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I just lost this note when my tablet froze and reset itself grrr.

This is a lovely tea!

In celebration of their upcoming launch on March 1st, I decided to spend time with the samples that Tea Ave scent to me. Thank you very much! They were beautifully presented and the teaware will be much loved. I decided to try the Magnolia oolong first as Jasmine is a bed-time tea for me and I have more time to dedicate to the Lishan tomorrow.

This tea is traditionally scented and uses Alishan Jin Xuan grown at 1200m altitude as it’s base tea. I like Jin Xuan but I prefer when they are on the fruitier side versus the milkier side. This one appears to be more fruity so I am happy.

I used less leaf than the 8g recommended because I usually prefer to under leaf green Oolong’s. I find that it tends to minimize the vegetal flavours and maximized the floral notes which I love. I used 4.5g of tea which covered the bottom of my 120ml gaiwan.

the dry leaf’s scent was fruity and fresh with fruit and floral notes, as well as hints of second cut hay ( alfalfa) mixed with clover and a hint of something that reminds me of jube jubes.

The leaves were mostly a darker green that was slightly muddied but not quite olive. They were tightly rolled with some stems visible. The tea also included some strips of dark brown which I assume are bits of Magnolia flowers.

After a sixty second steep at boiling the tea yielded a scent that was soft, floral and warm. It was slightly candy like and reminded me of the sugary smell of cotton candy. There was a crisp green scent above the sugar which was a blend of grape hyacinth and blanched snap peas.

The first sip tasted very smooth and slightly vegetal but the tea quickly became very sweet and candy like. Also present were warm and enveloping floral notes mixed with a cool creamy magnolia note. This was accompanied by the flavour of sun warmed grapes mixed with the tropical warm juices of warm melon and pineapple. As it cooled a green crisp vegetal note appeared. This steep reminded me of German and Alsace white wines.

A 90s second steep yielded a scent that was more intensely fruity in nature and had the addition of cream. There was more melon in the fruit flavour, which was a mix of grape, pineapple and melon. Also present was cream and a spice note that included a mix of spicebush, cinnamon and pineapple chamomile, and a less distinct hyacinth note. The tea remained creamy with a cool crisp undertone. There were crisp greens and sweet floral tones in the aftertaste.

After a two minute steep the tea had a good balance of fruit, floral and vegetal notes in the scent. The vegetal notes moved forward in the flavour and was a little bit bitter, but it opened up quickly to a creamy tropical fruit mixture that then opened up to a warm creamy floral. This floral note really tasted like magnolia in this steep. A chamomile note remained present and a bit of bitter cocoa mixed with the vegetal note.

The last good steep I had was 4 minutes. This one was more floral in scent with hints of lilac mixed with magnolia. It had a sweet vegetal taste with notes of artichoke and corn mixed with lilac, magnolia, hints of tropical fruit, cream and vanilla, but the flavour was fading.

The spent leaf clusters had up to 4 leaves and a bud on them and were a good size, but were not as large as some I have had. There was very little to no colour on the leaf margins.

Altogether I very much enjoyed this tea. Thanks Tea Ave for the sample!

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