Four Seasons Oolong

Backlog:

A delightful Oolong. A sweet, flowery fragrance from the dry leaf, this floral note softens a bit in the brewed liquid. But there is still quite a bit of flower in the aroma and in the flavor too.

Floral, sweet, creamy, and smooth. I get some nice vanilla tones in the first cup and I like the way they soften the floral notes. The second cup was even better, as some fruity notes began to emerge. Notes of apple and melon.

I was surprised that the creamy notes still remained even into my third cup (this is infusions 5 and 6) because usually by this point with an Oolong, the creamy notes have almost nearly disappeared, but not so here.

This is one of the nicest Four Seasons Oolong teas I’ve encountered.

Here’s my full-length review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2014/09/25/four-seasons-oolong-tea-from-simple-loose-leaf/

Brewed Western-style in a ceramic teapot. Steeping times: 3, 5, 7, 10.

My first Four Seasons oolong. I drank this at work. Both the dry and wet leaf have a strong floral fragrance, evocative of roses. The liquor is light yellow, clear, full-bodied, and has a somewhat thick texture. The notes are not complex, but simple. Deliciously floral and light. Brings a freshness to the office.

I drank this prior to writing the review so I can’t go too in depth (I usually review while I’m drinking). Overall this tea had a very clean, sweet floral quality, the kind you’d expect from a high quality Taiwanese oolong. It was very spring-like and fresh and produced several very pleasant steepings. Very good stuff. I’ve had a lot of Taiwanese oolongs and can’t always differentiate their flavors a lot, but I can usually notice differences in quality and this one was very good in that regard. Seriously, how many times can you use the words “floral”, “vegetal” and “sweet” in a review before you realize you aren’t really pointing out anything that distinguishes it from other teas of its kind? I struggle to part with these descriptors in favor of more precise ones, but at times like these, they’re all I’ve got.

The first steep of this tea was lighter in flavor, but packed a sweet, yet floral punch which became stronger in subsequent steeps. By the time I reached my fourth steep of this tea it developed a somewhat vegetal flavor with hints of floral mixed in. While earlier steeps of this tea were somewhat creamy in texture, later steeps began to develop a hint of dryness. I was impressed not only with the flavor, but also with the number of times I was able to steep the tea. Even my fourth cup had wonderful flavor, I could very likely have gotten a fifth steep out of my leaves, but in my sick and clumsy state I managed to drop my steeper sending my tea leaves flying everywhere. This week is already starting off on the wrong foot, but at least I have a great oolong to help me on my road to recovery.

You can read the rest of the review on my blog:
http://www.notstarvingyet.com/index/2014/9/16/tuesday-tea-september-selection-club-simple-loose-leaf.html

Decent four seasons. It’s working for me today because I’m home sick with an incredibly sore throat and just feeling miserable in general.

Four Season Oolong is one I just have not had that many sipping sessions with, which is a shame, because it is really a neat tea. Called Four Seasons because this Taiwanese tea produces four flushes each year, but it tastes like a spring flush, which is fancy indeed. The aroma of the tightly rolled tea leaves is very floral with notes of hyacinth, orchid, and honeysuckles, also a hint of fresh vegetation making me wonder if instead of sniffing a tea I in fact stuck my nose in a parallel dimension that is nothing but a heady, flowery hothouse. The brewed leaves take on even more flowers with the added sweetness of lilac and magnolia, it is just a pile of flowers! The liquid sans its very floral smelling leaves is also very floral, but there are also slightly creamy notes and sweetness.

The taste of the first steep is like drinking a bouquet of flowers, there are so many floral notes that my mind is blown a bit, it manages to be light and not at all perfume like or ‘soapy’ in its floral taste. It is also quite sweet with a creamy mouthfeel. The second steep is nigh identical in aroma, and very floral and sweet in taste, but there is an added bit of fresh vegetation and dryness at the finish mellowing out the floral a tad.

For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2014/09/simple-loose-leaf-september_9.html