This is the last of the teas Teavivre sent for tasting. I still have a few unfinished samples here and there, though, so it’s not completely over.
However, I don’t feel as if I have much to say about this tea as I have about the others. To me, this tastes exactly like their other slightly roasty oolong, Taiwan Monkey Picked (Ma Liu Mie) Tie Guan Yin. I’m not entirely sure what ginseng tastes like, as most things I’ve had with it as an ingredient have also had overpowering ginger. I associate the two, unfortunately.
What I’m trying to say is that I can’t tell the difference between this and the other oolong I received. Am I the only one?
The ginseng is very subtle, I think. I did sort of oversteep mine when I had it so that oolong flavor was doubtlessly dominating. I could get a bit of ginseng flavor in the back of my throat though. It’s that lightly bitter cooling sensation. The Chinese are very fond of cooling bitterness.