I’m discovering that I really, really like oolongs. I suspect I’ll like most all of them, but I’m finding I particularly like the ones that produce a cup of tea you feel as though you could chew on…the kind that smell as though they could be a meal, and a carbohydrate-laden meal, at that.
I’m actually backlogging this from last night, so this note is destined to be a short one. The dry leaves are large and seem somehow ashen to me, which is appropriate given the smoky flavor. Smoke and starch, peanut-y and roast-y. It’s an earthy tea, and the tasting note that referenced a rainy day in the mountains seemed to be spot on. It’s not the best oolong I’ve had, but it’s pretty tasty. A little bit dry toward the last, but not to any unpleasant degree. I’m curious as to how Auggy pulled the pineapple note out of it and interested in trying to get it to do the same for me. Having read that shorter steep times do funny things to oolongs, maybe that’s the way to go? I only wish I’d been awake long enough to try to steep the leaves a second time.