The dry leaves in a warm gaiwan smell like roasted seaweed. Interesting start. The scent after rinsing the leaves is a really bright floral nectar smell, sweet, with notes of honey, little notes of seaweed still in the background.
Really unique flavor. I’m not even sure how to describe it. It’s creamy, tastes a lot like some kind of fruit or flower, like a tropical fruit… maybe little hints of mango or papaya? Maybe even nectarine. It has a bit of toasty flavor, but mild.
Second infusion is a little more floral and overall similar flavors. Not quite as creamy or sweet. A lingering peach aftertaste.
Third infusion is much like the second, but stronger flavor. By the fourth infusion it’s even more floral tasting and less fruity. It’s more the kind of floral that can be kind of borderline offensive to me, hinting at soapy. This is the usual type of floral I experience in taiwanese high mountain oolongs. Sometimes I simply have to brew lighter to avoid them. With other teas, it is just innately overwhelming to me (mostly Alishan… in my experience). With this Lishan though, it’s not too much, but definitely there.
By the fourth infusion the floral has backed off and it is back to the fruity notes. I really liked the first and maybe the later infusions of this tea, but some of the middle infusions with the bright floral taste were borderline harsh for me. It’s hard to decide how I feel on this one because that tropical fruit taste is just really unique and unlike anything else I’ve tried, but the flavor is not consistent throughout infusions, nor does it change in a good way, since the first infusion was the best. Hmmm. Still a good tea though. Worth trying for it’s unique tropical fruit notes, and if you like pretty floral oolong teas, then there is probably nothing to fear here at all.
Flavors: Flowers, Fruity, Mango, Seaweed, Tropical
I got the seaweed too, kind of odd for a green oolong though