High Mountain Oolong (Organic)

Tea type
Oolong Tea
Ingredients
Not available
Flavors
Not available
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Caffeine
Not available
Certification
Not available
Edit tea info Last updated by bree
Average preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 3 min, 45 sec 8 oz / 236 ml

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27 Tasting Notes View all

  • “Continuing with straight teas. Oolong! Too lazy to brew this sequentially tonight. The scent is mellow and creamy. I’m really not getting any floral notes, which is ok – I didn’t want that tonight...” Read full tasting note
    86
  • “A couple days late, but who enjoyed the Dexter premiere? So weird to watch it during the summer when it’s so hot, eh? I particularly appreciated Deb’s password. Today was my first day in the lab so...” Read full tasting note
    83
  • “Mmmm… this is good oolong! I’m sad because it’s a sipdown and I’ve enjoyed this one a lot. On the other hand, I can’t be sad for a long time because I have more oolong coming… Milk oolong from DT...” Read full tasting note
    92
  • “I got back to this one today, and still don’t know if I want to rate it. Do I even like oolongs? I don’t know if I have enough experience to know, and I’m not at all convinced after drinking...” Read full tasting note

From DAVIDsTEA

A real treasure

Some connoisseurs claim that this is the ultimate masterpiece in the art of Chinese tea. It’s grown in the Taiwanese mountains, where cool morning dew is quickly dispelled by hot sun, creating a leaf that’s richly flavourful. To release the precious oils, it’s rolled and partially dried over and over again in a meticulous, handmade process requiring a tea master. So delicate, so pungent, so alluring. (MK Kosher)

Ingredients: Organic Taiwanese oolong tea from Mingjian Village, Nantau, Taiwan.

About DAVIDsTEA View company

DavidsTea is a Canadian specialty tea and tea accessory retailer based in Montreal, Quebec. It is the largest Canadian-based specialty tea boutique in the country, with its first store having opened in 2008.

27 Tasting Notes

86
6105 tasting notes

Continuing with straight teas. Oolong!

Too lazy to brew this sequentially tonight.

The scent is mellow and creamy. I’m really not getting any floral notes, which is ok – I didn’t want that tonight particularly, I just wanted some good oolong aftertaste :P

The flavour is pretty good – mellow and creamy with an oolong aftertaste. Really not floral at all. Wish I had tried this one before making up your packet, Missy/Dylan! But I have no energy to undo it and swap things out now, nor do I have enough sample to send out, given that I only bought 10g.

Although this is good, as Uniquity mentioned in her tasting note, it’s hard for an untrained palate to distinguish this from DavidsTea’s tieguanyin. So I probably won’t get this one again, although I do have enough for a side by side comparison when I am feeling ambitious (although I just put the rest of my tieguanyin in to cold-steep, so I’ll have to refill that one first).

Anyways, this one’s hitting the spot tonight. :)

ETA: Got another two good infusions out of these leaves. I’ll have to watch the infusion time though, because the second infusion, for two minutes, was verging on astringent, and I would really prefer to have none if possible (and I believe it’s so).

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 1 min, 30 sec
Missy

Woot added it to the shopping list. Thanks for the heads up!

Kittenna

I really wish I could remember how it compared to the tie kwan yin, because it’s pretty expensive, especially for you to be buying 50g of. I’m hoping the Dong Ding I sent will give you the oolong flavour without the floral.

Missy

That’s a cool name even if it is floral. I’m drinking dong ding tea. I’d probably try to be funny and mess it up, I’m drinking ding dong tea… :D

Kittenna

I can only keep it straight because it’s opposite from the usual way you’d say it, “ding dong”. :D

Dylan Oxford

We got a high mountain oolong from a local tea shop (Mad Hat), and Missy wasn’t terribly fond of it. They had a little note by the shelf where these were stored that it was very similar to a tieguanyin, but not quite ‘as good’. So it seemed like a good entry level oolong, in my head :)

Kittenna

Haha, so maybe keep it off the shopping list then? Perhaps she/both of you just aren’t fans of green oolongs. :)

Dylan Oxford

She thinks there might be some differences, but then again she didn’t get the same flavors when she tried it as I did (she sent it to work with me when she decided she didn’t want to try drinking it anymore). It was pretty distinctly a juniper flavor when I was drinking it, not like an overpowering juniper, but definitely there in the like final notes of the drink.

