1704 Tasting Notes
I’ve had so much Jade oolongs lately. They are all starting to taste pretty similar. Some salts starting building up in my boiler, so I had to get water from somewhere else. It ruined the last of my Alishan too.
Since my stomach was cramping and I had a craving for a chocolaty black tea, I perused my darker tea selections. I almost picked a flavored Pu-Erh, but then again, the flavorings would upset my stomach too. Then there were twinofmunin’s bags waiting for me. I’ve been fascinated by this tea to say the least. I’ve had purple before, and they normally have a weird earthy quality that is hard to describe for me. Some pu-erh’s have aided stomach cramps before-despite them CAUSING them on a usual basis, but I knew I could handle this tea. Smelling the dry leaf, it was distinctly smokey and earthy. It made me think of fresh soil growing a batch of young grass under the remains of a burned tree.
Imagery aside, the first sip made me think of the dragon blood incense. Earth remained fixated in my head after five seconds of steeping. The temperature was closer to 170 F, and I have no idea what I did for the grams. Nevertheless, the ideas of incense and earth continued in steep two at ten seconds. I grabbed my little batch of Dragon’s Blood incense for comparison, and they were pretty close. They had the same smoked and earthy qualities I pick up, but the incense was sweeter and closer to sandalwood.
Three yield the same kind of dirt profile with a little bit more grassiness than before at fifteen seconds. I actually found this tea to not be as bitter, fishy, astringent, musty, or sour as other Pu-Erh’s I’ve had. Again, I’ve had purple teas before, but this one did not have the overwhelming potency that I’m used to with Pu-Erhs. Then again, I’m not drinking any more since I have to wake up early tomorrow ( why did I even drink this in the first place?).
I am pleasantly surprised that this tea did not affect me too much. The earthiness was welcomed, but I would not have it in large quantities any time soon. Not sure who I’d recommend it to.
Less leaves, and it is surprisingly chocolaty. I steeped it at fifteen seconds. It’s still a little strong for me, but better than it was last time. Overall, a malty, borderline chocolaty black tea with the rose, cardamom, and saffron in the background playing into a sweet cup. I’m half tempted to add cream since it is so strong. Sugar, however, would not do it justice.
My uh oh was a beautiful mistake. I stored two cups worth of the Dong DIng in a very old bag of Golden Orchid. There were leftover vanilla beans that enhanced the natural profile. Still dry, figgy like tea, but the vanilla added a sweetness reminding me of coffee just splashed with cream. Or Thai-Iced tea. Either way, good.
I’ve tried all of the high mountain sampler, and honestly, it was like trying different versions of the same type of tea. Which I know is not. Anyway, I was surprised to find that this was not my favorite. Oolong owl’s review is pretty accurate: the thick balanced creamy body is what distinguishes this tea. It is a little bit more spinachy than I like, but still quite good. The florals, buttery green notes, the light fruity sweetness, and the intense creaminess of the tea are all blended together like watercolors into a opaque creamy hue. The tea itself is actually very transparent-do not confuse my pretentious metaphor!
The intense milk like texture is what surprised me most of all. It pleased me, but a part of me wanted more florals. Oddly enough, the Alishan was actually my favorite of the samples because it had the sweetest creamy florals in my opinion.
Oh, I almost forgot! I did this gong fu, but I played it by smell and ear. I maybe could have used less leaves, but I doubt there would be much impact.
I would not personally get this tea separately for full price because I’ve had Shan Lin Xi’s I prefer for a lower price, but I whole-heartly recommend the sampler for trying different high mountain oolongs. They are all INCREDIBLY similar, but have a few differences to keep them distinct.
This is a great tea, and I do recommend it. The only deterrants might be the spinachy, buttery body. There were times when I wondered if I was drinking a Baozhong, but the fruitiness reminded me otherwise.
Wow. My Floating Leaves order arrived darn quickly.
Now this tea. Amanda and Oolong Owl have hyped this up a bit, so I had to try it myself. In my usual fashion, I need to try this again.
