Wuyi Oolong

Backlogging. 3 days ago. Tuesday afternoon.

I haven’t had an oolong in forever and it sounded like a good thing that day. This met my need and it was like I remembered it, yet it wasn’t. The first two steeps were stronger than I would have liked. So maybe decrease the steeping time a bit. And the third and fourth were quite good. Overall, I liked drinking it that day but it didn’t quite live up to my memory of it.

The first two steeps I had right after each other in the afternoon, the third right after dinner, and the fourth right before bed.

2nd steep: 4 mins 15 secs
3rd steep: 4 mins 30 secs
4th steep: 5 mins

We are having a lazy afternoon, went to the gym and had Chinese food for lunch, then took a nap. I’ve had this tea for a while and while I was gravitating away from wuyi oolongs a bit, we both really like them.

This was steeped via regular teapot method and I don’t have my thermometer with me at the BF’s house but I think I did a pretty good job of making it. This tea has a delightful roasted grain, almost buckwheat quality with an essence of fruit. The aftertaste seems very sweet and it coats the mouth. Nice for a gentle afternoon wake-up… see previous notes for more info.

So, after complaining about the pong of this tea yesterday, given that my cold keeps getting worse, I decided “maybe if I can’t smell it, I won’t care” and opted to try to use some up.

Generous portion of leaf into a small pot, rinsed, and then very short (less than 10 seconds) steepings. I’m up to #6 and so far, no pong.

Maybe this is a tea that just really, really, really shouldn’t be steeped for any real length of time — unlike every other wuyi oolong out there?

Ever since I read Rishi’s description of this, which includes the phrase “raisin sugar,” that’s all I can think of when I drink this tea. Which works, because that’s exactly what this tastes like to me. Bumping the rating a bit.

This time around I intentionally oversteeped it by three minutes just to see if it was possible for it to attain bitterness. The things I do when I should be starting my schoolwork… Well, there was still almost no detectable astringency, just a fleeting trace. Still very smooth. This time around, it’s very roasty and reminiscent of fresh-baked bread with a hint of sweetness, and a taste that doesn’t “taste” like caramel per se, but invokes thoughts of caramel. I love this stuff.

Sample from Claire as I hadn’t had many roasted oolongs. Definitely a fan of this tea and this style of oolongs. I certainly don’t have the palate to comment on flavors so much but it as amazing. Thanks claire!

The first steep of this tea (at 3:30 mins) was strongly bakey with a distinct roasted-grains flavour more like what I’d expect from a dark Formosa oolong. This was noticably toned down in the second steeping (at 4:45 mins) though the flavour overall remained full and strong. I also picked up some vegetal notes now that the roasted flavour wasn’t as overwhelming and there’s a hint of sweet at the end of each sip, though it’s not what I’d consider to be ‘raisin sugar’. A pretty decent dark oolong over all.

This is my first Wuyi Oolong, and it’s really shown me how there are so many different characteristics to oolongs. The dry leaves had a slightly smoky scent along with the smell I associate with oolongs.

I actually read through all the notes to see if I was crazy, and thank goodness someone else had a similar experience (cuz I did feel crazy), but throughout the first steep I kept getting a “wift of marijuana smoke” smell. The taste was bolder than I’m used to with oolongs – more earthy and like a steamed vegetable plate (less asparagus-ey).

I’m on steeping #2 and it’s more like I’m licking a mossy rock that someone had sprinkled with sugar. Not a bad thing (or something that I’d do in real life), but I’m just not sure if this will be a staple oolong for me. NE

This tea has a light earthy taste. There are notes of roasted brown rice or roasted barley, slightly reminiscent of genmaicha. This is a fantastic tea. It’s like a rollercoaster on the palate. At first it’s light, then comes the more bolder earthy taste, and lastly on the end is the slight sweet taste. Overall it’s a light oolong that’s good for multiple steepings. I steeped two teaspoons seven times. I probably won’t go over five or six times again.

Spent a nice afternoon sipping this tea yesterday. This sample was part of March 2015 Steepster Select box featuring different teas of China. This Wuyi Oolong is a deep roasted version from Fujian Province, yielding a bold, earthy flavor and aroma quite different from other regions. I definitely taste the fruity, floral and sweet tones I remember from a few years back when I drank quite a lot of this tea. A really bold yet smooth oolong that doesn’t disappoint.

I really am pleased with so many of Rishi’s loose leaf teas, and they really made a good impact on the tea world by making sure their teas are truly organic and fair trade certified (more than 90% of their teas). Their flavor consistency is also really impressive over year to year harvests.