Eco-Cha Club Batch #40 March 2019 - Light Roast Concubine Oolong Tea

It’s been a little bit since I wrote about the club teas. The Long Feng that was from the beginning of this year is frickin’ amazing and durable. The Red Oolong and the Qing Xing black, I felt mixed about. The Red is too heady and overpoweringly sweet, while the Qing Xing black has some honeyed prunes, fruit compote, and blackberry spice notes I like from Taiwaneese blacks, but just a little too much fruit compote for my personal preference. It may grow on me, but for now, I’m still experimenting with it while my mom enjoys it for what it is.

Now, for this one. It’s basically a more refined Meishan Alishan oolong that compares to an Alishan Qing Xing. I would not have noticed that it is a bug bitten tea drinking it straight, because the honey note is something that I’ve usually tasted and preferred in the Alishans I buy. The unctuous honey notes and roast are more prominent with more leaves and longer brew times, retaining more of the bug bitten quality. I’m glad that they kept the roast light because the notes could have been heavier with more roast. I also deeply enjoy the fact that it has very little vegetal qualities to it, which is kinda refreshing. The body is a little bit thinner, so it does require a bit of leaves to get going gong fu, but it does do better western and it does not have any real astringency. The honey notes may be more pronounced and then border on lemony, but it is a flexible and durable tea with some nice florals like violet. I also have not tasted the roast notes yet, though they are a little noticeable in the dry leaf.

Despite how straightforward this tea is, I do very much enjoy it and will be sad when it’s gone. I’m not raving yet, but I know it will grow on me over time.