Kittenna

I have yet to encounter juniper flavours in a tea (even the tea containing juniper). I suspect I wouldn’t like it, since I loathe gin. This one had none of that. Tasted like a good basic oolong to me.

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83
1792 tasting notes

A couple days late, but who enjoyed the Dexter premiere? So weird to watch it during the summer when it’s so hot, eh? I particularly appreciated Deb’s password.

Today was my first day in the lab so I spent some time combing over recordings in order to find useable data. Nothing so far.

That said, when I got home I wanted something clean and fresh. No flavours, no fancy tricks, just classic oolong, and this seemed like the perfect fit.

The dry leaf is a mossy green with a super delicate floral scent. The first steep is about half floral and half vegetal in flavour. It’s quite straightforward.

Second steep is even more vegetal, actually borderline bitter. Any hint of floralness have been kicked to the curb and now a slightly buttery note is creeping in. But it’s barely, barely there. The vegetal note is still owning this tea.

Third steep is my favourite. It’s the most mellow, the vegetal, slightly bitter edge isn’t as harsh, and that buttery quality is a little more present than before.

The fourth steep, which is the last, is like a watered down version of the third steep. This is why I decided to stop here, since from here it’s losing any spark it has.

Would I buy more? No, but I’m glad I tried it.

Nxtdoor

omg, dexter’s back?? gah! thanks for the heads up. don’t know how i missed it. I think i noticed this on fb but i’ve been going through some stuff so I’m not myself lately.

JustJames

it was a good one too! apparently this is the last season…

Fjellrev

Nxtdoor, you can catch it online! There were a lot of unexpected twists already. It’s going to be a crazy last season. I also can’t wait for Breaking Bad next month.

TeaLady441

Oooh. That’s awesome. I wonder if we’ll be able to wait for the season to end before we start watching, or if we do it week by week. (We prefer to watch them all at once…)

Fjellrev

You have amazing willpower for waiting, but I know what you mean. I got spoiled because I didn’t get into Dexter until after season 5 ended, so it was nice to catch up and watch whenever I wanted. The waiting now really sucks! I did the same with Breaking Bad. Didn’t get into it until last year, so I was able to rip through the whole thing.

But the Dex series finale is on September 22nd. Can you wait that long? :D

TeaLady441

I don’t know! I hope I don’t get spoilered, but my bf will be away from me for a few weeks so it makes more sense to wait so we can watch them together

CHAroma

Breaking Bad FOR THE WIN!!!! I started my visual effects (short-lived) career with that show.

Fjellrev

Whaaaat? Did you actually work with them or use material from the aired stuff to create visual effects for other purposes? EIther way that is AWESOME.

CHAroma

I worked for a post-house in LA that does the visual effects for the show. :) Most of what I did was mark removal, wire removal, rig removal, lots of removal, LOL! But if you know the episode in season 3 where there’s a fly loose in the lab, and then at the very end of the episode the fly is on the smoke alarm, I made that fly!!! It’s only shown for like 1/10th of a second, so if you blink you’ll miss it. But I’m very proud. :D That job was the highlight of my life.

CHAroma

http://www.fxguide.com/featured/Breaking_Bad_Entity_FX/

“CG fly positioned over a light” is the shot I’m talking about. I’m the last Compositor/Roto/Rig Removal Artist listed in the credits at the end of the article. :)

Fjellrev

Wow, I am so happy for you that you were able to experience that! Amazing job on the effects. You should definitely be proud of such an accomplishment. I’m not even that crazy over TV shows but this show has really won me over. I hope you’re as excited about the finale as I am!

CHAroma

Thanks, Incendiare! :) That means a lot to me.

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92
125 tasting notes

Mmmm… this is good oolong!

I’m sad because it’s a sipdown and I’ve enjoyed this one a lot. On the other hand, I can’t be sad for a long time because I have more oolong coming… Milk oolong from DT and organic iron goddess from Teavivre. There will be more oolong sipping in the near future! :D

This tea is delicious and full of flavour. It’s got a bold taste and fragrant, flowery aroma that I love so much. As I continue my sip, a delicate well balanced astringency signals it’s presence.

I wish I had more…. darn.

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107 tasting notes

I got back to this one today, and still don’t know if I want to rate it. Do I even like oolongs? I don’t know if I have enough experience to know, and I’m not at all convinced after drinking this.

