Indonesia Harendong #12 'Jin Xuan' Oolong Tea

This winter weather is killing me. It’s been up and down (mostly down) here for the past three weeks. Over that span of time, it has gone from sunny and warm, to bitterly cold and damp, back to sunny and warm, then to cool and wet, and now back to bitterly cold and damp. Naturally, it’s supposed to warm back up again in like three or four days. At this point, I’m guessing that my sinuses are going to keep going crazy all winter regardless of what I do, so expect me to keep whining about them for at least the next two months. I hope I’m wrong about that. Anyway, I finished the last of a sample pouch of this tea earlier in the day. My opinion of unflavored Jin Xuans has started to slip over the course of the past year, but I ended up enjoying this one more than I anticipated.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a very quick rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 194 F water for 7 seconds. This infusion was chased by 12 subsequent infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 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, I detected aromas of cream, butter, and grass coming from the dry tea leaves. After the rinse, I found emerging scents of sugarcane and vanilla. The first proper infusion brought out daylily and some stronger grassier and vegetal aromas. In the mouth, the liquor offered notes of cream, butter, and grass accompanied by hints of spinach and sugarcane. Subsequent infusions brought out impressions of cantaloupe, coriander, orchid, green apple, minerals, and something along the lines of lilac. I also noted stronger spinach and sugarcane notes as well as belatedly emerging vanilla, daylily blossom, and daylily shoot flavors in the mouth. The later infusions were mostly dominated by mineral, cream, grass, spinach, and daylily shoot notes with faint underpinnings of orchid, vanilla, and sugarcane.

Not a particularly dynamic or deep tea, but very drinkable and pleasant nonetheless, I enjoyed this tea’s fresh vegetal qualities and subtle floral, fruity sweetness. I did not find it to be as buttery or creamy as some of the other Jin Xuans I have tried, but that did not detract much from the overall drinking experience. This was definitely worth a try. I continue to be impressed by the Indonesian teas What-Cha sources.

This is one of the better Jin Xuans I’ve had, or one of the fruitier ones in the least. The dry leaf smell is also fruity, kinda like fruit loops cereal. I’m having a hard time picking out the fruit-so far I’ve got honeydew, maybe kiwi though not that tart, or peach. Honeydew is probably more precise. I’ll come back to it. The fruit loop general tropical fruitiness is the most accurate.

Since the tea is as light as the other review described, going a little heavier in the leafs was better-at about 5 grams. I started off with 45 sec, and first steep was creamy, slightly floral, and fruity. Every steep is lightly sweet. The second steep was closer to 50 sec, and it was a little drier that I expected-making me think of dry oats-then it immediately goes to being a little green and then again fruity. This tea does not have a strong grassy presence that a lot of Jin Xuans have, but when there is grass, it is more floral and definitely fresher. I’m digging this aspect. It can be difficult to find a light oolong that is not too grassy and not too delicate. This tea leans towards the delicate side, but the present fruitiness makes me like it.

More to come…and much of the same thing. This tea has some decent strength for three more steeps, but the profile was generally there. Steep five had a high point of fruity strength that I did not expect. There is strength for a seventh brew, but it would have to sit for a while.

I am fairly impressed with this tea. I was not a huge fan of the first Indonesian tea I tried, but the Baozhong and this tea have changed my mind. I actually liked this one a little more than a few Chinese and Taiwan Jin Xuan’s I’ve had in the past because of its fruitiness and its light sweetness. The only downside is that it needs longer steeping times or more leaves to shine. I am so glad to have a sample before it sold out, though.

I do recommend this tea generally, but I do not know who exactly would be drawn to it. It is very easy to drink, so it is approachable for a newbie, but it has enough nuance for a more experienced drinker to try. I’m not sure if it would leave an impression, except for the fact that it is a good Jin Xuan from Indonesia. I’d hope it expand someone’s sense of geography in the very least.

A light, mild, fragrant tea. Light but fruity and a little bit sweet. Very nice.