Doke Rolling Thunder Oolong (2nd Flush 2012)

I’m a sucker for Darjeeling oolongs. Heck, I’m even a sucker for the one and only Assam oolong I’ve tried. Nilgiri oolongs…um…they mean well. This one out of Bihar is hard to pinpoint. So we’ll start with the obvious.

Do I like it? Oh, hell yes. Character-wise, it has the nuances of a Nilgiri OP (Tiger Hill-ish), but a lot of the fruity bend of a Formosa. There’s also a smoky aspect on the end, but it’s very minor. One thing of note, though, this tasting note was from trying it Western-style. It held up well in a “wrongfu” prep, but not quite as well. Go big and boiled with this one.

It also almost became the subject of a tea fiction story (along with one other Doke tea, a Taiwanese sencha, and two Nepalese whites), the “DVD commentary”-ish blog on that trainwreck can be found here: http://lazyliteratus.teatra.de/2012/10/03/blending-tea-and-fiction/

Steep Information:
Amount: 13.8
Water: 1000ml at 175°F
Tool: Breville One-Touch Tea Maker BTM800XL
Steep Time: 1 minute 30 seconds
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: slight vegetal, slight roasty
Steeped Tea Smell: floral, roasty
Flavor: seaweed, salty
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: malty and slightly astringent
Liquor: translucent light orange brown

Resteep:
1000ml at 175°F for 2 minutes
Light at first, but as it sat it darkened, interesting
grassy, astringent, metallic, tingly

I re-sell this product.

Blog http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2014/02/lochan-tea-loose-leaf-oolong-tea-doke.html

This is very dark and black tea tasting to me. It has a little tiny bit of maltiness in the back of the throat.

About average. I’ll likely trade it away.

Technically, I got this tea from The Pleasures of Tea. (My tea dealer) but it is from the Doke Estate in India. Lochan is the name of the family who runs the estate. This tea is great. Leaves are brownish in color and expanded greatly with each infusion. I do not separate infusions. I infuse, put it in a pot, infuse again until the coloring looks light to me. The liquor is dark amber in color when brewed, It has a bit of an astringent, musky taste. There aren’t many floral notes like a typical oolong. Sweet tasting kind of like a Formosa. Yum.

Dry leaf has scents of dried herbs, dried fruits.
Wet Leaf has some really tiny buds that almost look like rosemary needles. It has a leafy woodsy scent. Leaves are brownish-green color and some are chopped.
Liquor is golden color with a light scent of pineapple.
Flavor has a rich mouthfeel but not super rich in flavor. It is a light fruit flavor with some spice and herb to it. I like this.