I am so happy Stacy sent me 1/2 an oz of this as a bonus with my last order! The only downside is that I really love it, and now I can’t get more ):
I was born in 1994, which makes this tea extra special – it’s the same age as me! Give or take a few months, probably. I love oolongs, particularly the darker roasty ones, but I think this might be my first foray into the world of aged oolongs. It is definitely a good introduction. The dry leaf smells quite musty and definitely ‘old’, which made me a little wary, but steeping this completely transforms. Then it’s all nutty and cocoa. Sooo yummy! I could inhale it all day. The cocoa notes come through in the sip, and to me are the most prominent, along with the nutty notes I identified in the scent too. There is a noticeable hay note, which I would have expected more from a white tea, but I think Bai Hao means ‘white tips’ so perhaps that’s why I’m getting that note. It actually reminds me of an aged Bai Mu Dan I have, so on the other hand maybe the ageing is where that similarity comes from. I am very happy to have gotten to try this, and will definitely look out for more aged oolongs in the future. If I had one negative about this, it’s that the second steep doesn’t hold up so well when brewed western style. I’m drinking my resteep now and the flavour is mostly unchanged but a little less chocolatey and a whole lot weaker. Fingers crossed it’ll hold up better when I try it gongfu style – that is what Stacy recommends, after all.