High Mountain Ali Shan 2014

This was light, floral, and yummy.

I tend to always enjoy a well balanced light rolled oolong that is accented by it’s floral notes and not over ran by them which this did not do so it’s good to me :)

This is delicious – it is very creamy, with a hint of floral. I gave the second steep to my aunt who has never consumed an oolong in her life, and she was very impressed. It was her first cup of non-teabag-dust tea, actually. I think this one made a very nice first impression. This one is right up my alley too, and it is clear there are lots of steeps left in it.

This tea tea was sortof a let down for me. I usually don’t read the reviews before I finish my tasting notes, but this one was so subtle I needed to cheat some!

On the first infusion I did get a soft creaminess, as well as some faint vegetal (bok choy?).

However the tea really never developed for me. That was it.

I would be up for trying teas from Tearroir again, but their prices certainly need to come down some. I would not describe this as “the best teas on earth”.

New Ranking System
Taste = 69
Representation = 75
Price = 52

Score = 69

Backlog:

In my full-length review of this tea – http://sororiteasisters.com/2014/05/27/2014-high-mountain-ali-shan-oolong-from-tearroir/ – I pose the question, what’s better than an Alishan Oolong? A freshly harvested Alishan Oolong … which this is!

I loved this tea. Oolong are my favorite tea (second only to Yellow Tea) and Alishan is my favorite Oolong, so I guess to say that I loved this tea is sort of unnecessary, right? It was lovely with it’s velvet-y buttery notes, floral tones and hints of vegetation.

Absolutely lovely!

This is a nice tea to drink in the afternoon or evening. It is light and very floral. Refreshing and a good choice for spring or summer.

Whaaaat? You know I’ve been embarrassed to say that “All Oolongs taste alike to me.” Well never mind. Because THIS oolong is niiiice. Oh darling, I’m so happy now. Sweet like a flower, no sharp edges, bursting round flavor! I can tell it’s an oolong, but it sings a little more vibrantly than your average oolong-joe. Me likey.

Packet 1 of 2 from the most recent Steepster Select box.

I was unsure this would be good after watching it steep and comparing it to the instruction on the packet – 1.5 minutes and it was still pretty light in color.

The scent reminds me of Milk Oolong, and it mentioned being milky and floral, so I tried it as a latte first – good, but a little insubstantial.

Second steeping, I’m having it without milk and it’s been steeping awhile – better, but not spectacular to me. I’ll try the second packet in a gaiwan, I think, when I have time to spare.

I was impressed by the first steeping of this oolong, where I found delicate creamy flavors with traces of honey and fruit, but I was hoping to find more complexity In the later brews. Sadly, and probably due to user error, I found only green notes and astringent flavors that completely washed out the sweetness and creamy texture. I am eager to give the tea another try and be more careful about brewing temperature and time, but for now I stand disappointed by a predictable tea. 6/10, hope to adjust this rating later.

5/24/14

Chiayi County, Taiwan
I love the 195F temp for this Oolong, it is a really good one.
Dry leaves are spring yellow and green colored little pellets with their stems. They have scents of cream and honeysuckle.
Wet leaves unravel to be very green spinach color, I don’t think I have had such a new Oolong and you can definitely tell the difference. This 2014 is fresh and really bright green when the leaves unravel. They smell like honeysuckle as well.
Liquor is very light clear pearl color but these leaves are still tightly rolled,,they are definitely getting resteeped after this.
Scent is a consistent honeysuckle and cream.
Flavor is smooth, creamy, honeysuckle. Very Very good Oolong!!!!! I love that this tastes like honeysuckle which is not overly floral or perfumy to me. I remember tasting honeysuckle flowers as a kid.

2nd steeping – Leaves have really unraveled now and the liquor is a deeper yet still clear spring-green color with stronger scents and flavors of honeysuckle and cream.
These leaves can definitely go for a few more steeps too. Package says total of 5.

From the Steepster Select Box; May, 2014

Very nice, used the two sample pckets and brewed for 1:15 for the first then 40 seconds there after making for a rich brew of buttery oolong goodness. Waiting for all my purveyors to return from there tea buying trips so I can get full steam ahead into the 2014 crop.