Alistair, I’m impressed with how floral this one is. I like my Jin Xuan’s sweet and floral. First steep was about a minute, and the rest were shorter to do a semi-fu session ending with another long Western one. I also need to decide if I want to capitalize brewing styles when I type them. A part of me would say the florals were almost heady, but still toned down enough to taste the thick creamy texture and crisp grassy ends.
I thought about bamboo and incense oddly enough in the florals, though the florals reminded me of some Da Yu Lings. I also keep in mind that some Jin Xuan’s are sold as Da Yu Ling fakes, but despite that, there was no mistaking that this tea was a Jin Xuan. I have a bare idea of describing the florals though, being closer in my head to lilies, honey suckle, and magnolias. I’d have to ask Amanda what she thinks.
I definitely recommend this tea for someone looking for an affordable and great quality oolong. I actually preferred this to a few Taiwan Jin Xuans. Tea snobbery aside, this would make a decent introduction to someone exploring this variety as well, and it could be sold as someone really new to the world of loose leaf as a friendlier green tea.
Thanks for the review, glad you liked it. I do feel that the gap between Taiwan and SE Asia is slowly narrowing and when spending below a certain threshold, SE Asian Taiwanese style oolongs can outcompete their Taiwanese counterparts.