Royal Phoenix Oolong

I am trying to not let myself get sucked in to the world of expensive, gourmet tea. Seeking out cheaper alternatives is a must have. I am very impressed with this. I’m not gonna lie to you and tell you I heard angels singing or the earth moved but this is an excellent value for the price ($4.00/oz as of today’s writing).

I steeped it for 2 minutes and used near boiling water with about 2 tsb of leaf and 10 oz of water. The website said to use fairly hot water in order to bring out the flavors. Very pleasant nectarine and peach flavors are coming through here. Not a trace of bitterness at all which can sometimes be a problem with these darker oolongs. Perfect for daily drinking…

Very tasty tea that seems to be happier at a higher water temp – it has a clearer taste. It’s very bright and grape-y and tartly sweet. It reminds me a lot of a Darjeeling but without any astringency. And makes me want grapes.

I still don’t remember who sent me this in a swap but I still love it! It is one of the first “dark” oolongs I’ve really enjoyed. It is so floral and fruity! I only have one cup of it left which makes me sad…HOWEVER, I got an email from Angel at Teavivre this morning that I won the Oolong Sampler Assortment giveaway! YAY!!!! :D

With the recent purchase of amazing apricot and plum jams this oolong will get a lot of love this week. Today it was showered with seven cups worth and the eighth is steeping along now. I tried it at 200 F today for the first few and it came out very much like a toasty TGY with a dollop of peach preserves. I dropped the temperature to 190 and it swung back to light nectarine with plum in the background. It’s so easy to pair this oolong with a certain fruit or be careless and let it run wild while multitasking.
Ah! There’s the timer.

So. Good.

I really like this flavor profile.

It reminds me very much of Royal Garland, the ‘white oolong’ (okay, my term for it, but it’s actually fairly accurate, as it turns out) from Samovar that I adore. The leaves look very different, of course, as they’re not white buds processed as oolong; I assume they’re leaves…they lack the fuzzy yarn look of the Royal Garland.

It has that sweet, fruity, tropically awesome taste though, and the aroma is so juicy and inviting. Roasted pineapple and plantains, nectarines, a bit of darjeeling-esque muscatel that doesn’t seem as sharp or bitter, no astringency. I loved this assembly of flavors in the Garland, and I loved it (even faint as it was) in the Tankha I bought, and it’s no surprise that I love it here.

The description suggests very little leaf and longer steeping times, but based on Ricky’s tasting notes for Phoenix Oolong and his experiences with finicky leaves, I decided to err on the side of caution and use more leaf at a very short steep time. Thirty seconds seems like hardly enough time to steep tea leaves to me — I’m so used to black teas — but the resulting cup doesn’t lack for flavor in the least.

I’m very much looking forward to playing with this one.

Special thanks to Mercuryhime for this one!

This is very much like…AUTUMN…it has a roasty type taste too it…reminiscent of fall leaves. I can also pick up something that resembles peach – a natural note not an actual FLAVOR. This is pretty good! Especially if you are into the charcoal-esque oolongs! Thumbs up!

While not a favorite, this is a nice dark oolong. Definitely some fruity flavors coming through, primarily nectarine and plantain. It’s not as sweet as peaches, and is definitely on the greener side of the fruits I tasted. Definitely a roasty element, that doesn’t taste like smoke, but more like crunchy fall leaves. It’s a very flavorful and warming cup.

Thanks Shelley_Lorraine.

After reading the positive reviews for this tea, I just had to try it. GiggleGoddess was kind enough to share a sample with me. But oh gee, is it NOT the tea for me. I don’t know what dimension everyone else tastebuds are lingering in, but this tastes like noxious weeds and I dunno, sugar snap peas maybe? Whatever it is, it made me feel sick after two sips and I had to dump it. Fortunately, it had no bad aftertaste so I was able to overcome the queasy feeling quickly. Not every tea can be a winner. :)

The leaves are dark and straight. They’re like little 1" twigs.

The brewed leaves smell like…wet fallen leaves…? I’m not sure what it is, but it smells like something natural and woodsy.

First steep was pretty mild and dark tasting. It was pleasant and tasted of stone fruits. 2nd steep was very apricot-y. I had to take a few sips to figure out the other flavors. Mint, anise and campfire. As much as I love the smell of a campfire, I don’t think I like the taste of one. I have never before tasted these things in an oolong. It’s very earthy and well oxidized. These flavors continue into the 4th steep except the minty character. That’s gone now. I’m really not digging the anise and earthy aspect. Normally, earthy is ok, but this is intensely earthy. It’s also very fruity, but the other flavors stand out more to me. I’m sure there are many steeps left in these leaves, but I’m done with it. I kept steeping out of curiosity, but I’m really not enjoying this tea.
Am I brewing this wrong? Everyone else seems to like it.

I’m smelling the bottom of my cup now and it really smells like autumn in the woods with a campfire in the distance. It smells fabulous because I love autumn, woods and campfires, but those are not three things I’d like to eat. hmm…

I’m learning a lot about oolong these days. I’ve always liked oolong, but I never had more than a few different kinds. Thank you Batrachoid, for expanding my education with your generous sample.

Personally I like this better than Jing Tea Shop’s Mi Lan Dan Cong. Maybe they’re not exactly the same kind of tea though. This one had a lot more flavor!