trumpetsvamp Send Message

I received a free sample pack of this tea and brewed it all up in one go . My general impression is that this is a bare bones, high quality light green oolong tea. That is good because I think it’s very easy to appreciate the round, almost creamy taste that is also easier to get right in comparison with green tea, with its risks of harsh or bitter notes. At times I got a sense of a really interesting milky taste and feel of this tea, but overall it was quite subtle.

I very much prefer this subtlety in comparison with a flavored milk oolong tea though. I love to appreciate the beauty of the tea leaf itself in conjunction with the tea maker’s skill In producing these wonderfully tasty and interesting teas. Adding milk aroma, in my mind, impedes this feeling of appreciating the tea and its culture.

What I miss with this tea is some more complex floral or sweet notes. I recently sampled Teavivre’s Superfine Taiwan Qing Xiang Dong Ding and Superfine Taiwan Ali Shan Oolong Tea, and those teas are just in another league. The base for this milk oolong is fairly similar and there is certainly a general light oolong feel to all these teas. However, where the other teas really shine is in the added flavors that come out, they have these wonderful floral and sweet aromas that leave me mesmerized. It’s an unfair comparison of course, seeing as this tea is much cheaper. Still, I can’t help but to miss those fantastic teas.

Regardless, I’m sure to buy more of this as a really fine base light oolong tea, and I’m especially curious to use it for brewing ice tea in summer.

According to Teavivre this tea was picked in August 1, 2013 so the tea has been sleeping for a long time. So first I breathed on the dry tea to wake it up and was promptly greeted with a milky, interesting smell.
With the tea now awoken I steeped half the 7g free sample pack I received in hot water. Upon sipping my cup I loved the sweet taste, like honey, and how creamy it was. It was perhaps less creamy than the Superfine Taiwan Ali Shan that I also sampled prior, the Qing Xiang Dong Ding I thought had a very subtle “harshness” to it, that i associate more with green tea. Overall, the taste is very kind and forgiving.
After two hot steepings like this I put the wet leaves in a sport shaker with cold water and put it in the fridge. At this point I took the time to appreciate how pretty and large the green leaves had become.
After a few hours cold steeping, I got a luscious ice tea out of the already-used leaves. I’m impressed by how much flavor there is within this oolong tea! The round, sweet and mild taste really lends itself to making ice tea in my opinion, and there is a mild hazelnut taste as an added bonus. Because the leaves are so large, it was really convenient for me to sip on the tea straight out of my shaker without the need to strain the tea. I also got a second similarly heavenly cold brew out of the leaves.
Overall I’m really pleased with this tea, it is now my favorite oolong tea so far. Thank you Teavivre for the free sample!