It is incredibly light. In terms of taste, it is like a crisp, light and well balanced Li Shan (which it is). The florals are interesting. Definitely creamy with the overall tea being pretty green, but more light and floral than anything else. Lilac usually comes to mind with them, but for me, something similar to lavender comes up. Lavender and hibiscus. Not the rosella red hibiscus of the same genus used in tisanes, but the Chinese flower species or range of species. In terms of sweetness, I get what some people might call a green sugar cane sweetness, which is one that I associate with Jin Xuans.
This is a pretty good tea, but like I said, I’d have to try it again.
I tried this again with less leaves making all the difference. I agree that this tastes better than the Shan Lin Xi. What I wrote earlier was still pretty accurate with this tea balancing out all the usual notes associated with a high mountain tea. I got more fruit notes than I did last time, and noticed the sweetness a hint more. All in all, it is a good Li Shan, but I would not buy masses of this for the price.
In terms of taste, I’m not really saying more than what has already been written. Here’s what I can add: this tea has a butterscotch thing going on along with the massive amounts of lilac florals. Maybe plumeria, but that’s my longing talking. It is sweet and buttery, but not as vegetal as other flavored milk oolongs. Maybe cooked spinach comes close, but that’s it. The sweetness and the florals dominate.
The balance between the flavoring and the natural floral qualities this tea has impresses me. What impresses me even more is the considerable complexity it has western. You maybe could brew this gong fu for a flower power sweet buttery oolong, but it might be too light for some. Either way, I wish I had more of it myself especially considering the price.
It actually stacks up against one of my favorite teas which is impressive. It’s not AS thick and sweet like toffee, but the smooth, thick, yet silky body is very welcoming. I would recommend this to someone just getting into tea for sure, and as something to try among more experienced addicts-I mean- drinkers as a decent flavored tea. The very natural florals and tropical coconut milk sweetness would be the appeal- the lightness and high leaf load for gong fu may be a deterrent. I could be wrong. I could also try it myself, but I do not want to squander it.
Preparation
This tea was exceedingly light compared to the Taiwan Milk Oolong last night. I definitely got the mango in taste, texture, and smell with thick mouth feel and a transparent light quality. I was not sure what else I missed.
So I brew it up again, and more or less the same thing, only the creamy quality was sweeter. Like a sugar cane sweetness-maybe cotton candy-but sweetness is one of those subjective notes to me.
I do gotta say this is better Western in the short steep of one minute with one tea spoon than gong fu with two. More leaves makes this tea significantly more vegetal, while western brings out the more creamy and light qualities this tea has. Which is not that usual considering that Gong Fu brings out creamier and more floral qualities of an oolong for me.
Oddly enough, it was not that vegetable to me compared to the many other Jin Xuans I’ve had. It did have a light grassiness to it along with a thick, and again, creamy body, but not as buttery as other flavored milk oolong. Coconut oil is the closest fat that I can really parallel this to. This may or may not appeal to people who have a hard time with buttery and spinachy jin xuans, especially flavored. I personally quite enjoy it for the light simplicity.
The notes on here pretty much describe it well: a lightly balanced malty Earl Grey with neither the tea nor the oil dominating-just the way I like my Earl Grey. I got three solid steeps western using 190 F and Alistair’s recommendations. I have a feeling this is better as plain, but I will add some cream and sugar to try it out.
Later…
This one is interesting. I definitely get the nutty finish and tangerine body that Alistair mentions with a savoriness that I did not expect. Like a mineral, green tea savoriness. I’m thinking seaweed like other reviews wrote. It was a tad bit salty, but still pretty good. I can adjust for that through shorter steeps, but not too much since it worked out for me.
This one is unique, and it looks like a lighter roast to me. It does have the nuttiness that I associate with lighter roasts along with the honeyed aftertaste that I’ve often seen describe them. The combo with the tangerine fruitiness is what makes this stands out. That said, not exactly sure who’d this appeal to other than a person trying different kinds of tea. You’d have to try it yourself to see if you like it. The bitter, salty quality could be off putting for some, but the natural sweetness is welcoming.I’m glad Alistair was nice enough to offer this sample. Samples make my world go round.
sometimes certain teas give me burning in by lower gut around 8pm at night