Thai Mountain Oolong

This is the first of the teas from my epic swap with JustJames. The teas he sent will keep me busy for awhile :) Thank you!

I wasn’t going to break into my latest swap box yet, but I saw this and wanted to compare it side-by-side with the Monkey Picked Oolong from Teavana that I had earlier. At $22 per 2oz it is slightly less expensive than the Monkey Picked, but in my opinion still overpriced for the quality.

Even though I think it is overpriced, I do prefer this over the Monkey Picked. It has a nice creamy floral taste to it that the Monkey Picked did not have. I haven’t had a chance to resteep this yet to see how it holds up so I’ll post some more later when I do.

Edited to note that gummy worms do not pair well with this Oolong… I’m not really sure what I was thinking, must be the confusion over not finding candied fruit in a tea from Teavana. Or it could just be the lack of sleep, hard to tell at this point.

I drank this on the way home from moving my daughter to her first apartment. She has been living with her grandmother for about three years, and it is possible my middle daughter may need to stay with Mima now because she falls, but oldest daughter had a very long commute and needed to move.

There is a Teavana near her new apartment and I have been in a few times. I met a very nice young man working there and gave him some tea for being so nice. He loves tea and there are several people in that shop who communicate their own enthusiasm yet don’t get pushy!

When he saw me today he ran out and gave me a big hug and told me he wanted to make me some tea on the house! Wow! He offered me lots of choices but I told him to pick since I have only had about seven total teas from there. He chose this one, and I am glad!

The aroma was so fruity with a high note that reminded me of grapes – nice, strong scent! It was a stressful day so I was glad of the distraction of such a wonderful aroma. The tea was very smooth with floral and fruity notes. Especially toward the end of the cup as the tea cooled I noticed a slight drying sensation, not a bad thing at all, just very cleansing.

All in all, this was a wonderful cup, sweetened by new friendship and kindness! This was a great tasting oolong. And the service was fantastic. My cup was doubled to keep my hand cool, which I assume they do with all hot teas, and I didn’t taste the cup like I did at Barnes and Noble.

I almost hate to say it, but this tea is delicious. It’s like a cross between a Tie Guan Yin and a milk oolong. It has a creamy, floral, ever-so-slightly vegetal quality. It’s almost as creamy as a milk oolong, but it doesn’t taste buttery or milky. Very smooth and flavorful, and it holds up through multiple infusions. It has sort of a clear, pure quality. Definitely worth checking out if you enjoy green oolongs. I’m going to repurchase it.

This is a general review as in I didn’t drink this tea today (I actually haven’t had anything but traditional medicinals) but I’ve had it several times at work and just last week dropped by I tried this in a blend. I remember when I was all excited for Teavana’s new tea launch and nothing excited me more than two new straight oolongs. I was not however terribly impressed by them and that was before trying non-Teavana oolongs.

Auspicious Ayame seemed like a lesser version of Phoenix Mountain Dan Cong to me and this a slightly less orchid slightly creamy version of Monkey Picked Oolong. I can now make out more differences and have a greater appreciation for both dark and greener oolongs. I also played around with short steeps at work, but now that I have tried some other amazing oolongs, I think this still lacks some complexity.

That being said, last week when writing a review for Teavana’s Detox Blend I had the idea that this would be the ideal oolong to pair with Gyokuro and Silver Needle due to its creamy and less floral nature. I was right, very well suited. But not enough to stock up on it.

Took a big cup of this home with me to enjoy while I relax. (I wore new shoes today and my feet are KILLING ME…. on a side note haha).

Anyways, I’m usually a drinker of green teas, but I’m trying to get into Oolongs. This is one of my first, and I think the very first I’ve actually logged on here, so I don’t have too much to compare it to, but I really like it!

Floral is a great word to use to describe it, but also kind of sweet. It’s very smooth, not at all bitter, and not too soft either (I like my teas to be a bit strong in flavour rather than light). There’s a flavour in it that is really nostalgic to me right now but I can’t figure out what it is.

Anyways, if you want to try a straight oolong with a nice body to it, try this one! I think I still prefer green tea but this cup is definitely getting me to fall a little bit in love with oolong too.

And just another quick note – I love how straight oolongs look, especially after they’ve unfurled in the water. This one is all bundled up as dried but when steeped really opens up to a nice full leaf.

The dry tea leaves are nicely rolled and dark green with a floral and milky creamy (not buttery) scent. The leaves fully unroll into huge dark green and still carry that floral milky creamy scent but I’m also picking up a plum scent on the wet leaves. This tea tastes delicious, it’s floral and creamy but not buttery like a Ti Quan Yin. It also doesn’t have that large and long lasting mouth-feel or buttery aftertaste that a Ti Quan Yin has, and I like it even more because of this. After a few steeps the floral notes fade a bit and the creaminess becomes stronger. The mouth-feel and buttery aftertaste become more apparent too the more it’s steeped, but it’s still not nearly as strong as I find Ti Quan Yin to be. This is a green oolong I found to be quite delicious and more enjoyable than a Ti Quan Yin.

It has light floral aroma like Monkey Picked Oolong, but not as strong. Very smooth and full taste.

Thanks chrimbro for the sample!

I was a bit apprehensive about this because I thought the Monkey-Picked Oolong Christina had sent me was practically tasteless, especially considering how expensive the tea is. This tea is not quite as expensive but still on the steeper side and I would have never bought this on my own.

The flavor was much better than the supposedly “highest quality” Monkey-Picked but IMO not worth the price. I’ve had better oolongs frvom the Asian market that were a fraction of a fraction of the price of this oolong.

However, ignoring the price and value of the oolong given the price, this is a tasty tea. The flavor is not nearly as subtle as I would have liked or expected, but it’s drinkable and pleasantly so.

Great choice! Brews a richer color than a Chinese Tie Guan Yin I had, and is still full of flavor. Almost like a cleansing, refreshing earthy flavor. Something about this tea just “feels right.” Natural way to start the day

I am a dedicated milk tea drinker, but this oolong, an inspired choice by a new friend, may very well sway me back into green and light tea territory. It has a lovely aroma and taste, and is not bitter at all (I did add sugar to my first cup, but drank the following cups straight). It re-steeps fabulously; the tea-person at Teavana assured me this oolong, at a pricey $22.00 per 2 ounces, could re-steep 3 to 4 times with no trouble. And it did!

I’ve now enjoyed five cups of this fabulous Oolong, earthy and light, with a touch of fruit and creamy textures. Very cleansing and comforting!