Jade Oolong

smells like matcha powder and tastes like a mild green tea without the grassy taste. actually it does smell a little barnyardish, but the taste is very much clean and sweet. i like this oolong because it is a light oolong with great aroma, flavor, color (it steeps up bright green), and taste. but if you are looking for an oolong with special character to it (ie, toasty notes, floral notes, creamy notes, etc) then this isn’t going to be memorable for you. however, i like matcha, so for me, this is a winner, so there you go.

This is a TeaSource tea I have been drinking for awhile now. I like it very much, both due to it’s taste and low price. It is about $10 for 4 oz. This is an everyday tea for me when I have the time for all 6 steepings. I brew this tea using 3g of leaves in 6 oz of 190ºF water with a quick rinse and at 3 mins for steepings one through five, 4 mins and 30 sec for steeping six. I steep this tea in a yixing teapot I have devoted specifically to Tie Guan Yins.

The beautifully and densely rolled dry leaves have the most wonderful fruity scent with just a slight hint of a springy grassiness. The liquor is a clear golden-yellow and has a calming fruity-floral smell. The silky tea liquor tastes sweet and fruity with a subtle grassy aftertaste and every so slight astringency.

The description on the package says: “This is the classic Taiwanese oolong: wonderfully aromatic, smooth, silky, slightly sweet, and floral. Made from the Jin Suang cultivar, this tea is enjoyed all over the island.” We tried a Jade Oolong from Adagio that by and large we liked, even if not a favorite. My aunt frankly hated this one from TeaSource, and that’s not a word she has used before for Oolongs. She said she rushed drinking it to get it over with. I wouldn’t say I feel as strongly, but like her this isn’t one I’d order again. It had almost a fishy smell to me, and it’s a lot more astringent and mineraly-than the Jade Oolong from Adagio—a disappointment.