Rou Gui "Cinnamon" Medium Roast Oolong

Tea type
Oolong Tea
Ingredients
Not available
Flavors
Cinnamon, Roasted, Stonefruit, Almond, Bark, Mineral, Smoke, Milk
Sold in
Not available
Caffeine
Not available
Certification
Not available
Edit tea info Last updated by Jason
Average preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 0 min, 45 sec 6 g 5 oz / 150 ml

From Our Community

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14 Tasting Notes View all

  • “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...” Read full tasting note
  • “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. ...” Read full tasting note
    90
  • “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...” Read full tasting note
    93
  • “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...” Read full tasting note
    85

From Mandala Tea

First flush spring leaves are picked and roasted for this classic “rock” or “cliff” style tea which comes from the Wu Yi Mountains in Fujian Province, China. This stunning area has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of the abundance of different species and cultural importance of its tea growing tradition.

Rou Gui translates literally to cinnamon or cassia. The dry leaves give a distant impression of the spice and once they are rinsed it becomes more apparent. Short gong fu-style steepings produce a clear and peach-hued liquor. This oolong earns its nick name with magnificent almond milk, toast, and cinnamon flavors that persist in the mouth after each sip. We find ourselves picking up the gaiwan again and again to behold this mesmerizing tea.

About Mandala Tea View company

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14 Tasting Notes

15006 tasting notes

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)

Terri HarpLady

This ones as intrigued me as well. I need to sample with my Next mandala order :)

Sil

my other half is in your box LOL

Terri HarpLady

See, that’s why we’re awesome!

caile

oohh.. breakfast and tea all in one! I will have to pick up some instant oatmeal. ;-)

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90
22 tasting notes

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.

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 0 min, 30 sec

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93
257 tasting notes

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!!

Flavors: Cinnamon

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 0 min, 30 sec 3 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML
Terri HarpLady

Yay! That is a nice one :)

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85
13 tasting notes

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!

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 3 min, 0 sec

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16 tasting notes

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.

Flavors: Cinnamon, Roasted, Stonefruit

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 0 min, 15 sec 6 OZ / 170 ML

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80
63 tasting notes

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.

Flavors: Almond, Cinnamon, Roasted

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 0 min, 45 sec 5 g 6 OZ / 177 ML

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50
193 tasting notes

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.

Flavors: Bark, Mineral

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 0 min, 30 sec 8 g 3 OZ / 100 ML

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71 tasting notes

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.

Flavors: Roasted, Smoke

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 30 sec 4 g 4 OZ / 118 ML

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84
199 tasting notes

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.

Flavors: Almond, Cinnamon, Milk, Mineral

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 0 min, 15 sec 6 g 3 OZ / 100 ML

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88
3 tasting notes

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.

Flavors: Almond, Cinnamon, Milk, Mineral

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 0 min, 15 sec

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