Qi Lan - Unroasted (2017)

I whispered, ‘Wow.’

This unroasted Qi Lan packs it in with an undeniable strength in aroma, taste and aftertaste. The dry leaf had aromas of dark chocolate, brown sugar, anise, orchid, oak wood and vanilla. I’m surprised to have picked up those darker notes in an unroasted tea, but maybe it was my familiarity with the normally roasted Qi Lan playing games with my olfactories. The aroma of the warmed and rinsed leaf was like walking into an orchid shop with some whiffs from the bakery next door that was browning some butter.

I had to drink the rinse.

The aroma wafting from the cup had strong notes of orchid, brown sugar and vanilla. The taste was an expansive bouquet of orchids in the mouth again with the brown sugar and vanilla while a very pure and pronounced minerality flowed underneath and glided across the tongue. Delicately oily with very light astringency and bitterness. The aftertastes were equally decadent with orchid, vanilla, white peach, chocolate, graham? and milk? This fanfare continued for another 3 steeps before giving way to a more delicate symphony which brought the white peach forward along with some lemon water and grass. The aftertastes moved into almond, butter and wood and the tea completely gave up the ghost with its eighth infusion (including the rinse).

Overall, this tea made a lasting impression with its upfront aromas and tastes and prolonged aftertastes. It was missing a bit of body and was lacking in longevity but I am grateful to have had the opportunity to try an unroasted Wuyi oolong both for its own sake and for comparison to its roasted companion.

7.3g, 100mL, 200F, rinse (drank) followed by 7 steeps of 10/15/20/25/30/40/50s

This was another somewhat more recent sipdown of mine, as I finished my sample pouch of this oolong at the end of July. I had been meaning to try it ever since acquiring it earlier in the year mostly because I had never before tried an unroasted Wuyi oolong. Overall, I found it to be a pretty interesting tea, though not the sort of thing I would want to have on a regular basis.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a quick rinse, I steeped 5 grams of loose tea leaves in 3 ounces of 195 F water for 7 seconds. This infusion was chased by 13 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 9 seconds, 12 seconds, 16 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, and 3 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves emitted slightly woody, grassy aromas with floral and fruity hints. After the rinse, I noted distinct impressions of orchid, honey, raisin, roasted peanut, and cream on the nose. The first infusion then revealed a cedar aroma and stronger scents of orchid and honey. In the mouth, I detected notes of orchid, cream, cinnamon, and honey that were balanced by roasted peanut and cedar notes. The subsequent infusions saw the nose turn citrusy and mineral-laden. A slightly stronger roasted peanut note appeared in the mouth along with belatedly emerging raisin and grass notes. New impressions of minerals, pear, roasted almond, and butter appeared in the mouth along with hints of lemon zest. The final infusions emphasized lingering mineral, roasted peanut, roasted almond, and cream notes that were underscored by lemon zest impressions.

Seeing as how I tried this tea and Old Ways Tea’s 2016 Qilan very close together, it was fascinating for me to see just how much a roast can change a tea. Without the characteristic Wuyi roast, this tea took on a character somewhat reminiscent of a baozhong, but with the heavy mineral profile so typical of traditional Wuyi oolongs. Though I most definitely prefer my Wuyi oolongs roasted, this was still a fun little tea. I’m glad I took the opportunity to try it.

Orchid, butter, violet,macadamia, and almonds, oh my. A little bit of a sweetness, some viscousness, a lingering floral aftertaste, and medium longevity. I did gong fu in my 30 second increments, grandpa and western a while back and I greatly enjoyed it. It tasted like a lightly baked baozhong, and this was very approachable and goes in my category of “Need to try again,” even my own small amount. If I did not already order a decent amount of teas…