Formosa Oolong

Tea type
Oolong Tea
Ingredients
Oolong Tea Leaves
Flavors
Dried Fruit, Grain, Roasted, Toasty, Earth, Raisins, Sweet, Grapes, Tobacco, Wood, Apricot, Leather
Sold in
Loose Leaf
Caffeine
Not available
Certification
Not available
Edit tea info Last updated by TeaterTotter
Average preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 3 min, 15 sec 6 g 15 oz / 455 ml

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19 Tasting Notes View all

  • “I was craving a cup of just classic earl grey but sadly couldn’t find any. So I saw this and figured I’d try and get a few more teas finished off before the new year. While this was steeping it...” Read full tasting note
  • “Gifted to me by SuperStarling!, this oolong is a nice entry into the Formosa oolong arena. It is very drinkable. A wallflower of a tea. Nothing that stands out and says look at me but it is...” Read full tasting note
    73
  • “I’m not sure how I came upon this sample, but I actually found two of them with different handwritings while I was cleaning today! So Thanks to whoever it was that sent this to me! This is a nice,...” Read full tasting note
  • “This is an alright tea. Tastes ok, kind of roasty or nutty I guess. Not sure what I was expecting but I guess I was craving something else because this didn’t hit the spot for me this morning.” Read full tasting note

From Simple Loose Leaf

A dark oolong tea from Taiwan, formerly known as Formosa. Deep raisiny and ripe fruit aroma, autumn ‘leafy’ note. Lingering flavor and smooth, a refreshingly fruity astringency. A perfect introduction to the world of Taiwanese tea.

About Simple Loose Leaf View company

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19 Tasting Notes

1324 tasting notes

I was craving a cup of just classic earl grey but sadly couldn’t find any. So I saw this and figured I’d try and get a few more teas finished off before the new year.

While this was steeping it smelled just like a Thai tea bag. You know those kits that have the tea and then often comes with a condensed milk packet. This smells like the tea before the condensed milk is added. I used to actually make just the tea and drink it… This was a weird association but I’m still getting it to a lesser extent in the steeped tea. A strange yet pleasant tasting cuppa overall.

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 2 tsp 12 OZ / 354 ML

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73
258 tasting notes

Gifted to me by SuperStarling!, this oolong is a nice entry into the Formosa oolong arena. It is very drinkable. A wallflower of a tea. Nothing that stands out and says look at me but it is definitely there with a consistent and dependable flavor.

Earthy, roasty, a bit of raisin flavor. A smooth every day drinker.

Flavors: Earth, Raisins, Roasted

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 30 sec 6 g 16 OZ / 473 ML

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307 tasting notes

I’m not sure how I came upon this sample, but I actually found two of them with different handwritings while I was cleaning today! So Thanks to whoever it was that sent this to me!

This is a nice, sweet, lightly roasted oolong. The flavor was bright and clean, and not very complex or nuaced. But that could be because this sample is old. Take that as you will. I enjoyed it for what it was.

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 2 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 10 OZ / 295 ML

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391 tasting notes

This is an alright tea. Tastes ok, kind of roasty or nutty I guess. Not sure what I was expecting but I guess I was craving something else because this didn’t hit the spot for me this morning.

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87
4843 tasting notes

Backlog:

I do love a good Formosa Oolong. My favorite Oolong teas still tend to be AliShan but my earliest experiences with Oolong tea began with Formosa … Formosa was my first Oolong, and in those earlier days in my tea journey, I believed that Oolong was Formosa and I didn’t know that there are so many different types of Oolong. I’m happy to have discovered Oolong as I have, but, Formosa Oolong will always hold a special place in my heart.

This is a really good Formosa Oolong. It has a very autumnal type of taste with it’s earthy notes and the sweet, dried fruit notes that it has. A warm, toasty taste. Sweet.

This is a tea that you definitely want to take the time to infuse multiple times because the later infusions become tastier than the earlier infusions – sweeter, more intensely flavored.

