Backlog from three days ago.
Purchased 30 grams only of this one since it was $14.99. Almost got 50. Glad I got 30, though I would buy it again.
Roswell’s note sold me on it. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but I was pleased with this one. It’s an Anxi varietal for sure. Gong fu or western, this one has the trademarked condensed milk and savory coconut milk viscous texture note of a gong fu, but some fruity notes later on bordering on peach, mango, or something else tropical. Sometimes, it reminded me of pear-not usual. Personally, orchid and extremely dense lilac notes are prominent in aroma and taste, with some vanilla. It’s also fairly woodsy and stemy. It can be vegetal if I brew it for longer, but when I go lighter Western or Gong Fu, it’s really not that vegetal for an oolong. It continues to rebrew 5 times from shorter western steeps, and 7 times from gong fu. It’s a little bit smoother western, a little bit woodsier gong fu. I might have to change some parameters.
I’ve had similar Jin Xuans before, specifically What-Cha’s Anxi and a few others. The particualr flavor profile of this is one resembles the Jin Xuan from The O Dor, but this one has more fruit in its accents whereas that one is more cakey.
I definitely like this one, but I am not entirely convinced this was not at least scented, or flavored. The lilac and the condensed milk aspects are too strong even in the dry leaf when you open the bag. It’s almost oily when I whiff off it from the opening seal. The fruity notes are kinda expected from the Anxi varietal, but the others are almost perfumey. Natural, but strong.
With that said, it’s a bit steep in price. It seems you cut most of the costs from West China Tea through it’s loyalty program. The 6-7 business day shipping policy also kinda bugs me. I usually don’t have an issue if it takes long and letting people actually be human beings that have lives, but I was kinda perturbed considering the cost with shipping. Despite this minor complaint, I was satisfied with the tea, and I also hope the company is doing alright with the winter storm power outages from the last few weeks.
Overall, I would recommend this tea for others and get it again. It’s got all the flavors I look for in my oolong, and it is pretty darn close in rank to the Mandala one personally. I also like some of the unique profiles I get from the lilacs and the interesting fruit notes that pop up. There are a few other teas I’d be willing to try from West China’s selection, like their Black TGY, but I’m going to plan it out if I do another purchase. While this is one of my more mixed and critical reviews, and I am very satisfied with the customer service, the price and the possibility of flavoring still bugs me. I’m curious to see what others think.
Flavors: Butter, Caramel, Coconut, Cream, Creamy, Floral, Mango, Milk, Orchid, Peach, Popcorn, Savory, Stems, Stonefruit, Sweet, Vanilla, Wood
