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Of all the Wuyi oolong cultivars, it seems the one that I can never manage to muster much of a reaction to is Rou Gui. I think part of that is the fact that it is so common. At the moment, Rou Gui is an extremely popular cultivar both in China and abroad. Every vendor seems to offer at least one Rou Gui variant each year. The cultivar, itself, has become so popular that I have seen it referred to as “the fifth bush;” its popularity with tea drinkers apparently rivals that of Da Hong Pao, Shui Jin Gui, Tie Luohan, and Bai Ji Guan.

This particular Rou Gui is a product of Li Xiangxi, a tea farmer whose portfolio of offerings through Verdant Tea I really admire. Part of why I appreciate her work is that she tends to avoid the increasingly popular heavy roasts in order to let the natural aromas and flavors of the cultivars with which she works shine and to allow drinkers to appreciate the unique terroir from which her teas come. This particular tea seems to go against her processing philosophy. Though it is labeled as a medium roast tea, I found the roast to be quite heavy and overbearing. It obscured the natural spiciness of the Rou Gui cultivar.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a quick rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 205 F water for 4 seconds. This infusion was chased by 13 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 7 seconds, 10 seconds, 15 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, and 3 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, I noted that the dry tea leaves produced heavy aromas of char, smoke, and dark wood. There was also a hint of elderberry. After the rinse, an orchid-like floral aroma emerged, as did aromas of huckleberry and spice. The first infusion produced a similar aroma, though I was able to detect an earthiness and tobacco as well. In the mouth, heavy flavors of elderberry, dark wood, char, tobacco, and smoke mingled with more subtle notes of ginger, cinnamon, orchid, and huckleberry. Subsequent infusions began to draw out mineral notes, as well as aromas and flavors of caramel, raisin, black pepper, and clove. The later infusions displayed the expected Wuyi minerality both on the nose and in the mouth, though I could still detect fleeting impressions of caramel, char, smoke, raisin, tobacco, and wood with a hint of mild ginger, black pepper, and cinnamon spiciness.

This tea managed to be resilient, deep, and complex, though the overall aroma and flavor profiles were not much to my liking. I felt like the roast was too heavy, obscuring the spice, flower, and fruit notes of which I would have liked to see more. So, while there may have been a lot going on with this tea, it all seemed to be somewhat out of balance. Though I tend to admire Li Xiangxi’s work, I cannot help feeling that she lost the thread with this one. My search continues for a Rou Gui that really speaks to me. I think fans of heavier roasts may get some satisfaction out of this one, but it was not for me.

While organizing all of my teas this weekend, I came to the realization that I have a ton of stuff from Tealyra that I need to finish. The thing is they have so many good sales that when I do order from them, I end up with a ton of exciting new teas to try. Since then, I have been taking baby steps toward reducing the number of Tealyra products in my home by working my way through a pouch of this oolong.

For this session, I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a quick rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 195 F water for 10 seconds. I followed this infusion up with 12 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 10 seconds, 15 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, and 3 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, I noted that the dry tea leaves emitted mild aromas of butter, cream, and fresh flowers. The rinse somewhat intensified the butter, cream, and flower aromas, while also bringing out a subtle vegetal scent. The first infusion produced a similar, though somewhat more integrated bouquet. In the mouth, I detected mild notes of cream, butter, and steamed rice underscored by fleeting impressions of fresh flowers, cucumber, and sweetgrass. Subsequent infusions saw the floral aromas and flavors intensify and subtle fruit notes emerge. I began to detect distinct impressions of lily, honeysuckle, and magnolia, as well as hints of tangerine, cantaloupe, and honeydew. The vegetal, grassy notes were also more pronounced, especially on the finish. The later infusions were very mild. I mostly picked up aromas and flavors of butter, cream, cucumber, and sweetgrass underscored by subtle minerals and an extremely distant floral presence.

Overall, I found this to be a very mild oolong that was easy to drink. I know that Tealyra advertised plenty of dark floral flavor with this one (whatever that means), but I didn’t really get any of that. What I noted was a lot of very bright floral notes balanced by plenty of savory cream and butter notes and mild fruity, grassy, and vegetal qualities. There was nothing deep or dark about this tea. It was a mild, approachable high mountain oolong. I liked it, though I have to admit I found it a little boring. I tend to find many Alishan oolongs a little boring. Still, I would not hesitate to recommend this tea to someone looking for a solid introduction to high mountain oolongs or for an oolong that is basic and drinkable.

