Formosa Yancha

Tea type
Oolong Tea
Ingredients
Not available
Flavors
Brown Sugar, Cream, Grass, Maple, Mineral, Roasted, Spicy, Tangy, Wood, Bread, Caramel, Oats, Straw, Floral, Whiskey, Butter, Chocolate, Graham Cracker, Malt, Milk
Sold in
Loose Leaf
Caffeine
Not available
Certification
Not available
Edit tea info Last updated by Sirentian
Average preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 1 min, 15 sec 6 g 5 oz / 158 ml

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4 Tasting Notes View all

  • “For a key to my rating scale, check out my bio. Having tasted (and not particularly enjoyed) its 22-year-old aged counterpart, I was pleasantly surprised by this tea. The dry leaves in a hot...” Read full tasting note
    87
  • “Steeping method. Traditional gongfu steepings in a gaiwan. This is a simple, pleasing, comforting oolong with an uncomplicated flavor profile and a clean finish. It has an open mouth feel, no...” Read full tasting note
    73
  • “On the upside, this is a super complex tea. The first steeping has a caramel-like sweetness (not anything close to maple, as the Song site indicates), hints of the coconutty vibe their aged version...” Read full tasting note
    60
  • “I bought this after a tasting of both this and its aged 1992 harvest, assuming this was the lesser of the two because it seemed to have sharper edges. The dry leaves have only a faint scent of...” Read full tasting note
    92

From Song Tea & Ceramics

Since we opened our doors in 2013, we’ve had a stunningly delicious 1992 aged tea in our collection. The 23 year old tea was crafted from a yancha cultivar from China’s Wuyishan. It boasts a complex deliciousness that comes from aging, but also from the innate character and quality of the tea itself.

Each year, the tea maker crafts the tea and set aside most of it for aging, offering only a small quantity for sale fresh. This tea is that fresh stock, picked in late April 2015 from Shan Lin Xi, oxidized, rolled and roasted with care.

This is a mid-oxidized and mid-roasted oolong. The oxidation enhances the natural woodsy florality of this tea, and develops depth and complexity. The roasting sweetens the result, giving the tea delicious caramel and sugar notes.

The texture and finish of this tea is its strongest suit. The leaves brew a tea with an exceptionally focused character. The aroma, texture, and finish of this tea are perfectly defined. Delivering the sweetness of maple, followed by fragrance of aloeswood, and the distinct tang of chicory.

Brewing:
6 grams 150 ml 205° F 2 min

This tea extracts gradually and evenly, so it’s quite easy to control the outcome by just paying attention to steep time. We like to highlight this tea’s range with a faster 1-2 minute first extraction to emphasize its deep maple sugar notes, followed by longer infusions to highlight this tea’s unique florality.

Notes of aloeswood, maple candy, and chicory.

About Song Tea & Ceramics View company

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4 Tasting Notes

87
57 tasting notes

For a key to my rating scale, check out my bio.

Having tasted (and not particularly enjoyed) its 22-year-old aged counterpart, I was pleasantly surprised by this tea. The dry leaves in a hot gaiwan smell exactly like honey mustard kettle chips – so strange! But the flavor is nothing like that. I did not rinse this tea, but the fragrance after the first infusion was very similar to other baked teas from Shan Lin Xi that I have tried. Very comforting mouthfeel (ultra smooth in the early infusions with a medium-thick viscosity). This changes in subsequent infusions, tending toward a mildly (pleasantly) astringent tanginess, like a tieguanyin. The maple notes that Song’s website suggests are definitely present (if you’ve ever tried maple water – water drained from maple trees – it tastes just like that). Slight Wuyi characteristics, not the roasted flavor but the creamy minerality. Turbinado sugar. Aroma in later infusions has the spicy/woody/sweet notes of a Mi Lan Xiang Phoenix Oolong. Subtle spicy floral notes too, like chrysanthemum. Finish is refreshing, long lasting, and really enjoyable – like ultra-fresh grassy milk. Flavor lasted through five infusions for me before fading. Really enjoyable tea, pricey but comforting.

Flavors: Brown Sugar, Cream, Grass, Maple, Mineral, Roasted, Spicy, Tangy, Wood

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 0 min, 30 sec 6 g 6 OZ / 175 ML

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73
16 tasting notes

Steeping method. Traditional gongfu steepings in a gaiwan.

This is a simple, pleasing, comforting oolong with an uncomplicated flavor profile and a clean finish. It has an open mouth feel, no milkiness and very little viscosity even in later, longer steepings.

Toasty, slightly bready aroma on dried leaves with light caramel notes.

Steeped leaves have deeper toasty, oaty, caramel-corn, banana ester and butter-croissant notes to their aroma.

The flavor profile did not evolve or deepen significantly over multiple steepings, and long steepings did not bring out astringency or bitterness. This would be a good Oolong for western steeping methods.

Flavors: Bread, Caramel, Oats, Straw

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 2 min, 0 sec 6 g 5 OZ / 150 ML

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60
39 tasting notes

On the upside, this is a super complex tea. The first steeping has a caramel-like sweetness (not anything close to maple, as the Song site indicates), hints of the coconutty vibe their aged version of the same tea has + a very curious flavor I can only describe as “artificial banana”. Later steepings bring in floral elements, whiskey-like tones, and more woody notes. The downside is that it’s a fairly bitter brew, even when steeped to the letter of Song instructions: 1 minute first steep, 2 minute second, etc.

I’d give this about an 80 were it not for the bitterness and faux banana flavor. But those really knock it down considerably.

Flavors: Caramel, Floral, Whiskey, Wood

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 1 min, 0 sec 6 g 5 OZ / 150 ML

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92
261 tasting notes

I bought this after a tasting of both this and its aged 1992 harvest, assuming this was the lesser of the two because it seemed to have sharper edges. The dry leaves have only a faint scent of malty chocolate, even when warmed.

Skipped rinse.

1st infusion: (1:45)
This infusion, standing alone, merits 95 points. It tastes creamy, rich, and sweet like a baked good (but not too sugary sweet like Song’s Shan Lin Xi Winter Sprout). There are notes of milk chocolate and graham cracker. The texture is insanely smooth, light, delicious yet unpretentious. I can’t wait to try this in an Yixing teapot.

2nd infusion: (2:05)
Smells roasty and comforting, like a malty milky beverage. Less sweet than 1st infusion, but equally smooth.

3rd infusion: (2:15)
Leaves are a beautiful coppery purple-green colour. They smell metallic, but liquor smells milky and buttery.

Flavors: Butter, Chocolate, Graham Cracker, Malt, Milk

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