Haku Tea
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Gongfu Sipdown (2530)!
I really thought the Golden Boluomi was going to be hard to top, but I think this oolong tea has done it. The tasting notes shifted in a lovely way over the coarse of the session, with cocoa notes pushing through in a more pronounced way from the third steep onwards and even some slight coffee notes at the tail end. However, for the entirety of the session there was one consistent flavour that won me over almost immediately: rich and toasty grilled corn. The kind that has almost caramelized during the roasting process and that has just a hint of char to it. So smooth and delicious. I’ve got one more sample from Haku to taste through, but this is definitely the oolong to beat!!
Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/C35uXFiuZHa/?img_index=1
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWp_w4vHBGg
Gongfu Sipdown (2519)!
As such a lover of all things pineapple I was very skeptical of this smooth and medium bodied oolong, but it quickly won me over. Though I can’t help but wonder how much of this was suggestion bias, I really did get a lot of pineapple notes from this tea along with basically all of the other named tasting notes from the packaging: charred and roasted peanuts, and a hint of malt. There was also some gentle floral character to the undertones, and the fruit and floral duo in particular made me nostalgic for some oolong blends I fell in love with in my early tea drinking years that I miss quite dearly. But backtracking to the pineapple; what I tasted was specifically a rich and golden grilled pineapple note where it’s succulent, sweet and just a little caramelized. The kind of pineapple that kind of falls apart and melts in your mouth. Certainly not as intense as the real deal and with a lot of accompanying mineral and roasted notes more typical of an oolong. Very impactful and authentic to this tea’s namesake, bias or not…Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/C25n4zPuEjY/?img_index=1
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGdu0KNNRYg
Gongfu Sipdown (2517)!
So I actually first saw Haku Tea on instagram and I was really intrigued by their oolong selection but, if I’m being honest, I was having a hard time judging whether I was really interested in the tea or just the incredibly sleek branding. I had no idea they were a Canadian company, and I got SUPER excited when I saw them at the Toronto Tea Festival because I got to scope out the tea selection in person.
I ended up getting their discovery box which had session size samples of pretty much all their teas (except one). I’m definitely going to be having a fun time exploring this in the next short while.
I decided to start with Misty Mountain which seems to not only be their lightest oxidized oolong but also their best seller. I definitely drink more roasted/heavily oxidized oolongs than lighter ones, but I was pretty impressed by this one. The leaves were beautiful with a fresh floral aroma even when dry that just got so much more potent and aromatic the moment the water hit the leaf.
The longevity was great. I got about eight pretty solid infusions, though steeps three through five were for sure the sweet spot. It was very floral with notes of sweet pea, magnolias, and clean linens – kind of an overall “Bath & Bodyworks/Body Shop” vibe but in the best way possible. Not fake and headache inducing but just really natural interpretations of those more iconic/overused scents from their lotions and candles. Maybe a bit of green melon, though not a ton. Some steeps had this very pleasant “peaches and cream corn” note. If you’re not sure what I’m referencing, I don’t mean literal peaches but rather a specific varietal of corn that is naturally quite sweet.
Definitely set a high bar for the rest of the samples to meet!
Tea Photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/C2s0PrrOpqr/?img_index=1 (First Pic)
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvK0YIKQCE4