The backlog will once again be cleared after I finish typing this review. I received an approximately 4 gram mini sample of this with a What-Cha order in the second half of 2016, and as usual, it was tossed into the sample pile and promptly forgotten. I had the urge to start Saturday with a gongfu session, however, and wanted to try something unique. As I dug through the sample hoard, I came to this one and put it aside as an option. It ultimately came down to this or What-Cha’s Vietnam Gui Fei and I ended up deciding on this one.

I prepared this tea gongfu style, but managed to totally misinterpret one of the more important parts of What-Cha’s brewing parameters-the water temperature. What-Cha recommends a water temperature of 167 F for this one. I am so used to brewing oolong between 185 and 208 F that I accidentally set my electric kettle on 195 F. By the time I realized my mistake, I had already rinsed the tea and decided that I may as well carry on. After a 10 second rinse, I steeped the 4 ounces of rolled tea leaves in 4 ounces of 195 F water for 10 seconds. I followed this infusion up with 11 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 15 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, and 3 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves gave off pleasant, though subtle aromas of hay, cream, butter, Muscat grape, osmanthus, and apricot. After the rinse, the floral and fruity aromas intensified somewhat. The first infusion produced a similar, though noticeably more floral aroma with hints of rose and violet. In the mouth, I picked up fairly balanced notes of cream, butter, hay, apricot, osmanthus, violet, and rose underscored by a hint of Muscat grape on the finish. Subsequent infusions were much more floral and fruity. The aromas of osmanthus, Muscat, violet, and rose intensified. In the mouth, much more pronounced notes of fresh flowers, apricot, and grape rose to the fore, balanced by a smattering of smooth creamy, buttery notes, an emerging bready quality, and a lingering hint of hay. The later infusions were predictably smooth and mild. Cream, butter, hay, bread, and grape remained both on the nose and in the mouth. I could also detect a faint trace of minerals on the finish.

The only previous reviewer to this point noted that the low water temperature perhaps kept the leaf balls from unfurling completely. Considering that I brewed this tea with a water temperature 28 degrees higher than the vendor’s recommended brewing temperature, I did not have that problem. What was most surprising to me was that my blunder regarding the water temperature did not completely sink this one. Brewing at a higher temperature produced a very direct, robust tea with completely over-the-top floral and fruity aromas and flavors. I’m willing to bet that had I used a lower temperature closer to the vendor’s recommended water temperature, this would have been a much more mellow and subtle tea. Regardless of whether or not that is the case, I still liked this tea quite a bit. It was not particularly subtle or deep, but it was still very good. The aromas and flavors of rose and violet in the early and middle infusions were absolutely amazing.

Fo Shou is an interesting oolong cultivar. Known for its large leaves said to resemble the palm of a hand when completely unfurled, it is better known today as a Taiwanese oolong, though it originally comes from mainland China. This particular Fo Shou is part of Li Xiangxi’s collection and is a product of the spring 2015 harvest. The darker roast on this tea has allowed it to hold up very well.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After the rinse, I steeped 5 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 208 F water for 10 seconds. I then followed this infusion up with 11 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 15 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute 5 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, and 5 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, a sniff of the dry tea leaves was quick to reveal pronounced aromas of dark chocolate, pine, pipesmoke, tobacco, bergamot, and char. After the rinse, the dark chocolate, pine, tobacco, and char aromas intensified somewhat. The first infusion produced a similar, though fruitier and more floral aroma, as mild lime and rose scents were just barely detectable. In the mouth, I detected strong notes of dark wood, pipesmoke, dark chocolate, char, pine, minerals, tobacco, and bergamot balanced by interesting notes of fresh kiwi, rose, and lime. Subsequent infusions were fruitier and more floral, offering stronger kiwi, lime, rose, and bergamot notes balanced by wood, char, tobacco, pipesmoke, minerals, and a lingering hint of dark chocolate. The later infusions were mild and mellow. As expected, the mineral aromas and flavors were considerably stronger than in the earlier infusions. I could still detect traces of pine, char, lime, tobacco, and dark wood, though I also began to note a slight buttery quality at this point.

Having researched this tea a little, I find myself both agreeing with and chuckling at part of Verdant’s tasting note. They described this tea as tasting like temple incense and Buddhist prayer beads, and well, I definitely see that. Like a lot of the teas released by Verdant as part of Li Xiangxi’s collection, this one is both challenging and tremendously rewarding. It also fades just a little sooner than I would like. Still, those early and middle infusions pack quite a wallop in terms of aroma and flavor. I would recommend this tea highly to open-minded tea drinkers who admire the complexity and quirky aroma and flavor profiles of classic Wuyi oolongs.

