Huang Jin Gui (Golden Osmanthus) Oolong Traditional Green Style

Leaves are dark green, they smell raster fresh grassy.

Tea is very light yellow. Also smells grassy.
Surprise, surprise, it tastes very grassy! It’s quite delicious. First sip seamed a bit watery but I changed my mind with the second one. It’s just as smooth as it should be. It only has a hint of nutty taste, mostly grassy tho. More green that oolongy.

(sipping further)

Leaves a really nice aftertaste in my mouth. Mhm, I like this one…

While it may hit the tongue sharply and distinctly grassy, the green citrus flavor of this tea transforms into a mouthful of sweetness almost like chewing on barely roasted nuts.

Hmm. This tea smelled intriguingly nutty, but it tasted very weak. When I tried steeping it longer, it got distressingly bitter without getting any more flavorful. Probably I made it too weak — I’m still figuring out the best way to judge proportions. I will definitely try it again, because a tea which tasted the way this smelled would be fantastic.

(Backlogged from Saturday.)

Sipdown no. 191. A sample, and the last Life in Teacup oolong sample. (Sniff.)

At least they went out with a bang. The leaves smelled grassy green in the packet but did some amazing things after steeping. I steeped this in the gaiwan starting with 15 seconds and increasing in 5 second increments.

1. Pale yellow tea with a milky, floral scent. Flavor is light, more floral/grassy than vegetal, something that initially presents with a slightly bitter edge but quickly smooths into a sort of green nutty flavor like chestnuts.

The cup smells very fragrant, a distinctive floral smell. I’m guessing this is why it is called osmanthus.

2. Same color, similar aroma but deeper. Flavor is fascinating. Starts as green floral and ends as green nuts. Along the way it morphs into various things too fleeting to pin down and describe. Really wonderful and, dare I say, fun.

By the end of the second steep, the leaves have almost tripled in volume.

3. Greener color. Nectar in the aroma! Nuttiness is forefront in the flavor now with floral afterwards, but the nuttiness returns in the aftertaste, light and raw and reminds me of Brazil nuts.

4. Greener again, nectar has become milder. Flavor similar to 3.

5. Similar to 4 but the nuttiness is now milder and the floral aroma/flavor is much more noticeable.

Aftertaste is sweet and fresh for a while after drinking.

Just delicious.

Oolong tea with slight hint of raspberry. More smell then taste.

Backlog

I drank this grandpa style as my last tea of the night last night. The leaves grew big big big and filled up the whole cup (one of my favorite things about oolongs). The aroma was slightly roasty and gently floral. Flavor was a nice balanced floral, not to strong for someone like me who isn’t the biggest floral fan, but still evident enough to notice right off. There was also a smooth vegetal, almost grassy like note mid sip, and then the end was all fleshy nuts, like how I imagine chestnuts taste. Almost chewy, and lingered nice and long. The cup lasted several top off before I hit the sack, staying tasty the whole time. It’s always a nice surprise to find a more floral oolong that I actually enjoy!