Rou Gui "Cinnamon" Medium Roast Oolong

This one intrigued me so i asked Garret to send a sample my way in my last order. I try not to buy oolongs until i’ve sampled them because i’m so picky about the ones i like or don’t. While this one is certainly interesting – it’s still not quite up my alley. It’s a roasted oolong and has cinnamon and sweet notes to it but i can’t quite get behind it. That being said though, it’s a taste preference thing rather than this being a bad tea. :) I’d recommend others give this a shot :)

(also this is really tasty as the “water” to instant oatmeal lol)

A bit of an unusual format for me, I wrote tasting notes right after my gaiwan session, here they are:

Cinnamon not detectable in dry leaf.

Very sweet wuyi! Not vegetal at all, sweet sweet sweet. Would be great stand alone wuyi.

Cinnamon not present until later steeping 3-4.

First detectable in the aroma, then realized late in the palate.

Not bold in your face cinnamon, this comes later, much more subtly towards the end of the palate and the back of the throat…. like a cinnamon essence.

Remarkable subtlety! Teaches patience, awareness and subtlety – things which I need to improve on or am lacking generally… ahh this is like tea therapy.

Subtle floral like cinnamon, or rather oolong-like cinnamon.

Warm sensation persists in back of throat, cinnamon related or just temperature?

Retains flavor up to around 6 quick gaiwan infusions, then starts to dissipate.

I did a quick 5-10 second rinse as suggested on the Mandala website brewing instructions page,,, then steeped for 30 seconds.
The liquor looks very cinnamon color and I do detect scents of cinnamon,,,whether or not this is power of suggestion, I don’t know but it’s nice.
I like the flavor of this Oolong because it is balanced with a tiny bit of roast, a sweet note, and that something special when you breathe it out as you taste. That special element here is definitely a cinnamon note.
Very unique taste that I haven’t tried in an Oolong!! Very good!!

Thank u to Terri Harplady for this sample!!

I brewed this both gong fu and western style. Very nice both ways. For me, I get more of a cinnamon smell then any real taste, but I do get a very “spicy” taste that is quite pleasant. I think I enjoyed it more gong fu, I was able to get 6 good infusions, but it works western as well for when I have less time. I have been very impressed by the Mendala teas I have tried…and this one is no exception!

After a rinse, the smell on the gaiwan lid reminds me of chocolate and pomegranate. It’s really a magnificent smell. I stayed pretty close to Garret’s suggestion of tablespoon to a cup of water, adding a bit more. The first infusion was 30s and was disappointingly light. I didn’t really get much flavor. For the second infusion, I decided to drag the steep time out to about 50s. That infusion was not much better. At this point, I’m starting to doubt my brewing method or my tongue. I did a third infusion, giving it maybe 1m30s. Meh.

So, after consulting some tea forums, many people suggest a much higher leaf to water ratio than what I was doing. This time, I filled my gaiwan half way full (sorry about inaccurate measurements, I don’t own a scale)and after doing a flash rinse, infused it for 15s. MUCH BETTER. Sweet, milky, with a heavenly aroma arising from my gaiwan. Infusion two definitely brought out the cinnamon. Of course it’s subtle, and maybe I’m just imagining it, but regardless I am enjoying it.

I found this to be bright and predominantly roasted tasting. There’s that hint of almond/cinnamon, but I wouldn’t call that strong. Prior to steeping, when I put the leaves in the warmed gaiwan it had a lovely roasted smell. I’m currently on the second drinkable steep and like it better when it’s cooled a little. I ordered this because I was intrigued by the description. I don’t know that this would be a regular tea for me, but it didn’t disappoint.

This is another tea with two listings so I just picked one.

Unfortunately I didn’t love this one. Or, to be perfectly honest, any of the Mandala oolongs I’ve tried. This one is just a bit thin. In taste and mouthfeel. Overleafing/steeping gives a bit more mineral in the brew. There’s a bit of spice and bark but nothing noteworthy. Just a bland brew overall. Tried gong-fu and mug brewing, and both were insipid. Perhaps this was just a poor harvest.

I didn’t think I would like this when I smelled the smokiness of the wet leaves. The roast seemed a bit strong for me. And I’m very congested from a sinus infection, so I couldn’t get anything subtle out of it like cinnamon notes. Still, I enjoyed drinking this tea with a little bit of sugar. I don’t think I’d buy it again, but I was glad to try it.

The smokiness is pretty strong — if it were even a little bit stronger, I think I’d find this undrinkable. So I’m probably never going to like dark roast oolongs. It’s a good tea, but I don’t know if I really gave it a fair shot with all the congestion. So I’ll hold off until I drink the last of it to give it a number score. I’d like to be able to detect a little cinnamon, at least.

I tried this gong fu style last night. I found the initial flavors of cinnamon, which slowly dissolved into a sweet almond milk at steep 4, but still retaining some of the spice. The oolong is mineral throughout. It’s very delicious and has a nice amber color brew.

This Wuyi is certainly a new one to me. The spicy flavor, or sensation, was present in the first cup during Gong Fu session but became more reminiscent of cinnamon after the second infusion. Light mineral taste and milky notes alongside a pleasant viscosity. Warming and relaxing qualities make it very suitable for post-work or pre-bedtime tea that won’t overstimulate the mind or stomach.
Each subsequent infusion evoked more cinnamon and milky quality with soft, sweet undertones. With initial 15 second infusions at 195 degrees Fahrenheit and gradually increased steeping times this tea provided eight infusions without compromising flavor.