Okay, as those of you who read my previous review for this tea may be aware, I was not completely satisfied with my brewing method, so I decided to change it up a little bit. I still went with a more or less Chinese gongfu approach, but used less leaf and started with a longer rinse and a longer first steep. My steep times for this session were as follows: 30 seconds, 35 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 4 minutes, and 5 minutes. I still got all of the aromas and flavors I got before and in the same order to boot. Maybe my first attempt, though not ideal, was not so bad after all. I still really adore this tea.

As much as I love Taiwanese oolongs, I have never spent all that much time on Dong Ding oolongs. For the most part, I have limited myself to baozhong, various jade oolongs, Jin Xuan, and the occasional Alishan. After seeing a ton of positive reviews for this tea, I knew I had to try it. I knew my Taiwanese tea journey would never be complete without an experience with an authentic Dong Ding.

I prepared this tea gongfu style, though I did not follow any of the traditional Taiwanese gongfu guidelines. After a quick rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 195 F water for 10 seconds. This infusion was followed by 13 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 10 seconds, 15 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute 5 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 4 minutes, and 5 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, a glance at the dry tea leaves confused me. I think I was expecting a much heavier roast because the olive green rolled leaves with their buttery, floral, and creamy fragrance were certainly not what I was expecting. After the rinse, the previously mentioned floral, creamy, and buttery aromas were still there, joined by subtle traces of spice and orchard fruit. The first infusion produced a similar aroma. In the mouth, I mostly picked up mild notes of cream and butter balanced by fleeting impressions of flowers, cinnamon, and some kind of fruit. At this point, I realized that not only was my rinse too short, but my first infusion was as well. I decided to repeat it and then move forward. This time I got a much more floral, buttery aroma and slightly more pronounced notes of cream and butter. The floral notes began to separate a bit. I started to pick out distinct impressions of osmanthus, lily, hyacinth, honeysuckle, and lilac. I also noted a hint of cinnamon. Subsequent infusions brought out the tea’s spicier, fruitier, and more floral characteristics. I began to note more distinct impressions of cinnamon, lily, lilac, osmanthus, honeysuckle, and hyacinth to balance out the consistent cream and butter aromas and flavors. I also began to note an impression of fresh cucumber on the back of the throat, as well as impressions of apple and pear blossoms both on the nose and in the mouth. The extended later infusions absolutely intrigued me. The floral notes receded into the background and the cucumber was joined by a note of leaf lettuce. The cream, butter, and cinnamon were still there, but those apple blossom, pear blossom, and osmanthus notes gave way to actual flavors of apricot, fresh apple, and pear. I should also note that I never noted any mineral aromas or flavors, which is kind of strange considering that I pick up minerals consistently in the later infusions during many oolong sessions.

This tea hit me on several different levels. First off, I have to say that I was expecting a much more robust, syrupy flavor profile, but I did not get that. This tea was very smooth, balanced, and sophisticated, though it was also a bit more restrained than expected at points. Part of that may have been due to the completely off-the-wall way I decided to brew it. I also loved the orchard aroma and the orchard fruit flavors that emerged in the second half of this session. Many people do not know that I was raised on a hobby farm that primarily produced apples, so this tea created a series of childhood flashbacks for me. Finally, I should note that this tea had considerable staying power. It consistently offered something unique with each infusion. Even though I am not certain my brewing methods did this tea justice, I was still happy with the results. I’m going to play around with this one a little more, but all in all, I think it would be safe for me to say that this is pretty much a world-beating Dong Ding.

This black tea is one of a number of unique African teas What-Cha sources from the Satemwa Tea & Coffee Estate in the Shire Highlands of Malawi. This particular tea is produced exclusively from leaves Satemwa buys from Yamba, one of the local tea farmers. I found it to be a smooth, malty black tea ideal for early morning or afternoon consumption.

I brewed this tea Western style. I steeped 3 grams of loose tea leaves in approximately 8 ounces of 203 F water for 4 minutes. I did not attempt additional infusions.

Prior to infusion, the dry tea leaves emitted a leafy, malty aroma. After infusion, I easily detected aromas of malt, toast, cream, caramel, sorghum molasses, and orange. In the mouth, I picked up distinct notes of orange, toast, caramel, cream, malt, and sorghum molasses balanced by traces of leather, black cherry, and wood. What-Cha advertised this tea as possessing a distinct impression of honey, but I failed to get that out of it.

