Medium Roast Osmanthus Oolong

Full Review on www.sororiteasisters.com on Feb 3rd but here are my snippits:

Upon sipping Medium Roast Osmanthus Oolong from The Mountain Tea Company I find it to be surprisingly lighter than I had anticipated. Keep in mind however I love oolong, the darker the better, so maybe its just lighter on my palate.

There are woodsy notes, and even some notes that lean toward a vegetal flavor slightly, but I am not picking up on the sweetness of the osmanthus. I do get the floral aspect of the osmanthus for sure which is lovely, fresh, and delightful. I was hoping for the sweetness from it however.

Now I am a huge fan of The Mountain Tea Company, I repeat, huge fan, but this is not my favorite tea from them. That is not to say it is a bad tea whatsoever! It is quite nice especially if you love floral notes in your oolong. Its not as sweet as some of their teas, nor as complex in my opinion, but what it does deliver it delivers well.

Brewing this in my Taiwanese pear-shaped unglazed purple-clay teapot (paired with a glass cha hai and a bone-china teacup). No scale or thermometer. In-line-filtered municipal (Santa Monica) water, a few moments off the boil from my electric kettle. Roughly a 2.5 hour workday session (my second with this tea).

60 second 1st steep: Pale arylide yellow liquid; gentle floral nose; slightly malty palate with hints of hay.

45 second 2nd steep: Color shifts to marigold; sweet nose with hints of peach and orange blossom; the roast suggests hazelnuts and adds a lingering dryness in the finish with some very low touches of cocoa or coffee (as indicated by Mountain Tea Co) and faded mint at the extreme edges of discernment – perhaps a touch of honey and milk as well, though these perceptions could be artifacts of the creamy mouth-feel.

45 second 3rd steep: Slightly paler – shifting to a Mikado yellow now; the leaves are faintly vegetal and also smell something like ink; the honey/milk flavor resolves to caramel-topped custard. I’ve started seasoning this teapot with dark roast/high fire oolong – if a bit more of that quality had been absorbed, one wonders if the resulting liquor would resemble crème brûlée? It’s not far off now…

60 second 4th steep: Mikado yellow again; aroma/flavor much the same as before; vague hints of cinnamon deep into the aftertaste; osmanthus is subtle but pervasive – I can see how using too much would lead quickly to perfume/soap qualities – but here I think it harmonizes with (while not really accentuating) the floral notes of the tea itself.

75 second 5th steep: Much the same as before – perhaps a little less creamy now with slightly less contribution from the roast; hints of river stones at the back of the finish.

90 second 6th steep: Significantly paler – more of a Stil de grain yellow; leaves have fully unfurled at this point; need to push the leaf more aggressively.

2 minute 7th steep (using near-boiling water now): Stil de grain yellow again; aroma suggests marshmallow; vague citrus note appears – the osmanthus is fading more slowly than the tea ; lighter flavors and mouth-feel overall.

4 minute 8th steep: Color and mouth-feel only just holding; a last gasp of flavor, but the contribution of the roast is greatly diminished and the finish is increasingly floral.

Soft and delightful with a pleasant roast – my second-favorite “flavored” oolong (after Ten Ren’s King’s 409 dark roast oolong with ginseng) thus far.

Another one I got out of curiosity and the description online. Caramel, coffee, and cocoa were the notes that sold me.

Something told me that this was a tea specifically designed for Gongfu. I’ve had it western for comparison later on, but the roasted nutty vegetal character this has hides the natural sweeter notes like honey, caramel, coffee, and cocoa. This is one that you honestly have to master steeping in order to fully enjoy. Gongfu means “skilled art” after all. Also, the water should be between 190-to just under boiling to enjoy.

#1. Rinse that is really a 15 second steep. Creamy, nutty….caramel?

#2. 45 seconds. Nutty, caramel, smooth, light…and even a little bit like coffee. Dig it!

#3. 60 seconds. Not nearly as strong as the first or second steep, but still complex. Maybe toffee, but not quite. Somehow, it reminds me of a Dian Hong.

#4. 80 seconds….over steep at around 2 1/2 minutes. Very forgiving. More floral, but still reminiscent of coffee. Awesome while listening to Linkin Park under thunder.

#5. 6 minutes after incremental checks. Mostly nutty, and kinda like toffee.

Overall, I was surprised and impressed. Much sweeter than I was actually expecting. It was almost exactly what I was looking for when I was painting. I can’t help but wonder now what the regular osmanthus one tastes like…

Anyway, the Gongfu session is easily a 90 for me, but western a 70. Subjective, I know, but one that I really like. Not quite sure who I would recommend this to.