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Shan Lin Xi is one of my favourite oolong growing areas, so this tea from the top of the mountain appeals to me. It’s on the floral rather than the fruity end of the jade oolong spectrum.

For such a good tea, I’m having trouble describing exactly what’s going on. It has a noticeably heavier body than other green oolongs I’ve had recently. It’s sweet, floral, grassy, sometimes with a hint of stonefruit, and though these are the typical descriptors for this style of oolong, it’s somehow just a bit better. (The empty cup also smells like fabric softener in the best possible way.) It’s a comforting and refreshing tea for a Sunday afternoon.

This tea starts out with notes of raspberry and dark chocolate. In later steeps, the Assam character emerges, with smooth, malty, sweet flavours predominating. I’ve had this tea twice in a row now and still can’t make the more interesting (to me) flavours last much beyond the fourth infusion. Maybe it’s getting old?

I steeped it for 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, and 80 seconds.

This is from the autumn 2014 harvest, meaning that it’s been in my cupboard for almost three years. (Time to sip down some old teas!) To be honest, I know why it’s been there so long—there’s always a more interesting option around.

This tea is a superior version of something you might find in a regular tea bag. It has a smooth, slightly sweet taste with just the right amount of astringency. It isn’t bad by any means; it’s just kind of one dimensional. I’ve had many other great blacks from Yunnan Sourcing that I’d restock before this one.

This is my first review on Steepster! And, since offbeat variations on well-known tea types tend to interest me, this black tea from Guangdong is a good place to start.

Other than having tart, berry notes and long, twisty leaves, however, this doesn’t remind me much of a Dan Cong, but instead recalls some other Chinese black teas I’ve had. It’s sweet (Camellia Sinensis’s mention of barley sugar is accurate), peanuty, slightly floral, and most importantly, forgiving. It’s comforting and balanced, and I’ll especially enjoy this as an autumn brew.

I steeped slightly more than 3 teaspoons of leaf in a 120 ml porcelain teapot at 195F for 25, 15, 25, 40, 55, 70, and 180 seconds.

I bought this as part of the 2017 Taiwan Tasting Kit. While it’s not the most outstanding tea in the world, it’s well worth the regular price of $10/50g. Like other Four Seasons I’ve had, it’s tangy and floral with hints of vanilla. It also has a spicy note in the first few steeps that is really enjoyable. Unfortunately, it gets vegetal quickly, petering out around steep six. I could see myself restocking this tea, but it’s not a priority.

I steeped 5 grams in a 120 ml porcelain teapot at around 200f for 25, 20, 25, 30, 30, 40, 50, and 100 seconds.