Sipdown.
Finally polished off the last of my Floating Leaves winter oolong samples. Hard to believe it took nearly 6 months to get through them all. I used to really tear through my green oolongs but I’ve started to pace myself with tea now. Too much tea drinking affected my enjoyment of it and felt like a chore sometimes. Limiting my intake to 1-2 teas a day has helped me learn to take my time and savor tea. Another side benefit of less tea drinking is it’s gotten my tea spending under control.
I’m a little torn about how to rate this tea. I’ve had a couple of enjoyable sessions and a handful that were lackluster. When in prime form, this is easily a 90+ tea. Delightfully floral with honeysuckle and orange blossoms balanced against warm grass in the background and a nectary sweetness. Occasional hints of melon and creamed corn. However it peaks early and there’s a noticeable drop in flavor by the 5th steep. My later sessions with this tea were just okay. I don’t know whether it went stale or I didn’t steep it correctly, but taste was flat and kind of boring.
Flavors: Floral, Fruity, Nectar, Sweet
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I don’t know about you, but the 2016 and 2017 Shan Lin Xi’s were personally boring. It’s not that my 2017 teas were bad because What-Cha’s Li Shan and Golden Tea Leaf’s Dong Ding was frickin’ amazing, but the other Shan Lin XI’s that I’ve had from the likes of Teaful and What-Cha were one noted. It was like Green goodness, general florals, honeydew, pineapple, and OP! That’s it.
Glad it wasn’t just me :-) I feel like the 2017 crop of green oolongs was lacking in general. There were a few nice ones here and there but a lot of them were just meh. Even my trusty TTC Shibi oolong failed to excite.
I haven’t rushed out to buy any 2018 harvests yet – the past couple of harvests haven’t exactly inspired confidence. And there’s the been there, done that factor. I’ve tried pretty much everything from the usual suspects (TTC, Eco-Cha, What-Cha, BTTC, etc) and want something new this time. Taiwan Sourcing is doing some interesting stuff this year with “run dry” and “light roast” processed green oolongs. I may just have to finally place an order with them
I have tried very few of the 2017 Taiwanese oolongs because I have been finishing some of the 2016 teas I had left over, but so far, I have found the few rolled oolongs I have tried to be hit or miss. I had a Lishan that I really enjoyed and a Dayuling that was just decent and nothing more. The two baozhongs I tried, however, were excellent.
I’m doing Tillerman. Supposedly, the harvest this year is one of the best in the past few decades.
Had to google Tillerman, never heard of this shop. Glad to have found another Taiwanese oolong store. Thanks for the recommendation.
I’m trying them out to see how it goes. Oolong Owl, Tea for Me Please, and Amanda have reviewed them pretty often and had good things to say about them. My personal recommendation so far is Golden Tea Leaf for their Ali Shan, Dong Ding, Gui Fei, and the unusual Iris Orchid Dan Cong that they have.
I don’t know about you, but the 2016 and 2017 Shan Lin Xi’s were personally boring. It’s not that my 2017 teas were bad because What-Cha’s Li Shan and Golden Tea Leaf’s Dong Ding was frickin’ amazing, but the other Shan Lin XI’s that I’ve had from the likes of Teaful and What-Cha were one noted. It was like Green goodness, general florals, honeydew, pineapple, and OP! That’s it.
Glad it wasn’t just me :-) I feel like the 2017 crop of green oolongs was lacking in general. There were a few nice ones here and there but a lot of them were just meh. Even my trusty TTC Shibi oolong failed to excite.
I haven’t rushed out to buy any 2018 harvests yet – the past couple of harvests haven’t exactly inspired confidence. And there’s the been there, done that factor. I’ve tried pretty much everything from the usual suspects (TTC, Eco-Cha, What-Cha, BTTC, etc) and want something new this time. Taiwan Sourcing is doing some interesting stuff this year with “run dry” and “light roast” processed green oolongs. I may just have to finally place an order with them
I have tried very few of the 2017 Taiwanese oolongs because I have been finishing some of the 2016 teas I had left over, but so far, I have found the few rolled oolongs I have tried to be hit or miss. I had a Lishan that I really enjoyed and a Dayuling that was just decent and nothing more. The two baozhongs I tried, however, were excellent.
I’m doing Tillerman. Supposedly, the harvest this year is one of the best in the past few decades.
Had to google Tillerman, never heard of this shop. Glad to have found another Taiwanese oolong store. Thanks for the recommendation.
I’m trying them out to see how it goes. Oolong Owl, Tea for Me Please, and Amanda have reviewed them pretty often and had good things to say about them. My personal recommendation so far is Golden Tea Leaf for their Ali Shan, Dong Ding, Gui Fei, and the unusual Iris Orchid Dan Cong that they have.