This is one of those elusive teas that I feel I don’t have the right words to describe. It is a bit like a cross between Dong Ding and high mountain Jade oolong. One thing is for sure though, I like it a lot!
The aroma has a lot going on, but I really can’t place it. There are some notes of pastries and stone fruits, but that’s far from a complete list. Taste starts off vegetal, grassy, and bitter with a very sweet finish. There is a nice short-lasting astringent bite and flavours such as butter, flowers, apple, peach. Aftertaste is more floral and has notes of forest floor and pine as well as a long-lasting sweetness. As derk mentioned, there is also a strong menthol quality in late steeps. I also got a bit of a fenugreek flavour, not unlike the one you get from some wild Taiwanese varietals.
The mouthfeel is thick, oily, soft, and slightly numbing with a throat-cooling quality – this tea certainly doesn’t lack in the texture department. It is also very calming and body-warming and makes me sweat a bit. A final point to note is that it lasts a long time, I can easily get 200ml/g from it, and if pushed, even quite a bit more.
Flavors: Apple, Bitter, Butter, Floral, Flowers, Forest Floor, Grass, Menthol, Pastries, Peach, Pine, Stonefruit, Sweet, Thick, Vegetal
Sounds like the roast doesn’t overwhelm this oolong.
Oh my gosh, I’m so glad to see another note for this tea! I think it was a one-time offer when I bought it several years ago. I was so enamored with it that I bought an extra 50g bag to store sealed. I see it every now and then when rooting through my oolong box and it always makes me smile. The time to open the tomb will come.
:)
My packet was sealed and hidden in a dark cool place, which, I suppose is the reason that is tastes so fresh and lovely. But damn, this a very lovely tea.
If I had tasted it immediately, I also would have picked up more too. Oh well. I don’t need to have ALL the teas. Immediately, anyway. :)
Seems you and I have similar tastes in terms of what we find to be fabulous.
Someday we’ll have to share teas in person :)
That would be awesome and I would love that.
That said, I am out of commission for swaps because for the past couple of years, I cannot commit to any sustained effort. Health and other things have been a challenge and I don’t want to disappoint anyone, or myself, for that matter. Likewise, I can’t take on extra stress and/or additional commitments.Hope that doesn’t sound too crazy. That’s just the way things are at the mo. Hopefully not forever.
No worries, the last thing I want is to impose. Be well <3
No imposition at all. Thank you for hearing me. And you too. <3