Formosa Bai Hao

Drinking a cup of #40 before heading out to lunch. And where am I going…

http://www.worldcupoftea.com/

I took my mom here for her birthday and we did the Royal-tea lunch. It was pretty cool, and their teas were mostly tasty. I was not impressed with their staff, however. I think I was expecting a true tea sommelier or Mrs. Potts from Beauty and the Beast or something. Instead, it was mostly a hippy staff. I’m not saying that being a hippy is bad (I’ve been known to hug a few trees)…just odd in a tea establishment that is known for their British High Tea ceremony. That, and the fact that when my mom asked about a certain tea, the hippy dude said, and I quote, “It’s a green tea…so umm, ya know…you might like it…if you like green tea.” Nice. Their tea menu is online, so I’ve been writing a few teas down to give the smell test when I get there.

As for this tea, I find my self saying, “It’s not bad…(insert long pause)…for Adagio.” After close to a year of all Adagio, all the time, I’m waiving goodbye. I thank them for helping me tune my tastes but I think it’s time to move on. Also, tea swaps are fantastic for finding new companies and teas to try out. I thank all of my tea swap buddies this year for all of the teas, funny emails, and general awesomeness. I hope everyone has a fantastic, tea-filled 2010.

This is my first oolong, and I wasn’t sure what to expect. It’s very mellow. Soft and sweet. I’m getting just a bit of the fruity flavor, and the flavor of the tea is fairly delicate.

That being said, I don’t know that I paid as much attention as I should have to the steeping, as I was dealing with the fact that I just found out the doughnut I had been looking forward to eating had been… nibbled. Darn cat.

Sipdown no. 108 of the year 2014.

The peachy note came out really nicely tonight, during multiple short steeps in the gaiwan. I did the first three at 30 seconds and the rest at 45 while watching the David Duckler video on how to season a Yixing over and over.

The pot’s on to boil now and I’m gonna give it a try. Wish me luck!

I keep thinking I’ve reviewed this tea and I keep being wrong! So here it finally is.
The bottom line for me is that I like this much better than Adagio’s other oolongs. That said, it is not anywhere near my top oolongs. I do like it enough to keep drinking it, but it is forgettable enough that I can’t remember I’ve tried it!

OPERATION: Finish Old Teas

Looks like I took a spoon out of my sample and never touched it. Think I know why now.

Steeped, has a great peanut nutty smell. Taste wise, it’s very smokey. A little too smokey for me, almost reminds me of black tea. The more I sip it, the more astringent it gets and tastes like munching on peanut shells. Totally what Charoma said in their review.

However, I didn’t follow Adagio’s steeping times, might be better as a quick steep over multiple steepings.

The brewed tea smells exactly like the salted shell of a peanut. You know, like the kind you get in a bucket at some steakhouse restaurants.

The taste is even nuttier than the aroma. The smokiness is very slight and complemented perfectly by the nuttiness. The aftertaste is mouthwatering and tastes just like the aroma. The shells, not the peanuts themselves. So strange.

This doesn’t taste too much like an oolong to me. There’s no vegetal flavor. The liquor is a very dark brown. It’s quite smooth but the astringency becomes more pronounced the more you drink it.

It doesn’t taste sweet to me either. There’s definitely no peach notes. It pretty much just tastes like a salty peanut shell. So weird. Instead of quenching my thirst, it just makes me thirstier.

Not an oolong I would drink all the time. I’m interested to see how subsequent steepings turn out though.

The second steep (for 3 minutes again) still has an extremely mouthwatering aftertaste. The nuttiness is much less pronounced. The third steep (for 5 minutes) is very bland. Perhaps it needed longer to steep, but I don’t know how you could get 8 steeps out of this as other users have said.

I’m not really a fan of the peanut shell-like nuttiness, so that’s why this is getting a lower rating. If you like nutty teas, then go for this one!

1tsp in 4oz

Comparison of 3 Bai Hao (Oriental Beauty) oolongs — Adagio’s Formosa Bai Hao, Harney’s Fanciest Formosa Oolong, and Teavivre’s Taiwan Oriental Beauty

Adagio:
My favorite (surprisingly)! Darkest liquor, most flavor, sweetest, least astringency. Really nice honey flavor in the finish.

Harney:
Least flavor, lightest body, lightest liquor

Teavivre:
In between in terms of flavor and body, but the most astringent.

So, I guess I’m buying more of the Adagio. Really surprised at this result. Was hoping Teavivre’s would be my fave since it is the least expensive, but I’ll have to go with the one I like best. Luckily it’s not the most expensive. Harney’s is almost double the price of the Adagio.

A lovely, hearty, slightly fruity tea.

I find it hardest to write about teas that I don’t like. How do I describe what tastes bad? This one is all about what I do not want in an oolong, Take the worst of black and green tea, mix it in a large kettle and toss it down the garbage disposal. What is funny is the straight Formosa from Adagio was quite good, whatever they did which caused them to add “bai hao” to it isn’t.

Tea, like life is a journey. The reason this site exists is if you don’t document your way, how can anyone learn from the experience? I’ve obviously gone off the deep end tonight. This note is for a tea I drank hours ago and want to make sure I don’t accidentally purchase again. So bear with me.

This is a good solid oolong with wonderful earthy flavors along with the hint of peach. It’s smooth, long lasting flavor is memorable without being too sticky. It has a good amount of astringency but not as much as a strong black tea. As with many other oolongs this one resteeps extremely well. I’m on my second steep now and the flavors are just getting more nuanced. From what I hear the 3rd and 4th steeps are the best so I look forward to that.