Shanlinxi High Mountain Winter Oolong Tea, Lot 661

Here’s another blast from the past. I finished off this tea back in the spring but forgot to review it. 2017 was a ho-hum year for Taiwanese oolongs and this tea very much exemplifies that trend. It had fantastic aromas of gardenia and tropical fruit, but the aroma didn’t translate into the flavor. The taste of the tea was thin and flat with a slight astringency. There were subtle floral hints of wildflowers, lillies, and what tasted like magnolia along with clover honey but they appeared only briefly. It peaked around the 4th infusion turning vegetal and accompanied by bitterness.

Not one of TTC’s best offerings and way different than the SLX from the previous spring which was richer, more flowery, and had a thicker mouthfeel. Overall a fairly unremarkable tea in nearly all respects.

As a fan of this terroir, I bought the Shan Lin Xi, Long Feng Xia, and Shibi winter harvests for comparison. I steeped 6 g of leaf in a 120 ml teapot at 195F for 25, 20, 25, 30, 30, 30, 45, 60, 90, and 120 seconds.

In the teapot, the leaves have heady aromas of flowers and sweetness. The first steep offers notes of wildflowers, orchids, and lilacs, although my palate for flowers is not too great and I’m kind of guessing. I also get grass, cream, and resin. The body is a bit thin, but the aftertaste is persistent.

The next few steeps are even sweeter and more floral, though I wouldn’t have identified this sweetness with corn. The balsam note is also very prominent, as is the “greenness” that accompanies it. Although this greenness gradually increases, there’s enough floral and sweet notes to keep it tasty. It only starts getting overwhelming around steep nine.

If you like floral oolongs with strong balsam notes, you’ll enjoy this tea. It also has good staying power for a green oolong. I highly recommend it!