Crane Monk Light Oolong

The oolong tea exudes a captivating aroma, reminiscent of orchid blossoms, while its taste is characterized by a subtle earthiness and a refreshing aftertaste.

It’s been ages since I had a Temple Road oolong. I thought I had left a review for this one but I think it was the other two oolongs I had left reviews for. I already had a tea this morning so this is my second cup. That’s already taking it too far on this diet (especially since it’s the 2nd steep which means 3 cups) but considering the circumstances, it can’t be helped.

I got the news yesterday, my cat has gone totally blind so I feel like I could use a little comfort tea right now. He’s getting around better than I thought but it’s just so sad.

This tea is a light oolong but has a real full bodied taste. Very smooth , sweet & buttery. A nice floral aroma and floral notes too. Honeysuckle come to mind yet I’ve never eaten or tasted honeysuckle. I could drink this tea all day. It’s amazing.

Temple Road kindly sent me this wonderful sample. I really enjoyed their Tiger Monk tea, but I think I might like this one even better. As noted in the name, it’s an oolong on the lighter side, and it has this wonderful honeysuckle flavor. The aroma is fantastic, and, on the third round of steeping, the flavor is still going strong. The leaves are really luxurious-looking, too – this is a rolled oolong that unfurls into huge, dark green leaves. Delicious!

Thank you, Temple Road, for generously sending me a sample! I received in a while ago but I finally have the chance to really sit down with it!

The dry leaf consists of beautifully rolled green leaves, which have a floral aroma. Once they were steeped they took on a dark green color and seemed to have breathed in the water. After four cups, when they were fully unrolled, I could see that the leaf in general consisted of two leaves on a stem. Not one was torn or broken – all were intact.

The first cup and second cups are slightly different, but only so in color in and flavor intensity. When I first steeped the tea, the leaves were barely unrolled. Their scent was floral and a little vegetal, smelling of broccoli. The liquor was a very pale yellow. While it tasted lightly floral, it was full-bodied and creamy. Meanwhile, the liquor of the second cup was slightly darker – a light gold. It was similar aroma and taste, only the floral was much stronger. Additionally, the floral aftertaste lingers much longer on the tongue.

I haven’t had a green oolong in months. This was lovely and refreshing to drink in the early days of spring!

a quick update on this tea because i had a bit more time with the rest of the sample. I brewed about 4 to 5 cups from one scoop of tea leafs. Its a great tea that keeps on giving if you brew it correctly i used shorter steep times then required going with 3 up to 6min with for each cup going up a bit in time with the steeping. It keeps giving a great fresh taste. I was surprised it kept strong for so long, but if you see the size of the leaf’s it might be no surprise!

Anyway if you like green oolongs, try this one

Ah, last night’s eclipse was fantastic. Other than a pretty violent fight with my tripod (I am going to need a new one very soon) and the cold, it was a spectacular showing. I celebrated with a cup of beautifully dark colored Shui Xian to reflect to color of the moon at full eclipse and took some decent photos. Now the weather is turning warm again, and that means tomorrow I am harvesting violets for candied violets. Spring is a very happy time.

Today’s tea is very much in the theme of spring time, Crane Monk Light Oolong by Temple Road is a beautiful green oolong from Shan Lin Xi, Nantou County, Taiwan. I snipped open the sample package and was immediately slammed with intense floral aroma, I am not saying it was overwhelming (because flowers make me happy) but it was incredibly intense! The aroma is an incredibly heady mix of orchids and hyacinth flowers with a sweet honeysuckle quality. The floral aroma fades to green vegetation and chestnuts, and from that we have a finish of honeyed bread. The aroma is one of the most intensely floral aromas I have experienced from an Oolong, it is fantastic, the other notes are great as well, but that floral intensity really steals the show.

I tossed my leaves into the gaiwan for a nice steeping (after what seems like an eternity of sniffing) and when I lifted the lid I was again greeted by incredible floral. Hello orchids, hyachinth, honeysuckle, and gardenia. There is a bouquet of flowers and their accompaniment of green vegetation in my gaiwan. There is also a creamy quality to the aroma that gives it a heaviness along with headiness. The liquid is very heady, primarily orchid with a hint of orange blossom and vegetation. It is one of those teas that smells like nature, and that makes me immensely happy.

For the first steep, well, give me a moment I need to come up with words that are not just a pile of inarticulate yummy noises. Sometimes I am not dignified when I am sipping a really good tea. The initial taste is incredibly sweet and floral, orangeblossoms and honeysuckles with rich leafy notes. It tastes like what a conservatory smells like, blending flowers, vegetation, and a heavy warmth that makes you never want to leave. The mouthfeel is buttery smooth and thick, I think I could get lost in this tea.

Second steep time! The aroma is still intensely sweet and heady, also creamy and freshly green. I really enjoy how complex the aroma of the liquid is. FLAVOR MOUTH EXPLOSION! So much intensity, no longer articulate at all. Ben, had to come see what the maniacal laughter was about since I was enjoying myself so much I turned into a super-villain. The intense floral flavor from the previous steep remains, the vegetation (the website decribes it as alpine, a term which I love and agree with!) taste is much stronger, and it is joined with a nice juicy pear. The mouthfeel is still very creamy, a pleasant surprise! Usually with oolongs that have a strong green presence I find the mouthfeel to be sharper, so this is quite unique.

Ok, try to regain some composure for steep number three, because you all know I couldn’t stop there. The aroma has calmed a bit, still intense orchid and gardenia with a bit of vegetation. The taste this time is more vegetal and green, a bit of spinach and sage with copious amounts of fresh vegetation. This flows to a delicate sweet floral, it is not as sweet as the previous steep, but the subtle sweetness lingers and is refreshing. Well, Temple Road, you have blown my mind with yet another tea, well done!

For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2014/04/temple-road-tea-crane-monk-light-oolong.html

Hopefully I am really the first to review this and I didn’t just create a new tea page for this one! I received a sample of this from the folks at Temple Road. Thank you so much for the generous sample.

The sample came in a vacuum sealed package with detailed steeping instructions. Very impressive packaging!

I am more of a roasty toasty oolong fan The more green oolongs aren’t as high on my list , but this tea might have me digging into some of my green oolongs again. This is a silky smooth,, creamy mouthful. It has sweet vegetal notes with a hint of mint at the finish of the sip. It reminds me of the milk oolong from Gon Fu tea, but I would have to try them next to each other to be sure since it has been awhile.

I want to make a note that my rating value is based on my preference to purchase/repurchase a tea.