First of all, thank you Teavivre for another round of samples. I don’t have that much experience with Taiwanese oolongs, so these samples will be a bit of a learning expereince for me.
First steep – Quick wash with hot water, followed by a 10 second steep. The result is pleasant, the color reminiscent of a fine Tieguanyin. My roommate commented that the aroma was really floral, but I’m a bit under the weather and can’t confirm that. The mouth-feel is buttery smooth, and the flavor of the tea is a nice subdued floral flavor. The really nice thing about this tea is that despite the brightness of the flavors it still retains a great deal of complexity, with some vegetable flavors sneaking in as the flavor develops. As the tea transitions to the aftertaste, it sweetens (again, much like a Tieguanyin) to round off the experience and end on a high note. This is definitely a tea to drink slowly and savor.
Second Steep – I lost track of time, I had sudden inspiration for my AI homework, and rushed out type it out before I forgot. As such, the tea was a bit over steeped, and was actually a bit unpleasant when hot. There was a lot of astringency because it was over steeped, but after the tea cooled down the sweet aftertaste was able to assert itself, making the tea a bit like a Gyrokuro. Other than that, it’s a bit more floral this time, but the flavors are …jumbled, for lack of a better term. Honestly, given how badly I botched the steep, it’s amazing that it turned out this well.
Once tea is over steeped, the astringency comes out and affects the taste.