Taiwan Jin Xuan Milk Oolong Tea

Good Jin Xuan. Creamy and fairly sweet, the leaves are smaller than most, and are ever so slightly floral

So the last (and first) time I tried a milk oolong, I was put off by its “so-strong-it-must-be-artificial” milky flavor. I was still curious to try other milk oolongs, but finding one that wasn’t artificially flavored I could tell was going to be difficult, as the definition of a “milk oolong” does not seem to be set in stone. So when I noticed Teavivre had both a flavored and unflavored milk oolong, I figured hey, there’s no way the unflavored version could be flavored! I know, that sounds silly, doesn’t it.

This really is interesting, and definitely not artificial in the subtle flavor. I can honestly say it’s like nothing I’ve had before. It does have a very creamy, heavy feel to it, and is just slightly floral without being perfumey. It also has another flavor, one I can’t quite identify, but it reminds me of….a nice hotel room (I swear I have the strangest “flavor notes” ever…).

It’s good, but to be honest I probably should have picked a different tea tonight— I’m just really not feeling oolong-y. Gladly Teavivre is generous enough in their sample sizes that I have enough to try this again on another night (or three) when I can appreciate it a bit more.

My first order from Teavivre came; Monday is looking up! This was less than half the price of David’s Quangzhou Milk Oolong so I wanted to see how it stacked up (as that one is my current addiction and I’m going through it way too fast!) The first part of the sip tastes like a smooth floral oolong, and then a slight sweet creaminess appears at the end of the sip. As it cools it becomes slightly richer and gains a little more milkiness. The second steep produces a rich color once again but the flavor is pretty mild and the creamy aftertaste has almost disappeared. I find this to be more of an everyday basic milk oolong with the oolong being more pronounced and the creaminess in the background, while the Quangzhou definitely tastes more indulgent and in-your-face with the creaminess. It’s still a very tasty tea and I think I’ll take it for another infusion.

Thanks to Angel from Teavivre for the generous sample and fast shipping! This tea was sweet and slightly floral, and good for a couple brews, making it a very good value indeed. There is a mild milky note that was quite pleasant, and I found myself looking forward to a mug of milk oolong each morning. Careful not to steep too hot, I find this kills that milky flavor. I haven’t yet tried the flavored milk oolong from Teavivre, but that’s next on the steeping list!

Liked this tea. It smells like milk when you open the bag, then it smells like butter and honey. It doesn’t have the sweet vs bitter of a Tie Guan Yin, but rather is sweet and nutty and somewhat floral after a few steeps.

The last but not least from the samples given, its best described in my opinion as the cu de gra of tea itself! Comfort. The richness of natural oolong flavors just coincides with an addition of a milky flavor that’s naturally harmonious altogether, and gives the said drinker a little more comfort (think of hot milk in cold day). The milky flavor is not at all too overwhelming but as to complement a slight vegetal and nutty flavor of the oolong itself. High quality in taste, even the raw leaves are still attached to its stems! Decent and rewarding, recommended to all! Drink on Steepsterites!

I very much like this tea – it’s creamy, smooth and silky. There is a strong vegetal taste, mixed with mineral and nutty notes. I’m reminded a bit of apple skins and very diluted milk. The floral component hides in the back of the sip and peeks out towards the end. This is a very tasty oolong! Thank you to Teavivre for a sample! I will be adding more of this to my next order.

Tea number two from my Teavivre Taiwan Oolong sample pack (Thanks again Angel!). Having just gotten over a cold I was hesitating to try out something that might be a bit subtle but this is one that I’ve been wanting to try for a while, (I was really interested to see what kind of milk favors and feelings I would get from a non-flavored tea; would it really live up to its name?) and I’m glad I did.

This is a very interesting looking tea, the leaves are loosely rolled into small balls and then dried. There was a very light and fresh scent coming from them, it reminded me of how the mountain meadows smell in early spring, just lovely. And under it all there were hints of something that made me really excited, creamy milk.

For my first steep I tried the recommended minute, which in retrospect was perhaps a little under steeped for my tastes. The liquor came out a very, very, pale yellow green with floral aromatic notes. These notes actually mixed well with the slight under tones of creaminess that I detected. This is a very smooth, mellow flavored tea, and I definitely get the milk notes (wow, I must say that I was really doubtful about that part but they’re defiantly there.) There is no real aftertaste to this tea but an after “feeling” of a coated mouth similar to what I get after drinking actual milk. As it cooled the mouth feel got a bit creamier/thicker without becoming heavy.

