Finished off a bag of this recently.
I believe it was a Spring 2016 harvest. Prepared with both short steeps in a gaiwan and longer steeps in a teapot. The dry leaf had some fantastic scents: vanilla, macadamia, coconut, cream, peach, lemon, white florals and light butter. When warmed, there were notes of peanut butter, wood, orange, chocolate, lemon and pomegranate. Rinsing brought out a more savory tone with wood, cooked greens (more kale/chard, not spinach), tomato, brown sugar along with violet and orchid florals.
I preferred this tea brewed with short steeps so this note is based off what little I jotted down about those, which isn’t much because this tea didn’t really capture my attention beyond the first few steeps.
The first steep brought out sweet notes of peach, rock sugar, caramel, light vanilla and cream, steamed milk, light brown toast, grass and flower stems with a slight butter finish. The aftertaste was floral with orchid and osmanthus, long-lasting. Mouthfeel was mineral and oily. As the steeps progressed, the tea exhibited a stronger brown toast quality but very smooth in its delivery. It was rounded in with peachy, caramel, nutty, grassy, herbaceous and floral tones. The mouthfeel transitioned into a feeling reminiscent of eating a green banana, producing an itch in my throat. Some slight bitterness came out along with menthol. The tea maintained this character for at least 7 steeps, but I didn’t take notes beyond the second one.
I think this tea helped me affirm that I prefer some sharpness in roasted oolong. It might be better suited for somebody who appreciates very rounded, toasty oolong.
Flavors: Banana, Brown Sugar, Butter, Caramel, Chocolate, Coconut, Cream, Floral, Grass, Herbaceous, Kale, Lemon, Menthol, Milk, Mineral, Nuts, Nutty, Orange, Orchid, Osmanthus, Peach, Peanut, Plant Stems, Red Fruits, Round, Sugar, Toast, Vanilla, Violet, Wood
