The last Andao in my cupboard that hadn’t been tasted and written about.
In the tin, it has a roasty aroma, mostly mild but with a sharp note that is common in my experience of dark oolongs.
Gaiwan. Rinse. 195F, 15 seconds plus 5 seconds for each steep thereafter.
The tea is a light amber color and clear, and it has an amazing, amazing smell and flavor. I think the amazing part is mostly because this flavor is so surprising from the smell of the dry leaves.
I totally expected one of those roasty toasty dark oolongs. This has almost nothing in common with those flavors except in the dry leaf.
The overwhelming impression I got was of sweetness in the aroma, and something fruity. But sweet to the point of almost being candy like. My first thought was ripe pineapple, but it doesn’t have the sharpness that’s present even in a sweet, ripe pineapple.
The second steep gave a darker amber color and an equally sweet and fruity aroma and flavor. This time I thought of plums, though that’s also not quite right.
The description from Andao mentions orange floral tones — not sure what those are like and whether they are like oranges. I tried to find a citrus note in this but that’s not what I’m getting.
The third and fourth steeps delivered a lovely honey note.This is a special one.
Flavors: Fruity, Pineapple, Plum, Roasted