Brewed this gong fu style today, starting at 45 seconds and increasing by 30 seconds. I got up to three infusions and gave up – partially because I had to stop filling my bladder with tea a reasonable amount of time before I had to go to work, and partially because this was still just bloody boring at three infusions. What the heck is it supposed to taste like? Because it tastes like water glanced coyly at a sexy piece of tea. There’s almost something there, but – nope, not happening. Tea-scented water.

Maybe I’ll try it Western style? I mean, I have 50g of the stuff, I hope I find a way to like it. It’s not that I dislike it, mind, it’s just…pretty meh.

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 0 min, 45 sec
Indigobloom

I find most of DT straight teas are like that :*(

Dylan Oxford

The high mountain oolong I had was fairly weak when I was brewing it like a normal tea. When I brewed it in my kung fu cup, it got a lot better. I used two semi heaping ‘perfect’ teaspoons (so three regular ones) for a cup that holds roughly 10 oz of liquid. There was actually some noticeable and interesting flavor at that point.

Lucy

If you want an oolong to do scandalous things to your mouth, you need to try some of the better ‘straight’ tea specialists.. It will amaze you

Daniel Scott

@Dylan – well, that will certainly use it up!

@Lynne-tea – Hmm, such as? I’ve tried some Verdant teas recently, and they were really awesome, is that basically what you mean? Because yeah, DT is pretty middle-of-the-road, but they have some really good flavoured ones. I basically just bought this one to get the Chinese New Year coupon.

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81
1598 tasting notes

Thanks Mercuryhime for the sample!

Had I known this was so expensive I might have saved it for another day. Instead I drank the first steep over a few hours while taking care of the baby, and am just now savouring the second steep while I sit down and relax.

The first steep was very smooth and grassy and oolongy, and it made me wonder why I don’t drink regular oolongs more often. They’re so good!

This second steep is much richer with lots of vegetal notes. It’s really enjoyable, but I think the fanciness is lost on me as I don’t really see how this is that much better than my Iron Goddess Oolong (Tie Guan Yin). Maybe I will set the rest of this sample aside and try it again in a few more months to see I can distinguish more.

Mercuryhime

Glad you enjoyed it. Honestly, I didn’t think the quality merited the price either. It’s an everyday tea at not an everyday price. :)

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67
525 tasting notes

I had picked up 2 oz of this tea during their promo of buy a certain amount and get 2oz (50g) or any tea free! I did a bit of research beforehand and decided on getting this, the most expensive tea they had at the time, for my free tea. The girl working there actually tried to sell me on the Ti Kuan Yin instead, which is significantly cheaper. But to be honest, after smelling both of them, I still liked the way this one smelled more. It smelled full of creamy smooth vegetal goodness. Since I do have a ton of other oolongs, it has taken me a long time to get to trying this.

After measuring the leaves into my filter and setting the kettle to boil, I promptly knocked over a glass and had it shatter into a gajillion pieces. By the time the mess of cleaned up, the water was boiled and cooling so it might have a bit cooler than ideal, but I just went ahead and poured the water over the leaves anyway.

1st steep:
Lightly flavored and lightly colored. It’s smooth with a brothy slightly creamy mouthfeel that I often get from green Taiwanese oolongs. It’s a bit vegetal and the after taste is a bit umami. I can’t say much else for it. Not too much going on here in terms of flavor right now.

Steep 2:
I’m always amazed at how much green oolongs expand. This brew is a bit darker in color. Smells a bit floral and vegetal. Nice. Hmmm…not getting much out of this tea either. Just a nice smooth green Taiwanese oolong here. High mountain? Sure, but nothing really all that special. Good quality but not unique. Am I using too much water? The wet leaves smell like cooked bok choi, but the tea itself…hmm… just not that interesting. I’m gonna stick the leaves back in and see what happens after another minute.

Ok, so I let the tea go for another minute. It’s bordering on bitter now so that was not the best idea. :) I’m getting that bok choi smell I get from the leaves before, but now it’s in my tea. I like.

Ultimately, this tea seems mediocre to me. An ok green Taiwanese High Mountain oolong with all the typical characteristics. Flavor is a bit too light even for me, and I tend to like my tea lighter than most people. I’ve got tons of this tea left so if anyone wants this, let me know! It’s not bad, but I have lots of other oolongs that I like better.

