Formosa Oolong Fine Grade (TT15)

Today is a nice day to try out some oolongs. It’s overcast and cool. I love this weather. It was pretty warm here yesterday. I’d say the warmest day so far this summer. I’m glad to see it cool off again.

This is a very comfortable feeling tea, so relaxing. I feel like my body is unwinding. That’s interesting. I’ve not come across a tea that will cause stress to leak out of my muscles but that’s how I’d label this. Maybe I’m just in this sort of mood, but I’m going to blame the tea this time.

It reminds me of dry grass, clover and hot rocks. If you made your own sauna in the back yard this is close to what you’d smell I think. I’m also reminded of the hot springs we used to find all over Nevada. They have a hot mineral smell too.

Last time I brewed this, I brewed a pot of it, the day after using the pot for peppermint tea. I thought this tea tasted minty, but blamed it on the sullied pot and made a mental note not to brew mint in it again.

Well, I just brewed it in an utterly mint-free infuser and it still has this little undercurrent of menthol that stays on your tongue and tingles your lips. It certainly isn’t bad, but it is unusual- for me at least, I’m an oolong newbie. (And a convert, this is a nice alternative to black or green.)

Is this normal for an oolong, unusual but not unheard of, or is my oolong contaminated?

Today was another long day in the laboratory. I was excited to come home to some new teaware. I received the Tea Forte Kati double walled ceramic tea brewing cup-thing. I decided to make some oolong and this came to mind.
It tastes like lentils and that’s all I have to say.

Sipdown no. 12 of March 2019 (no. 47 of 2019 total, no. 535 grand total).

This was the very first loose leaf tea I experimented with after I joined Steepster 9 years ago. So it’s a nostalgic moment to sip it down.

I took this to work last week. After all this time, it’s still a solid, though basic, dark oolong.

The last tea I’ve tried of the oolong sampler, as well as my Upton order. This is a pleasant but unsurprising finish. It tastes very similar to the Formosa Jade Oolong. With repeated drinking I’ll probably be able to pinpoint the differences, but right now it’s what they have in common that really stands out: that wonderful honey flavor.

While all the other teas in the sampler had those lovely rolled leaves, in this one they’re chopped up for some reason. I’m still not sure how chopping/rolling effects tea flavor. So far I’ve only steeped this once, so we’ll see if it holds up as well as the rolled leaves did.

This is the first time I’ve ordered anything from Upton. Though their customer service was very good, in many ways I found the teas unimpressive. Flavored teas, in particular, don’t seem to be their strength — I always felt there was something artificial about them. The unflavored teas were better but (and this may largely be due to my inexperience – I didn’t know what to buy) I didn’t end up with anything that I just loved (though I did try some pretty interesting stuff. I’m looking at you, Moonlight White).

The oolongs were the best of the lot by far. While I’ve had (pricier) oolongs that I’ve liked better, Upton’s were all quite nice and even on my slender budget, are affordable enough to drink everyday, which I quite appreciate.

My first words after tasting this tea for the first time were “wow, that’s good.” It’s a bit earthy, but has an almost sweet or mint-like aftertaste. Medium-bodied, with a smooth texture. I like to almost slurp it, because I think that pulls out more of its earthy tones that I love in a good oolong.

I got this in a sampler pack, and I have a sneaky suspicion that this will become a staple in my cupboard.

Update: I tried this at 185 degrees for 3:30 and I believe it was much better. More earthy (which I love) and a bit thicker.

Pretty roasty, earthy, and woody tasting. As it cools I’m getting some coffee like notes. A lot of times I like my teas cooler, but prefer this one nice and hot.

Got this from JacquelineM Thanks! This oolong brews up to a pretty ambery red color. The smell is like a roasted tea smell more of the roasty smell than actual tea but you do smell the vegetal notes as well.
It’s a basic oolong and as I have been drinking so many flavored teas lately this one just isn’t doing it for me. Don’t get me wrong it’s not bad it’s just plain, it is a great intro into oolongs but I prefer silky, milky oolongs. The flavor in this one is not weak by any means in fact it is strong it’s not a bad tea I am just not finding alot to add to the other tasting notes here.

4 gm tea, 8 oz water 190F, 2-8 min, steeped 5 times. I like this one more than most dark oolongs I’ve sampled. That it’s not too costly is a factor. The flavor is rich and well-integrated. No single one jumps out at me, but the effect is deep and satisfying. It’s going on shopping list; may buy, after tasting one other sample I’ve received.