Miyazaki Sabou MY16: Oolong Tea - Takachiho Single Cultivar

Reviewing this tea as part of the Intermediate course offered by the Global Japanese Tea associate. I’m not sure of what to put this under MY14 or this one but this one seems more fitting. One doesn’t often think of oolong when they think of Japan but if they market this more they will give other countries a run for their money.

I’ve not had a Japanese oolong in a few years so I was excited to try it. I decided to try using a shiboridashi to brew it during our class session. Glad I did. Though I’m sure it would have made an exceptional brew with a kyusu too. The dry leaf is very reminiscent of an oolong with its curled features. The aroma is so lovely. Mineral and fruity with hints of apricot. The wet aroma is gorgeous. Buttery, fruity, and tropical florals and a bit of slight butter. The flavor is high in apricot notes and tropical florals.

Began this tea as a side by side with the Minami Sayako cultivar oolong tea from my last Yunomi tea order. As soon as I tried the teas side by side, I immediately decided to just drink them one by one. They were extremely different, it seemed superfluous to do a side by side for such different teas. this one is a late summer 2022 harvest. The brew was much much lighter than the Minami, more akin to a silver needle brew color – almost silver. The leaves were also much smaller than the Minami, but that might have just been the sample bag. I got bright lemon and heady florals on each steep. this tea is very reminiscent of a Lishan oolong, all flower and no bite. the soup was thinner than I am used to with such a green oolong, but that says nothing on it’s character. I was not as much of a fan of this one as the other oolong.