Roasted Apple

Come to find I have never written a note for this one! It’s older now. Hmm, maybe the problem is roasted oolong, but that is a me problem, not the problem of this tea. But it’s a good roast… It certainly has a roasted oolong flavor, lacking in the apple department, but this is older now and I’m sure Andrew isn’t using funky fake preservatives in his teas, so the apple would be faded by now. The ingredients mention wild cherry bark which is intriguing, and should match really well with what I imagine it tastes like with roasted oolong. I’d love to see other teas with wild cherry bark… It’s a decent tea! But since it’s roasted oolong, it was never going to be one I was thrilled to steep up.
Steep #1 // 2 teaspoons // 28 minutes after boiling // 1 1/2 minute steep
Steep #2 & 3 – don’t remember the parameters

Yesterday, I drank an Wuyi oolong that was very char-like.

Today, I cracked this one open to see how things went. Let me mention here that my background in Wuyi oolongs is limited. I just jump in and see what happens.

I approached this one Western style and what I got was a pleasant deep flavour with only a bit of char. The apple flavour was gentle while the cherry wood more prominent. Both served to underscore the base.

Nice blending of flavours.

Backlog. A dear friend sent me hers and she was not as much as a big fan as I was. I looked at this tea and hesitated on buying it worrying that I’d only get a general char tasting Yan Cha with a hint of apple, but I got a SOLID quality yancha with a sweet and savory apple aftertaste. Almost buttery for me. If I were to guess, the base was probably a Shui Xian, but closer to a Dahongpao overall because of the fruity roast. It might border on the chocolate note for some, but otherwise it was a nice warm roast overall. I personally tasted the cherry bark and loved it, but not everyone will notice it.

The first three steeps were solid gong fu starting with 30 seconds, 55 sec, and a minute and half, then the later three steeps took 4-6 minutes. Going with the recommendation of 120 sec or 2 minutes, you get a better rounded cup Western.

I always recommend Andrew’s teas, and I personally recommend this one if you want a solid tasting Yancha or something with Dahongpao qualities, hence someone with intermediate tea experience might prefer it. My main criticism is that it is not too long lasting, but I was delighted with the apple that I could actually taste.