87

I am finally cleaning out the backlog with this one. I had a sample pouch of this tea, and after a very long day at work, I made the time to seriously sit down and evaluate it. I found it to be an enjoyable, easy-drinking oolong that would work well as a daily drinker.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a quick rinse, I conducted a 7 second infusion with 6 grams of loose tea leaves in a 4 ounce gaiwan filled with 194 F water. This infusion was followed by 12 subsequent infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 10 seconds, 15 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, and 3 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves emitted pleasant aromas of cream, lilac, honeysuckle, and violet. After the rinse, I began to detect emerging scents of butter, magnolia, and sweetgrass. The first infusion brought out touches of orchid and vanilla. In the mouth, I detected mild notes of violet, cream, butter, honeysuckle, and sweetgrass. Subsequent infusions brought out the touches of hyacinth, magnolia, orchid, and vanilla. I also began to catch emerging impressions of minerals, spinach, cucumber, sugarcane, and leaf lettuce. At one point, I thought I even caught a touch of Narcissus. The later infusions were mild, emphasizing notes of minerals, sweetgrass, spinach, lettuce, and butter underscored by faint traces of cream and fresh flowers.

I did not get a ton of complexity out of this oolong, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. It was the sort of tea that was good to knock back after a long day, as it had a nice bouquet and enough flavor to impress, yet it also did not require a ton of analysis. I would recommend this tea to anyone looking for a solid, basic oolong. I could see it going over especially well with those looking to get into Taiwanese oolongs without jumping into the deep end and/or breaking the bank.

Flavors: Butter, Cream, Cucumber, Floral, Grass, Honeysuckle, Lettuce, Mineral, Narcissus, Orchid, Spinach, Sugarcane, Vanilla, Violet

Preparation
6 g 4 OZ / 118 ML

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My grading criteria for tea is as follows:

90-100: Exceptional. I love this stuff. If I can get it, I will drink it pretty much every day.

80-89: Very good. I really like this stuff and wouldn’t mind keeping it around for regular consumption.

70-79: Good. I like this stuff, but may or may not reach for it regularly.

60-69: Solid. I rather like this stuff and think it’s a little bit better-than-average. I’ll drink it with no complaints, but am more likely to reach for something I find more enjoyable than revisit it with regularity.

50-59: Average. I find this stuff to be more or less okay, but it is highly doubtful that I will revisit it in the near future if at all.

40-49: A little below average. I don’t really care for this tea and likely won’t have it again.

39 and lower: Varying degrees of yucky.

Don’t be surprised if my average scores are a bit on the high side because I tend to know what I like and what I dislike and will steer clear of teas I am likely to find unappealing.

Location

KY

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