Osmanthus Oolong

Diary of a tea addict: time for one more tea before I head to the airport and will be most likely be stuck with teabags for 10 days… :-/

I don’t believe I have ever smelled an osmanthus flower and I don’t really like strongly floral teas. So why do I have so many? who knows. ;-)

Brewing method: short steeps in the gaiwan

First infusion: very light, creamy and custardy. Not a lot of flowers, good!

Second infusion: osmanthus coming up a bit more and it is getting a bit sweeter. A little vanilla-y, a little buttery. Very smooth mouthfeel and sweet lingering aftertaste. It’s a bit like a cookie. teee heeee.

Third infusion: tea is getting very assertive. Some vegetal notes are coming up a bit here. I am surprised. I may have oversteeped it.

Fourth infusion: steeped for only 20 seconds. Tea is happier and is back to sweet buttery lightness.

Fifth infusion: getting lighter still but now the floral is retreating and the oolong is emerging more as a clean, bright spring bud.

Now I am running out of time…

Even though I am not that fond of floral teas I would definitely like to keep this around. If you keep the steepings under control the flowers are very light. I was a skeptic but she has managed to charm me with her seductive ways. I could write a poem abut this experience. la la la – love!

This is the last of my infused oolong sampler from Naivetea that I have yet to try, though I do have a few of the high-mountain ones left. I put this one off at first because I remembered not being totally taken with the aroma of the dry leaf, but then when I just smelled it now the scent was a strong, lovely floral. I’m not super familiar with osmanthus as a flower, though I’ve had a few different osmanthus oolongs that I believe I’ve enjoyed. I feel like they all taste pretty different, though, so I never know what to expect.

They weren’t kidding about the intense osmanthus aroma. Steeped, this tea is incredibly floral to the point of being perfumy. There’s a slightly buttery vegetal aroma hiding somewhere underneath those flowers, but it’s being swamped! The level of florals reminds me of the Rose Violet Calendula Oolong. The flavor of the tea is slightly sweet and super floral. Wow, it’s even a little strong in the florals for me, and that’s saying something. I feel like I am drinking a bouquet, or perhaps even some osmanthus perfume. After reading Amy oh’s tasting note for this, I’m thinking that this is one that definitely needs multiple, short steeps. One long steep brought out so much osmanthus that the rest was kind of overwhelmed. As it cools, the florals calm down a little (or maybe I’m just getting desensatized to them), but it’s not so perfumy. I’m defintiely tasting more sweet, buttery, creamy notes. Not my fave from the pack by a long shot, but I think once I get my oolong gongfu set up, it will be a great tea for that.

ETA: I’m starting to wonder if somehow my samples of the floral oolongs were more heavily scented than others have tried… all these tasting notes talking about light osmanthus, hah! The Rose Violet Calendula oolong seemed stronger than I had before, as well. Odd!

Osmanthus Oolong
High altitude oolong infused with osmanthus – Taiwan origin
Dry: deep note of floral and exotic fruit, almost oriental spicy mustard with high nasal bite and brightness
Wet: scent of fresh custard, clarified butter, yuzu, lime, and nutty
Appearance: tightly rolled, lightly oxidized leaves with fine, yellow and orange floral threads
Cup: bright, clear deep yellow liquor with pale, lemon hues at the edge of the cup. Initial flavors of traditional lightly oxidized oolong, sweet-cream and floral, but quickly gives way to a rich yuzu-like fruity flavor that vanishes and is replaced by a sweet lingering finish, which again transforms into a building flavor along the edges of the tongue. Flavor builds with each sip and seems to be perfectly balanced between the expression of the oolongs natural flavors and the introduced flavors of the osmanthus- both having expression and neither dominating.
Brewing method: 17 oz. double layered glass mug from www.sunsteas.com, decanted into teaspot infuser mug. 4grams of tea in 180 degree water, steeped 4 minutes and then water temp. increased and steep time increased for following steeps (4).

a lovely display of flavor awareness and balance and perhaps the best expression of osmanthus that I’ve tried that didn’t seem heavy handed or overly dominant over the tea.

does have a mild astringency over successive cups, would recommend this as a compliment in a Thai restaurant to pair up with galangal and spicy dishes or as a side to a traditional lychee or custard dessert.

I like the light taste of the osmanthus..it intensifies the flavor and quality of the oolong.

excellent. u could find a better tea than Naivetea