Nepal Silver Oolong Tea

Just a sample from Alistair, so a sip down of sorts. Nepal had me doubtful, but oolong got me excited… and meh. A fine example of the cultivar, but the leading flavor of linalool oxide in Darjeeling just doesn’t really do it for me. Oolong processing didn’t add anything substantial that I could pick out. I should maybe start trying to pair teas from this region with food, as I find them kind of tiresome standing alone.

Spring 2018 harvest

This tea feels like summer in this region of California, maybe an hour north at a friend’s place in Hopland where it’s hotter and drier. Early afternoon, sitting in the shade of a large, gnarled oak, looking out from the mountainside, the remnants of a recent grass fire on the mountain opposite, sun-scorched fragrant wood and crunchy oak leaves lying in the dry grasses at my feet.

A full, slick body with light honeyed pear sweetness carried on the breeze. Almost floral with hints of citrus blossoms. Hops and grapefruit zest, mineral water, hints of muscatel and woody almonds from the vineyards and plantations in the valley below. Aftertaste is smokey-savory, at first paired with florals that later turn fruity. Kind of like grilled pork with a blackened peach glaze.

The tea is a bit drying but leaves a thick, oily coating on the tongue. Pleasant menthol cooling in mouth and chest. Spicy in a woody way. Clean and cleansing. It’s a beautiful tea.

Thank you to Crow-Kettle for a sample of this!

I decided to use the whole 2 tbs because I’m going all out in my quest to use up all the caffeinated teas in my cupboard.

This tastes more like a white tea than any oolong I’ve tried. Think dried autumn leaves (that sweet smell that comes with it), tannin, a dry mouthfeel, but fairly pleasant sweet flavour. I did find it got bitter easily, and I disliked the drying effect in my mouth, but I enjoyed the flavours I got from it. Kind of vegetal, hay, honey.

After being extremely impressed by What-Cha’s Nepal Jun Chiyabari ‘Himalayan Bouquet’ Oolong, I just had to try this one. Unfortunately, I have been a bit under the weather lately due to seasonal allergies, so I had to work somewhat harder to pick up individual aroma and flavor components than usual. Still, I was able to get a great deal out of this tea.

I gongfued this tea. After a very brief rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 176 F water for 5 seconds. This infusion was followed by 13 subsequent infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 7 seconds, 10 seconds, 15 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, and 3 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves emitted aromas of citrus, fresh flowers, grass, butter, Muscatel, and wood. The rinse brought out touches of almond, malt, straw, and herbs. The first infusion produced a near identical bouquet, though I was able to pick up a hint of honey. In the mouth, I detected notes of butter, malt, almond, grass, wood, and Muscatel underscored by citrus and flowers. Subsequent infusions saw the honey appear on the nose and in the mouth, while the melange of flowers separated somewhat, allowing me to pick out scents and flavors of elderflower, violet, orange blossom, and rose. I also began to get distinct impressions of lemon zest, candied grapefruit, and candied orange peel. Aromas and flavors of baked bread, minerals, lemongrass, pear, nutmeg, pine, menthol, and noble hops (Spalt and/or Tettnanger, perhaps?) appeared around this time too. The later infusions were very mild, offering lingering impressions of minerals, straw, grass, malt, and herbs underscored by fleeting notes of candied citrus, butter, and flowers.

Simultaneously complex and easy-drinking, this was one of the funnest, most intriguing, and most satisfying teas I have tried in awhile. This tea definitely lived up to the hype. It should please new and experienced oolong drinkers alike.

Glad i have more of this from crowkettle to have later. Busy verdict – i like it! It’s not too green oolongy and has a really nice finish to it. I’d call it slightly floral but i wouldn’t want to scare those of us who don’t love floral away. :)

I’m winding down with a gongfu session for the evening. I’m currently craving a 1st Flush Darjeeling, but since I don’t have any this does well in a pinch!

Tonight I’m getting the usual smooth cup with orange/grapefruit tang, but also some juicy pear and cucumber notes I didn’t notice before. It’s slightly more floral than I remember it being. It’s also almost.. smoky? But not quite. Hop-like notes linger on the tongue. The citrusy profile makes it a deceivingly good palate-cleanser!

Steep Count: 4 (plus 1 1/2 of the western steeped mug my mother didn’t finish. Not wasting this tea).

Liquid Colour: soft pastel yellow (gongfu) to vibrant sunshine yellow (western)

(2016 Harvest)

The dry leaf of this tea smells melon fruity delicious. Tossing the leaves into a warm gaiwan, I notice a wet hay smell that I typically associate with silver needle and bai mu dan teas.

The first steep (20s at 175F) brews up a little bit lighter in color than a shou mei. It’s delicious and thick with notes of sweet citrus and spices. I notice a little bit of bitterness on the finish that I think could have been avoided by cutting this first steep down to 15s. This is the bottom of my sample bag as well so I think some of the broken leaves probably contributed to that.

It’s hard to believe that this tea isn’t scented or flavored in any way (I mean that in a good way). The citrus flavor is so obvious and sweet.

This tea continues to be delicious in subsequent steeps despite my accidental overbrewing. Note to anyone who reads this comment before trying this tea for the first time – use lighter parameters than you normally would for a strip oolong. I would start at 15s followed by 10s, 10s, 15s, 20s, etc.

Thank you again hawkband1! Yet another one I was curious yet hesitant about, but the notes pretty much describe it. This was a slightly drying, floral, grape-y tea with a darker malt background. It actually reminded me of eating Satay Chicken with peanut and cucumber sauces.

If I were to taste it blind, I would think it was either a Darjeeling white or first flush young black. Again, drying, sweet, floral, citrusy, and a little bit bitter. Tannin is a good way to describe it, which is also why it made me think of a black. Then again, some Darjeelings and Nepalese are closer in oxidation to oolongs than average blacks. It was similar to the Nepalese pearl that I had from What-Cha, but again, I would not be able to tell this was a oolong. Nepal needs some more love though.

I really liked this one, but I’m not sure I’d want to own an amount of it. I still prefer the blacks more than the oolongs from this region, but this was still an excellent tea because of its first flush like qualities in a lighter body.

Soft tannins and citric fruitiness with a somewhat candied note that transitions to lemon blossom in the aftertaste. This tea has a dryness to it, but also packs quite a punch of flavor.

Appearance- silvery green twisty leaves. Smell malt and hay, fresh. This year’s tea. 2tsp, 8oz, westren. Lazy today.
Taste- green, fruity with citrus finish. Got fruitier as it cooled. Fruit lingered in aftertaste. Subtle. If I hadn’t been paying attention I’d have lost the flavor. Coating and thick. Flavor fairly consistent throughout all 5 steepings. Enjoyed this tea a lot. 89
I’ll be interested to see what comes out of brewing gong fu. Going to cold brew spent leaves now.