Here’s my full-length review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2014/06/05/formosa-oolong-from-simple-loose-leaf/

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68
17 tasting notes

I got this in the $1 Box from Simple Loose Leaf Tea. I’ve had it a few times now with different brewing methods.

A lightly roasted oolong that starts off with a robust roasted/raisiny taste and dies down quickly into a mellow sweetness.
I enjoy this tea but I would say it’s not really worth it to brew it Gongfu. I could only get 3 solid infusions from it before the flavor was quite weak. Still pretty tasty for those first 3 infusions though.

Flavors: Raisins, Roasted, Sweet

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45 tasting notes

So I had some of this hot last night and don’t really remember exactly how it tasted. Since I only did 1 steep, I decided to throw the leaves into a Mason jar and cold brew it.. And the result is really good! This is a lightly roasted flavour and kind of sweet.

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65
24 tasting notes

I was beyond excited when I got my box of Simple Loose Leaf to try for $1! They were beyond generous in how much tea they sent; I honestly couldn’t believe my eyes at first. All three bags were bulging and hardly fit in my 100g containers when emptied into them.

Craving a nice oolong for weeks, the Formosa Oolong was my obvious first choice. I was a bit disappointed upon scooping out the tea to look at it. The leaves were very broken, dry, and brittle, with some dust reminiscent of Lipton. However, for a dollar, I wasn’t going to complain, especially without giving it a shot.

I’m rarely a fan of short steepings, so I decided to try this one at 3 minutes or so. I hadn’t unpacked my little yixing pot from college yet, so a roomy paper filter sufficed. A few minutes later, I sat down with my first steamy, piping hot cup of oolong in a long time…and my stomach sank a little on the first sip.

Note, I’m used to high-quality, full leaf oolongs with a great complexity of flavor. I shouldn’t have expected that out of this tea, even just by its appearance. I realized that I’d probably left the filter in the cup for a little too long, as it had become obnoxiously bitter and astringent like Lipton, the type that leaves the back of your throat dry. I gave up halfway through that cup.

Since then, I became more sensitive to this tea’s steeping needs, and have had much more luck with it. Right now, it’s my go-to nighttime tea, but that may be moreso so that I can finish it up. When steeped correctly, you definitely get some good grapeseed and tobacco flavors with a hint of dry woodiness that a more amateur palate would probably enjoy. This would be a great gateway darker oolong for those that want to give it a shot without “wasting” more complex ones on them.

Overall, price aside, I wouldn’t reorder this one at full price, or really any price above $1. I was happy with the Simple Loose Leaf experience, and had other good teas in the box, but this one definitely fell short.

Flavors: Grapes, Tobacco, Wood

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 2 min, 45 sec
sirturtletheknight

My thoughts on this tea are similar.

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987 tasting notes

It’s still a Sunday, which means that I’m still able to talk about my latest Sunday Tea and Books tasting.

The tea was medium-dark brown and smelled earthy and slightly fruity. Simple Loose Leaf describes this tea as being “raisiny” and “leafy”. I can kind of taste those flavours if I squint, but instead I sense elements like leather and tobacco, and possibly apricots. Those flavours are really faint, though – overall, there isn’t whole lot going on. This is a weird tea in that it doesn’t seem like other oolongs: it doesn’t have the floral character I associate with green oolongs, or the malty, bready kick that I associate with dark ones. In fact, it reminds me most of houjicha. If I had to describe this tea using a single word, it would be “inobtrusive”.

But which fictional character did it remind me of? Well, if you happen to like books by Guy Gavriel Kay, I think you’ll find my choice, and the reasons behind it, a pleasant surprise: http://christinavasilevski.com/2014/06/sunday-tea-books-formosa-oolong/

Flavors: Apricot, Leather, Tobacco

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 15 sec 3 tsp 24 OZ / 709 ML

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90
58 tasting notes

I really enjoyed the Formosa Oolong from Simple Loose Leaf. It was a super mild taste but flavorful enough to keep you interested. It brews really nicely into a golden brown color and would be great for a relaxing tea. I had mine unsweetened and it was just fine in my opinion. I would certainly buy this in the future.

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 0 sec 1 tsp

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