Wild Garden GABA Oolong

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Had this one yesterday and forgot to write a note, oops!

What a delicious tea! So sweet and thick with lovely syrupy honey notes alongside rich fruit leather, brown sugar, and nutty oats. A green bean-like vegetal quality appeared in the middle few steeps before disappearing again. Unroasted oxidized oolongs are always my favorite types, and this was no exception! It had such a lovely lingering sweet taste.

I had it with some mochi filled with marshmallow and tart plum jam, and it was a lovely pairing. :3

https://www.instagram.com/p/COzFvZGgKSq/

Spring 2018, 5 grams, all from derk.

Dry leaf smell smells after fruits with cinnamon.
1st is, as usual for me, 15 seconds long.
It smells after fruits, but tastes really sweet, like cereal maybe with sugar. Maybe bit of malt.

20 seconds for second steep.
Fruits and malt. Good.

30/3rd.
Raisins? Certainly sweet notes… bit of malty. Maybe baked bread as derk notices.

4th, 40 seconds.
Now the baked bread is present for sure. But somehow sweet. Great though.

5th, 50 seconds.
Bit of florarity appears. Sweet and floral, with bread. Weird. But so tasty…

6th, one minute.
Yep, floral. But certainly not overwhelming.

7th, 90 seconds.
Bit weaker. I think that 8th will be last one.

8th…
I just kept in gaiwan. For 90+ seconds. Close to 120 seconds for sure…

Derk – Thank you! My first GABA oolong. And it is so tasty. Creamy, but – fruity, baked bread, so much…different notes. I really enjoyed and another style I have to check when ordering somewhere next time.

Of the Mountain Stream samples I’ve tried so far, this one is the most memorable. The scent is a toasted grain breakfast cereal, and the tea has an unusually calming effect. I haven’t tried many GABA’s yet, so can’t compare, but certainly compared to non-GABA teas, there is a noticeable difference. There isn’t much longevity to the flavors, but you end up not minding because it’s such a unique experience.

This is a great GABA oolong. Thank you Derk :).

I didn’t try last year so I can’t compare it to that but I can compare it to other GABA oolong that I’ve tried, and this one is quite different. I would definitely put it up at the top especially if you’re into fruity tea.

Overall, It’s a sweet and fruity, not too floral oolong… Not too floral is always a plus for me. On the first few steeps (gaiwan), I got some strong fruit notes., mainly dried fruit notes, like raisins, prunes, berries with baked bread notes. It was malty and rich… And comforting, calming energy. It remained sweet throughout most of the infusions. It wasn’t stagnant, it changed from raisin bread to stonefruits throughout the infusions. In the end, it wasn’t as fruity sweet but yam sweet, then to slightly but pleasantly tart, spices, and some nuttiness as well.

I really enjoyed this sample. I wonder how it compares to the release from last year. Highly recommended if you like GABA oolong as I do.

Dry leaf smells remarkably of raisin toast with a muted cinnamon :)

Teapot time: 5g, 100mL porcelain, 195F. Rinse plus 10 steeps, starting at 10s.

The Spring 2018 harvest is a little different than 2017. Honestly, I can’t remember if it was 2017… I’m pretty dang sure. The 2018 tea is lighter in taste and darker in character like it was more oxidized. There’s also some astringency to this batch that shows up early and fades after a few steeps. I think most of the flavor of this tea comes from the aroma; there are never penetrating flavors on the tongue. The tea’s strong points are its round, fruity fragrance; medium-thick, pectic mouthfeel; a blossoming almost floral grape finish and an inability to be oversteeped once you get past the first several slightly drying infusions. It also performs well western and grandpa.

The taste is less pronounced but still fruity. Straightforward notes of plump, pliable purple raisin mingle with sweet red grapes, butter (sometimes funky), light brown sugar, that GABA bright tartness, minerals and a tone of baked bread. The fruitiness most closely reminds me of warm, rehydrated raisins in a curry — like when they pop in your mouth. Wood presents if I do a little swish. Like other GABA oolong, the tastes don’t exactly evolve. This one does move out into the sweet potato realm but not until the end, and even then it’s still raisin-grape in taste. Steeps out sooner than the 2017.

Giving the Spring 2018 harvest a 90. 2017 I had rated at 98 because it tickled me and had great longevity. Averaging the two gives 94.