Winter Essence - Taiwan Premium High Mountain Oolong

Winter essence. By xin mu cha tea review

Ru Yao dragon teapot, gongfucha.

Dry leaf: fruity (unknown), sweet.
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Wet leaf: asparagus, green, floral, sweet, roses, fruity (peach).
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1x medium rinse

Light steep: I taste/smell; slight roses. Light —→ green, asparagus, floral, fruity (peaches) seaweed, wet wood.
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Medium steep: I taste/smell; light roses. Medium —→ green, asparagus, floral, fruity (peaches and berries), seaweed, wet wood.

Heavy steep: I taste/smell; slight —> roses, seaweed. Medium -→ fruity (peaches and berries). Strong —→ floral, green, wet wood

All in all, this is an amazing tea! The smell, taste and cha qi! Lovely! I rate a 100

a note from sean:

Growing from Li Shan, the middle high mountain area of Taiwan, where the altitude is about 2,400m. This area is the top premium high mountain tea growing place in Taiwan. Our winter essence oolong tea not only has the extremely smooth soft texture, but also layer upon layer floral fruity after taste strike in the throat. This is our top premium and very limited batch of high mountain Li Shan oolong tea.

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Today is another offering from Xin Mu Cha, their Winter Essence – Taiwan Premium High Mountain Oolong, an Oolong from Fu Shou Shan, a mountain in the Lishan Range, and made from the Qing-Xing Cultivar. Opening the pouch for this tea is quite the treat, a real powerhouse aroma that instantly greeted my nose. Blending floral and sweet nutty notes, I detected honeysuckle, chestnuts, sesame seeds, sugar cane, and a sweet baked cake note that ended with wonderful sweetness. The only real floral note I got was honeysuckle, and I am totally ok with that because fun fact, it is one of my favorite flowers to sniff.

Gaiwan time, and wow, the leaves are much richer this time around, not only are there notes of honeysuckles, but it is joined with orchid and hyacinth. It smells much like nectar with a sweet sugar cane undertone and a hint of chestnuts. The liquid is buttery sweet nectar, it smells thick and rich with heady tones of honeysuckle, hyacinth, lilac and orchid. The name of this tea is Winter Essence, but it smells like the height of spring time.

The first steep kinda stole my heart, not through taste or aroma, but through the amazing mouthfeel. Smooth and supple, like liquid silk, it coats the mouth but is gentle with it. I honestly was so wrapped up in the mouthfeel I almost forgot to pay attention to how the tea tastes! I did, however finally pay attention, I was greeted with notes of sweet peas and sugar cane, apple pears and butter head lettuce, and the finish, well, it is a lingering mouthful of honeysuckle nectar.

Second steeping, and the aroma is very floral, strong notes of hyacinth and lilac blend with honeysuckles and a touch of spicy lilies. Along side this sweet floral nectar is a green blend of lettuce and fresh spinach, tying the green into the flowers. Again, the mouthfeel of this tea is the real show stealer, thick and supple, it really has quite the presence. The taste is very light, similar to the first steep but with a slightly greener and buttery tone to it.

Third steeping’s aroma is still floral, with the same flowers as before, but at the end it kinda explodes into orchid, it was one of those ‘did I just stick my nose in a flower’ moments, catching myself before I dipped my nose in the tea thankfully. That mouthfeel keeps blowing me away, it is so thick and silky, supple and bordering on oily, it is dense and I found myself wanting to take big gulps of it rather than sipping. The taste is still light and sweet, with a pretty even balance of green lettuce and sweet floral. I kept this tea going for nine steeps, the taste never really gets strong, but that mouthfeel was so intense I find myself relieved that it was not overwhelming, I might have fainted away into a tea fugue!

For photos and blog: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2016/01/xin-mu-cha-winter-essence-taiwan.html