Phoenix Honey Orchid Oolong / Honey Oolong

Day 14 of the Kiani advent calendar. I steeped this up gong fu style and got three steeps. The flavor was enjoyable, but not what I normally expect from a phoenix honey oolong. The first steep had a slightly drying, almond-like bitterness and wasn’t as sweet as I was expecting. The second steep had a strong note of stone fruit with the pit, or maybe red grapes (don’t ask me why those are next to each other in my mental index). For the third steep, I tried a shorter steep to see what would happen. I was finally able to place a note that had been having trouble identifying – a mineral sort of note reminiscent of rock oolongs. The short steep did bring out more sweetness, though I’m still not sure I’d call it honey-like. I don’t know why I couldn’t coax the right/expected flavors out of this tea, alas.

Day 15 is really cool – it’s a wooden cup! I have a fairly large teaware collection, but I didn’t even know that wooden teaware was a thing! So I loved learning about the existence of a new type of thing I didn’t know about, and I really like this particular cup. It just fits in my hand perfectly and is very well-balanced, so it’s super fun to play/fidget with. Since it requires special care, I have not used it yet, but am looking forward to testing it out!

Adventaggedon Day 11: 1/7

Gongfu!

Wow; it’s hard to believe we’re almost halfway through! Fuck, y’all. I’m tired.

This was my favourite of the day though there were a lot of teas I enjoyed today. I think a huge part of it, on top of the tea just being really pleasant, was that I had been deeply craving sitting down for a proper gongfu session and this allowed me to do exactly that. Ultimately thought it was just so smooth and round with beautiful notes of oak wood, honey, toasted macadamia, orchid and orange blossom, and just a little minerality! A very pleasant and non-fussy dancong, which was really appreciated today!

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkbqwkboXk8&ab_channel=MediumBuild

Kiani Tea Advent Calendar 2021 – Day 11

I’m enjoying this one grandpa-style today, in one of my double-walled glass tumblers with a nifty built-in strainer thingy.

So Dancong oolongs aren’t really my favorite. (This is a Dancong, right? Right? Just tell me if I’m wrong lol.) Not that I dislike them, just not something I reach for or order, and the same with Wuyi oolongs really. I just find them a bit samey or something? And usually more floral than I prefer.

But anyway, this is tasty enough. Definitely fairly strong on the floral, which is not exactly surprising for something called “honey orchid” heh heh. But not overwhelmingly so. It has a lovely fruity sweetness as well, like dried apricots or peaches. And underneath is a solid base of crisp autumn leaves and a touch of wood. I’m not sure I get honey specifically? But it is pleasantly sweet.

Enjoyable, but not a favorite for me. :)

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