I bought a couple of the cute sherapop-sized yixing clay pots from Enjoying Tea. I have not quite graduated to the “brew a gulp” or “brew a sip” culture, so 11 ounces is definitely okay with me!
Along with the pots, the company included an array of samples, including this Anxi Benshan Oolong, in adorable little tins which look to hold about an ounce. Very generous provision of tea to those who purchase the already wildly inexpensive pots.
So the tea. It’s toasty, definitely more oxidized than the green spectrum oolongs I’ve been trying of late. This variety is also less creamy and sweet than milk oolong and its close neighbors. The flavor is much closer to that of my old concept of oolong, derived from middling filter bags years ago. However, I feel that the quality is better. It seems like that same mid-range level of oxidation, but perhaps because it involves leaves rather than dust it tastes much better and does not seem to be making me feel queasy. I wonder whether my body just dislikes half measures. I say this because I also dislike light-roasted coffee, which sometimes induces a gag reflex in me.
Back to tea. My preference appears to be with the greener oolongs, although I did enjoy a near-black oolong the other day, and I recently learned that darjeeling, which I like a lot, is really oolong disguised as black tea! (Thanks to boychik for confirming what I suspected all along: that darjeeling was only posing as a black tea…)
I have already consumed the second infusion of this Anxi Benshan Oolong, which was about the same as the first. I think that this tea is perfectly fine, not compelling enough for me to seek out a larger supply, but I’ll certainly empty this tin.
third infusion: this ended up being the best of them all. The liquor was fairly bright gold but still with a tiny tinge of green.
Flavors: Toast
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what does “anxi” mean?
Kirk: it’s a region in China known for Tieguanyin style oolongs
oh! :P
Thanks for that information, apt! It does seem TGYish to me. ;-)
I believe the Benshan cultivar is more of a fast growth cultivar than TGY, which is a premium slow growth cultivar. Benshan is sold as TGY because it has a similar flavor.
Interesting :D
Sounds like a nice oolong. I’m more into the green oolongs too, but I like the oxidized and roasted ones as well. I’m an equal opportunity oolonger.
i love roasted. never tried oxidised
Kirkoneill 1988, they are all oxidized to some extent—some more than others. I believe that the range is 10 to 90 percent with those at the lower end of the spectrum closer to (unoxidized) green tea, and those at the higher end of the spectrum closer to (fully oxidized) black tea. Darjeeling is apparently 90% oxidized, which is why it is not strictly speaking a black tea.
interesting :)
what does “anxi” mean?
Kirk: it’s a region in China known for Tieguanyin style oolongs
oh! :P
Thanks for that information, apt! It does seem TGYish to me. ;-)
I believe the Benshan cultivar is more of a fast growth cultivar than TGY, which is a premium slow growth cultivar. Benshan is sold as TGY because it has a similar flavor.
Interesting :D
Sounds like a nice oolong. I’m more into the green oolongs too, but I like the oxidized and roasted ones as well. I’m an equal opportunity oolonger.
i love roasted. never tried oxidised
Kirkoneill 1988, they are all oxidized to some extent—some more than others. I believe that the range is 10 to 90 percent with those at the lower end of the spectrum closer to (unoxidized) green tea, and those at the higher end of the spectrum closer to (fully oxidized) black tea. Darjeeling is apparently 90% oxidized, which is why it is not strictly speaking a black tea.
interesting :)