Li Shan High Mountain Oolong

So I know I started out with drinking oolongs wrong when i first got into tea. My dad has a worker in China who has stayed at our house a few times over the years. She always used to just put a bunch of tea leaves in her cup and then keep adding water. Over-steeping did not exist in her world. And neither did it in mine till I found this forum. xD
Sometimes I like to still be a bad tea drinker and drink tea like that, without a strainer. I’ve been tempted to do that with these Green Terrace Teas. They are too light for me it feels like. Perhaps I am used to drinking strong and sometimes bitter oolongs, so when I drink the vegetable, floral kinds they’re too light for me.
The steeping time on Steepster says a minute, but after doing it for a minute I wanted it to be stronger so I steeped it for a bit longer.
Was hoping for a stronger Li Shan like I’ve had in the past but like the other sample I tried it’s light and floral-y. I mean, it is a bit stronger than the other of course. But not strong enough for me I suppose.
I’m hard on teas. :P

Now, I know tasting notes are shared personal experiences. I also know each of us interprets the flavors differently. I know this, but my experience does not seem to parallel anyone else on this tea. Where everyone else got flowers and fruit, I got corn with a creamy feel. I did notice some bite early on that faded as it cooled. Also a bit of dryness as the floral notes finally show up in the aftertaste. As the cup cooled I did have a brief Pina Colada moment. With cup two I swear I got potato with a spicy note similar to cinnamon. Where are these coming from? I washed everything before I started. Just weird. Good, but weird. The floral notes once again hold off until the aftertaste and come out to play a bit more when the cup cools. It isn’t until cup three and four that this started out floral in the nose and stayed that way. Of course odd ball me also had earthy or gentle cave notes on cup three and the spicy note returned on four. I very much enjoyed this tea but my experience is so different from what I expected and what others had that I am left puzzled. Cups 1 and 2 were sipped yesterday with 3 and 4 brewed today. I used one tsp of leaf and a 5 oz cup. The water was at 190 F. Steeps were 1.5 m, 1 m, 1 m, and 2 minutes.

This tea was excellent, it surpassed my expectations and was a joy to experience. The leaves are a dark green color, rolled into small clumps that pack a powerful aroma and flavor. The aroma is light and refreshing with hints of sweet fruits and floral undertones. It brews a beautiful light green/yellow and tastes heavenly. It starts with a sweet flavor again accompanied by floral undertones. It has a light astringency, bringing attention to the full-bodied character of the oolong. Overall this tea was wonderful and it comes HIGHLY recommended.

This is the last of my three free samples from Green Terrace Tea. I’m grateful for the opportunity to taste such fine teas. I prepared this oolong in what I call a modified gong-fu method: 3 grams in 6 oz of water with 60 second steeps. It is a compromise between the simplicity of western style and the effort of true gong-fu.

1st steep (60 s): Light nose is spicy, with cooked veggies underneath. Taste has good mouth-feel but not as interesting as the nose. Good finish. As I sip, the tea seems to keep getting better, probably because the finish is so long that the taste builds upon itself. 2nd steep (70 s): Similar to the first steep but more powerful. Really good. 3rd (2 min): Still very good. I’ll probably try a few more steeps but have other things to do today, so will stop for now.

I got my free samples this week and why not start sampling tonight!

Using the full sample in a 6oz gaiwan.

Well…hello beautiful.

Talk about a full cup of yum.

This is everything I like about a high mountain oolong…and more.

The elements I’m really digging are usually the floral, spicy and minty aspects, and I get them all here. Nice florals that might be a little more perfumed then what I’m used to, but really, I can’t name the flowers cause it’s none of the ones I’m used to find in greener oolongs, which are orchids and lilacs.

The usual spiciness which translates into nutmeg for me is also there, and so is that fresh mouthfeel I get at the end of the sip.

What’s really different about this oolong is its fruitiness. It so full of fruits, it almost tastes tropical to me. The fact that it’s also creamy makes me think of Pina Colada. I also get grapes and apple notes.

There’s a certain bite to it also, a briskness. I wouldn’t say it’s bitter, but it’s a tad astringent. Nothing offensive though, makes the flavours pop even more.

I have many more steeps to come, and might finish it with a cold brew.

I am very impressed with this first sample.

Thank you so much Green Terrace Teas for this opportunity.

Last night I enjoyed eight steeps of this tea and will probably have a few more today.

This is quite a fruity green oolong with nice floral tones which manages to be both soft and punchy at the same time. It is not a biting green oolong. Its floral tones while spicy and obviously present never present this sensation. However this absence seems to turn into a slight bitterness which is usually absent for me in Oolong’s of this type. It may be that I chose a slightly too long steep time, as the rinse had quite an intense flavour. The punchy tones are apparent in the great fruit tones which I really enjoyed!

The dry leaf smelled intensely of snap peas, melon rinds, and a grape hyacinth. they were composed of cool toned spruce to olive green shaded irregularly sized nuggets. Once brewed the tea had a light yellow green coloured broth.

I steeped this tea at around 85°C and so far I have done eight steeps after the rinse (35,30,35,45,55,70,85,120). The tea is still yielding a flavourful broth. The tea was creamy from the first steep and left a mild tingling at the roof and front of the mouth.

Similar tones have been found in both the scent and flavour. So far I have detected:

°Pineapple, melon ( at times even cantelope rind), mango, orange juice, and that bright tone from the white of orange rind. Pineapple has been the dominant fruit tone so far.
°Lilac and clover nectar, with lilac dominating the earlier steeping, and clover the second half. The floral notes contribute a pleasant spiciness to the tea.
°Cream.
°Mint
°A slightly woody tone
°Savoury tones including snap pea, artichoke and spinach.
°Honey

The dominant tones have been fruit and floral notes.

So far I have enjoyed this tea and look forward to further steeps today.