Many of the African black teas I have tried have been very hit or miss for me, but this one I greatly enjoyed. I found it to be a smooth, rich, malty tea with considerably more depth and complexity than expected. I think fans of maltier black teas like Assam would find quite a bit to like about this one.

Since I have already reviewed three Georgian black teas offered by What-Cha, I may as well go ahead and post a review of a fourth. This was the tea I unwound with after work today. What-Cha described it as having a somewhat different character compared to the other Georgian black teas offered. I have to say that I found that description to be accurate.

I prepared this tea Western style. I steeped 3 grams of loose tea leaves in approximately 8 ounces of 194 F water for 5 minutes. Again, I did not attempt additional infusions.

Prior to infusion, I noted that a whiff of the dry tea leaves did not reveal aromas of dried fruit, mild spice, or nuts. Like the other teas, there was a pronounced malty scent, but it was more of a dark malt scent. There was also a subtle dried leaf scent coupled with a mellow woody aroma. After infusion, I picked up strong aromas of malt, cream, wood, and toast. Again, there was a slightly leafy quality on the nose. In the mouth, a rich malt note took center stage, balanced by notes of cream, wood, toast, orange, and raisin. The finish was rich and smooth. It was heavy on the malt and cream, though there was enough of a raisin presence to provide some balance.

While the other Georgian black teas were consistent in their demonstration of light malt and golden raisin notes, this tea was full of cream, dark malt, and darker raisin flavors. The persistent maltiness coupled with the tea’s leafy and woody characteristics reminded me more than a bit of some of the high-end Assams I have consumed in recent years. Though I did not enjoy this one quite as much as What-Cha’s other Georgian black teas, I think fans of maltier black teas would be pleased with it.

Today I continued to plow through the sample packets of What-Cha’s Georgian black teas that I managed to acquire over the course of the past year. I started on this one last night and finished it up this afternoon. Compared to the Natela’s Gold Standard and Mr. Ramiz’s Hand-Made Black Tea, this one displayed a simpler character in the mouth with a pronounced toasty, fruity finish.

I prepared this tea Western style. I steeped 3 grams of loose tea leaves in approximately 8 ounces of 194 F water for 5 minutes. I did not attempt any additional infusions.

Prior to infusion, the dry tea leaves emitted strong aromas of raisin and prune underscored by a hint of malt. After infusion, the dried fruit aromas were balanced by aromas of malt, toast, cream, and a hint of mild spice. In the mouth, I picked up smoothly integrated notes of malt, cream, and toast underscored by touches of raisin, cherry, fig, almond, and nutmeg. Oddly, the expected prune note was missing. The finish was long and mellow, presenting a lovely and harmonious blend of fig, raisin, toast, cream, and malt.

Lighter in flavor than the previous two Georgian black teas I have reviewed, yet with an unexpectedly strong, integrated finish that more than made up for the tea’s initial timidity, this tea shared more than enough strengths with the other two to justify a similarly high rating. I just could not find much to fault with this one. If you were a fan of either of the other two Georgian black teas mentioned above, there is a very good chance that you will also enjoy this one.

Another of the Georgian teas I acquired from What-Cha during the second half of 2016, I finished off the last of my sample pouch this afternoon. I got so used to the recommended steeping process for Natela’s Gold Standard that I ended up using 203 F water instead of 194 F water the first time I brewed a cup of this tea. It turns out that nine degree difference in temperature really makes a difference with this tea. Brewing it again at the recommended temperature resulted in a much more flavorful cup.

I brewed this tea Western style. Rather than attempt multiple infusions, I favored a simple one step infusion process. Note that in this review I am specifically referring to the latter brewing method referred to above-3 grams of loose tea leaves steeped in approximately 8 ounces of 194 F water for 5 minutes.

Prior to infusion, the dry tea leaves emitted a malty, slightly fruity scent. After infusion, I picked up pronounced aromas of cream, malt, raisin, almond, and nutmeg. In the mouth, I detected dominant notes of cream, malt, and toast balanced by gentle, subtle notes of apricot, golden raisin, and yellow plum. Notes of nutmeg and almond were also detectable, becoming more noticeable on the smooth, malty, and subtly fruity finish.

Overall, I really liked this tea. It came across as being smoother and more balanced than Natela’s Gold Standard, though it also lacked the pronounced fruitiness I so admired in that tea. Still, I found it to be very good. I think it would be a perfect tea for whenever one is just looking for a balanced, supremely drinkable cup.