grass, beans, and spinach.

As Daylon states, this oolong isn’t complicated, but the flavours come through beautifully and there’s virtually no bitterness. I value these things highly in green oolongs and my rating reflects that.