92

This was another of my November sipdowns. I think I finished what I had of this tea during either the third or fourth week of the month. As unroasted Taiwanese Jin Xuan goes, this one was excellent. I especially appreciated the complexity, longevity, and thick, full mouthfeel of its liquor.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After the rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 194 F water for 10 seconds. This infusion was chased by 15 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 12 seconds, 16 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 5 minutes, 7 minutes, and 10 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves emitted aromas of cream, butter, custard, vanilla, and gardenia. After the rinse, I detected new aromas of sugarcane, grass, and daylily. The first infusion brought out a meaty, brothy umami scent. In the mouth, the tea liquor presented notes of cream, butter, custard, gardenia, grass, daylily, and orchid that were chased by hints of sugarcane and powerful umami notes. Subsequent infusions brought out aromas of cucumber, daylily shoots, and sweet corn along with subtle orchid scents. New impressions of cucumber, daylily shoots, minerals, sweet corn, spinach, pear, green apple, and seaweed expressed themselves in the mouth alongside belatedly emerging vanilla notes. As I ended my session, I could still detect subtle mineral, daylily shoot, cream, butter, sugarcane, green apple, and sweet corn impressions that were underscored by hints of cucumber, spinach, umami, and seaweed. Interestingly, the faint spinach presence swelled after each swallow, leaving the taste of spinach in my mouth for a short time after the end of the session.

I tend to feel that Mei Shan oolongs do not get enough appreciation compared to those produced in some of Taiwan’s more prestigious terroirs, and teas like this one only reinforce that notion. This was a fantastic offering, one that stood head and shoulders above some of the other Taiwanese Jin Xuan oolongs I have tried recently. If you are looking for a Jin Xuan oolong that provides plenty of longevity and delivers all of the cultivar’s best traits, look no further.

Flavors: Butter, Cream, Cucumber, Custard, Floral, Gardenias, Grass, Green Apple, Mineral, Orchid, Pear, Seaweed, Spinach, Sugarcane, Sweet, Umami, Vanilla, Vegetal

Preparation
6 g 4 OZ / 118 ML
Kawaii433

Oh my, that’s going on my next order. Love your reviews.

eastkyteaguy

Kawaii433, thanks. I’ll keep them coming.

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Comments

Kawaii433

Oh my, that’s going on my next order. Love your reviews.

eastkyteaguy

Kawaii433, thanks. I’ll keep them coming.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

Profile

Bio

My grading criteria for tea is as follows:

90-100: Exceptional. I love this stuff. If I can get it, I will drink it pretty much every day.

80-89: Very good. I really like this stuff and wouldn’t mind keeping it around for regular consumption.

70-79: Good. I like this stuff, but may or may not reach for it regularly.

60-69: Solid. I rather like this stuff and think it’s a little bit better-than-average. I’ll drink it with no complaints, but am more likely to reach for something I find more enjoyable than revisit it with regularity.

50-59: Average. I find this stuff to be more or less okay, but it is highly doubtful that I will revisit it in the near future if at all.

40-49: A little below average. I don’t really care for this tea and likely won’t have it again.

39 and lower: Varying degrees of yucky.

Don’t be surprised if my average scores are a bit on the high side because I tend to know what I like and what I dislike and will steer clear of teas I am likely to find unappealing.

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KY

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