The second steeping was in for 2:45 minutes, and the bit of extra time worked out wonderfully. The liquor is a pastel yellow-gold (with just a tinge of green) and it still has that wonderful floral scent though it’s a bit deeper now than in the first steeping. The creamy undertones are still present as well. Flavor wise it’s a very milky and rich feeling tea, and the floral notes help to brighten up the whole thing. It really reminds me of drinking hot milk with wild flower honey, just not as sweet. Absolutely lovely.

For my third, and last, cup I steeped the leaves for 4:30 minutes. This time the liquor came out a pale gold, and while the aroma still has the floral notes they’re subtle this time as compared to the previous steepings. As for the rest, the mouth feel is still creamy but not as rich, nor so I really get the same milk hits as I did previously. That said, the floral notes in this cup have changed and become deeper and a bit more pronounced. I get definite hibiscus favors, and a few almost peachy notes which I find are a really nice way for this tea to finish out on (though I’m sure I could probably do one more steeping of this before all was said and done.)

In the end it was a very luxurious tea, creamy and rich without being heavy. The perfect end to a cold day spent finishing the Christmas decorations.

I purchased this tea from TeaVivre, along with a huge amount of Dragon Pearls and blueberry fruit tea. You can’t go wrong with 350g of tea for 36 bucks with fast, free shipping to the other side of the world. I had to include this tea with my order, even though I’ve never tried a milk oolong before. The reviews were already looking promising, so I took the plunge. Now I wish I bought more than 50g!

This is soooooo delicious! The leaves look like polished jade rocks of beautiful oolong goodness. I steeped 3 tsp in a 250ml gaiwan for a minute, with no rinse. The result was a lovely flavour that reminded me of sweetened condensed milk mixed with a buttery taste found in good quality oolongs. I wish the milk notes lasted more than one steep though. The second cup had almost no milkiness left, but this is still a damn good oolong.

I am so glad that I take extensive notes on tea or I would not be able to write a cohesive blog today. Why, you might be asking, well because my Lupus is acting up and it always gives me a serious case of brain fog. I have been lucky to get sentences out today that were not a garbled mess. As per usual, enough whinging and on to the tea, today we are reviewing an Oolong (surprise, surprise, I know) but this is a special one that has been on my ‘to try’ list for a while.

Taiwan Jin Xuan Milk Oolong by Teavivre is a fancy Oolong from Alishan, Nantou, Taiwan. As you can suspect from the name, Milk Oolongs are known for their creamy sweetness, sadly a lot of these teas are artificially enhanced. This Jin Xuan, however, comes by its milkiness naturally, which is one of the reasons I was waiting so long to try it, I wanted the pure stuff! The aroma is mostly sweet and floral, like fresh vegetation and lilacs. There is of course a creamy, or more accurately milky, aroma with a slight hint of nuttiness. The sweetness reminds me of honey, so mixing cream, honey, and lilacs together you get an amazingly delicious smelling tea!

The steeped leaves unfurl into a lovely sweet and creamy aroma. Not only is is creamy it is also nutty like chestnuts with a tiny vegetal hint of green beans. Actually mixing the creaminess and nuttiness with that hint of beans vaguely reminds me of a hint of green bean casserole, neat! The liquid is crazy sweet, probably the sweetest aroma that I have found in an unflavored Oolong, I love it. Mostly the smell of honey and milk, but there is a tiny hint of nuttiness as an after thought, it sneaks in as you lean away from the steaming cup.

Time to taste the first steeping! Quoting my notebook directly “Drop the Mic, that is bangin’ sweet” just goes to show that maybe I shouldn’t be allowed to write! Goofiness aside, it is sweet, really sweet and creamy. It is like drinking sweetened cream without the thickness (I actually just drink straight cream on occasion, and not having the heaviness and just the cream taste is a plus). It is more honey sweet than sugar sweet, but there is a slight note of caramelized sugar in there at the end. After the initial creamy sweet taste fades you are left with a mild vegetal taste evocative of green beans and a tiny buttery chestnut aftertaste. As the tea cools it gets even sweeter.

I had to do a second steep, seeing this tea evolve through steepings was too tempting not to. The aroma of the leaves is more vegetal this time around, more of an artichoke and citrus than creamy sweetness. There is still the aroma of chestnut and sweetness in the liquid, though it is not as sweet of creamy as the first steep. The taste is still really sweet though, but it is not quite as creamy. It takes on more of the vegetal notes of green beans and chestnut and continues to become sweeter as it cools. This is a really unusual Oolong, but I like that about it. Well worth the wait and certainly a new favorite.

For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2013/11/teavivre-taiwan-jin-xuan-milk-oolong.html