I know David’s is trying to get into more straight teas at the moment. Some of them sound quite yummy and unique. I wonder if they’d let me trade this in for some of the new better sounding ones. hehe

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76
709 tasting notes

Continuing the oolong trying extravaganza, I splurged on some of this. Not very much of it, mind you, as it is $10 for 25 g. That makes it the single most expensive tea I have purchased to date. Anywho, on to the tea. Heated the water with my variable temp kettle (so I finally have exact temps!) and steeped it in my gaiwan. To the untrained palate (IE – mine) this is almost indistinguishable from DT’s Tie Kwan Yin.

1st steep (1 minute at 90 degrees) – Mild and unassuming, slight flavour, no bitterness, not very vegetal. Light floral note in there, lightly sweet. A non-steep, really.

2nd steep (2 minutes at 90 degrees) – Much better, there is more flavour here. Slightly vegetal/floral, still no bitterness.

3rd steep (2 minutes at 90 degrees) – Similar to the second, almost has a milkiness (is this what others think of as buttery?) but I might be reaching for that. The beau says the third steep is the best and “clearly tastes different than the other ones.” There is an elusive hint of something underneath it all, almost like a mild spice (sweet cinnamon?)

4th Steep (3 minutes at 90 degrees) – This is a fairly thin steep. I get a hint of the nice sweetish flavour I picked up on in the last steep, but it is quite watery. Not much depth or richness, this will be my last steep. I still maintain I got a hint of spice like cinnamon but the beau compares it to rosemary.

I think I might prefer darker oolongs to greener ones (not surprising, as I don’t like green tea but love black tea) but this is a nice one to have tried. I like that it never got bitter, but I prefer stronger flavoured teas. Again, this is certainly an enjoyable tea but one I won’t re-purchase. Though it was a beautiful tea, with the large leaves completely unfurling after two steeps, there just wasn’t enough there for me. For my tastes, the cheapo Tie Kwan Yin is a better purchase in terms of quality/taste to cost.

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C
Tamm

I think that I’m in the same boat as you for part of this review. I’m really not someone who knows too much about oolongs. They’re beginning to be my favorite tea but since I haven’t had much experience it’s hard for me to grasp exactly the nuances that make them really different.

Erin

I’ve got to go on an oolong trying extravaganza! I have some DT Tie Kwan Yin waiting for me back home :)

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1438 tasting notes

Ahhh! This is heavenly. What an amazing oolong. I know why it’s so expensive GEEZ!

Perfection.

Update: Resteep still amazing.

Update February 21/13: This shall be my study tea today. Let’s see how many resteeps I can get.

yappychappy

This stuff should resteep 4-8 times :P

Courtney

Haha awesome. I somehow wrecked it after the 3rd steep, but I’ll be trying again. The most I’ve steeped an oolong for currently is 5 steeps, so I want to at least make it to that haha.

yappychappy

I love oolongs! Definitely a fan. for some reason I don’t think I ordered this one with my last davids order? :\

Courtney

It’s ridiculously expensive but definitely good. I keep Tung Ting Vietnam on hand for my permanent oolong though.

yappychappy

I have davids other oolongs. Meant to order that one too. Will resolve that problem next tea order. Ooops! Have you had their Milk Oolong? its super good too. And uhm. follow me?

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80
314 tasting notes

Today was my day to re-point the bricks on the front steps. Not a fun job, and I was saving this tea to be my reward.

1st steep (60 sec): Powerful, sweet grassy aroma with veggie overtones. Good start! The initial taste as surprisingly weak after the strong nose. It grew in strength a bit as it cooled, but never got all that strong. The flavor is similar to a green tea: heavy on the veggies, which is not my favorite style of oolong. Nevertheless, it is well made and interesting.

2nd steep (60 sec): Similar to first steep. A bit less veggie, with a bit of straw appearing, but also a touch of bitterness in the finish. 3rd steep (~2 min): More grass, less veggie, but also a bit more bitter.

This wasn’t a bad tea, but the veggie style just isn’t for me. Not a very good reward for the brickwork. Better luck tomorrow

Many thanks to Courtney for the sample.

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 1 min, 0 sec

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76
464 tasting notes

I think trying Verdant’s oolongs have made me spoiled. This is an ok oolong, but it is definitely not as complex as Verdant’s. It had the typical creamy, smooth oolong taste, but it was comparatively bland. There were no fruity or floral or spicy notes. It was just ok.

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