Fall Pear Mountain (Lishan) Oolong A

Reviewing the shared Leafhopper batch is going to be fun. I had a hard time deciding which to try first. Mountain Stream teas tend to have a shorter shelf life, so I started here.

I unceremoniously put the entire sample in my jerry rigged Crimson Lotus Gongfu2Go tumbler. Dry leaf was buttery, with some of the cookie dessert vegetable notes I associate with most of Mountain Stream teas. I did not time it it, but I let it steep until the leaves partly opened. I snuck a peaky sip, maybe after 45 seconds (or a minute-I was bad), and the flower butter taste confirmed it was ready.

First steep was a light yellow brew with a deceptive amount of flavor. The notes were heavy with butter, milk, brown sugar, swiss chard, and cream followed by some of the trademark orange blossom note from the company (that I totally made up-I swear most of their teas have an orange blossom taste even if their black teas). If I were to drink it blind, I might have thought it was a milk oolong. I also got some weird linens texture wise.

Second steep is a little more vegetal and floral as the leaves were closer to being totally unfurled quickly. I’d assume a minute or less. More orange blossom and….osmanthus? It’s not quite “sprite” like, but it’s very creamy. I’m trying to think of the other florals this time. The tea still leans more into milk and brown sugar direction, but still lightly floral. The chard also grows, but less vanilla association than in steep one.

Wet leaves had broccoli and green bean scent, but still floral. Third brew…don’t ask me the timing. ’Nother sip-creamsicle. Let it sit longer…better. Again, having a hard time pinning it down. Very floral, definite hyacinth, honeysuckle, rising into a buttery and sweet finish. The lingering aftertaste is really nice. Again, kinda like a creamsicle. Joy to orange blossom.

Fourth, not sure what to do. I poured another sip. Sweet and flavorful, osmanthus. I got some peachiness from the leaves, before I rinsed it, but let’s see. I let it sit a few more seconds, and much the same leaning into the butter and swiss chard qualities. More seconds, and osmanthus and swiss chard. Again.

Few seconds later…and finally, full peach along vegetal notes. Spinach.

I’m going to pause writing here and confer the other notes real quick. I don’t have a lot of hot water left and am debating how many more steeps I want to push. To be continued in a few minutes.

Okay, I can now come to a conclusion. I still did another steep, and it’s milky. Orange blossom vegetable creamsicle.

So do I like it? Heck yes. Would I have bought it? In the past, yes, but when my preferences were younger. I’ve had older year packs before when the company started out. Mountain Stream has some very unique teas that are hard to find anywhere else, but they are experimental and very temperamental based on seasons. All teas are, but no tea is ever the same from this company.

Thank you Leafhopper! I finished this one with great joy.

In 2019, Mountain Stream offered a set of two Li Shan teas produced a few days apart on the same farm. This is the first of these teas. Mountain Stream used to have a long description for both of them, but I can no longer find it online. I steeped 6 g of leaf in a 120 ml teapot at 195F for 25, 20, 25, 30, 30, 45, 60, 90, 120, and 240 seconds.

The dry aroma of these large nuggets is of cookies, orchids, other flowers, butter, and citrus. The first steep has notes of mandarin orange, orange blossom, orchid, honeysuckle, butter, grass, spinach, and cookies. The second adds peach and more intense florals; it has a thick texture while still being sort of drying. I get canned peaches and nectarines in the aroma of the third steep, but the tea also becomes more savory, with umami, veggies, and that herbaceous note I tend to pick up in high mountain oolongs. The vegetal notes of brussels sprouts and beans are more prominent in steeps four and five, though the lovely peachy aftertaste persists. The next couple steeps see the veggies tip the balance, and the session ends with notes of broccoli, beans, spinach, and grass.

This tea peaked fast, but those first few steeps were great. It’s on the burlier side for a Li Shan and the vegetal notes are more pronounced than I’d like, but overall, I’ll have no trouble finishing it.