Taiwan High Mountain Oolong Tea

I’m enjoying this generous sample from Teavivre this morning! This is an extremely floral oolong. Very light too. The smell is strong and wonderfully complex, but I’m finding the flavor a little weak for my personal tastes. Not bad though and I’m really glad I got to try it. Thanks Teavivre!

Another free sample from the ever generous Teavivre. Thank you once more.

Like the others I have written notes on, this oolong is curled up into dark green balls that open up to become dark green whole leaves in the pot. There is something really quite lovely about the appearance of all these unfurled leaves filling my glass teapot. You would think there was no room for water with the way they unfurl.

The aroma is immediately floral and slightly milky. The liquor is dark yellow with a hint of green. It is sweet-tasting, like honeysuckle but thicker and with a creamy mouthfeel and that floral aroma emerges in the tasting too. This is a very refreshing tea and not too demanding. It sits comfortably with you in silence rather than requiring you to pay constant attention to it (yes, Tibetan Flame, I am thinking of you). I find it quite relaxing too, as my body takes it on board and decides that the stresses of the day are not equal to the stressbusting powers of this tea. This could be an everyday tea for me. I enjoy the sweetness and I do not feel compelled to try to get to the bottom of every flavour in the cup. Good stuff.

Very green, with some sweetness and strong honeysuckle notes. Not my favorite kind of oolong—I like them darker—but very pleasant for what it is. Thanks for the sample, Nicole_Martin!

Tea provided by Teavivre for review

Previously I tried this sample gong-fu style and was a bit disappointed. Today I tried it with a longer steep in a glass mug and it turned out better.
I found the astringency too off-putting with many short steeps, but it isn’t too noticeable with a single longer steep.

The floral and vegetal flavours have a nice balance, and the body is more subtle than it is bold. There are also some nice hints of cinnamon, spice, and honey.

Overall it’s a decent oolong with a good price. However (if I had to choose) I prefer Teavivre’s Jin Xuan (unflavoured) over this.

Steep parameters:
400ml water in a glass mug, 7g sample, 1 steep (2m)

Thank you to Angel at Teavivre for the lovely samples of this tea!

Dry: Tightly rolled army green buds and leaves that smell very pleasant. The dry scent is difficult to describe because it is subtle and very enjoyable. I would say soft and mild, a bit creamy and sweet, very faintly floral.

Steeped: Sunshine yellow clear liquor. I brewed this with the Western method at 212 degrees for two minutes. Like with most oolongs, this one needs room to expand. The lovely rolled bits unfurled in the infuser into large army green leaves. The aroma is a bit green, a bit milky, and a bit sweet. Holds up to multiple resteeps.

Taste: I agree that this is a good one to start with for those wanting to experience the nuances of mountain oolongs. Naturally sweet, smooth, and brightly floral (I keep thinking of white flowers- maybe subtle gardenia?) without being heavy or overwhelming. This is not roasty at all for those that favor that side of oolongs. There is a very faint almost spice note in the aftertaste that is green and interesting along with a pleasant thick mouthfeel with each sip.

This tea is a good example of the natural thicker and “darker” aspects of what unroasted Taiwan oolong offers. The wet leaves exude a heavy vegetal scent, with notes of malt and roasted vegetables. It is matched by a low, full-bodied savory flavor profile. There is a moderately tart bite at the end of each sip, with a slight astringency. Possibly due to the very red-hued leaves, indicating a stronger oxidation and bruising during processing. It’s far from anything off-putting, though, and is accompanied by a light cooling sensation and thick aftertaste.

It’s nice overall, but somewhat lacking in flavor dimension and mouthfeel. It also reminds more of an autumn tieguanyin than a summer gao shan, which is unfortunate. I do, however, appreciate the yeasty, caramel-like lengxiang, or cold-scent, left in the empty cup. It also fades out nicely, with steeps 5 and above reducing to a nice straw-like sweetness with a vegetal-grass body. It’s simple, and decent for casual drinking.

When Angel at Teavivre asked me if I wanted to sample some Taiwanese teas, I couldn’t reply back fast enough! There is just something about tea from this region that makes me very happy! Most of them, that I have tried anyway, have a creaminess and sweetness that slowly grow in intensity the longer you sip. By the bottom of the first cup it reminds me of caramel. This tea is quite floral, and isn’t as creamy as others I have tried but it still has the awesome aftertaste. The leaves smell very fresh, and the tiny little pellets they start out as turn out to be quite large leaves. Always fun to watch the leaves unfurl!
Thanks again, Angel! You people at Teavivre ROCK!

First of all, thanks to Angel for the sample! I have been absent from tea for a while now, but with the cold coming in and a much needed stress release from finals, this hit the spot very nicely to say the least.

This tea is really yummy and goes well with reading. I steeped it for 2 minutes at 205. The taste is light and florally sweet, much like how I like an oolong. I kinda want to say it’s what I think a standard oolong is like, but a good quality. This tea would probably sit well with people who do not normally drink oolong or who do not like overly strong oolong.

The dry leaves of Taiwan High Mountain Oolong Tea put us right into floral mode. Something rosier than a jasmine, though–most oolongs just hit you with white flowers and call it a day. This one, however, has got a promise of peony. Maybe even actual camellia. Once steeped, the aroma really softens up to yield greener, veggie-er notes.

For the first infusion, don’t be afraid of taking your time with it. Even if it’s rapid-fire gong fu, a solid minute should do–any less and the taste is out of sight, still stuck in the high mountains from whence it came. That initial cup is as light as dancers’ tulle. If you prefer growly, heavy-bodied oolongs, this sure isn’t one of them. Its liquor just barely blushes with color, that pale shade of an open lime. Might as well give into the temp-tea-tion to… Full review here: http://snooteablog.com/2013/10/15/snooty-tea-review-teavivre-round-3/

Sipdown #3 today!

I’m cleaning out my cupboard to make room for new stuffs, so trying to sipdown what I can. Might manage a 4th later.

So, on to this tea. I have not had a straight oolong in some time. I don’t know why, really, because I do traditionally love them. I get so wrapped up in my shiny shiny that I often forget about things I have.

The leaves are quite typically dark green and shriveled and sort of ball like. The brew is still pale, like the first time I made this. There’s a mild floral scent to it, but nothing so overpowering, and you can pick up a little of the roasted flavour. The taste is a little more roasted and less floral.

As I mentioned in my initial tasting note, this is a very basic medium toned oolong, that is a nice starter one. It is not overly complex, which is actually quite fine. Sometimes the simple things are best. Like today, my lunch was spinach linguine tossed in a brown butter sauce, with a little parmesan. Super easy, super tasty. If my lemon half hadn’t gone bad, I’d probably have squeezed a little juice over it all too. Just simple flavours and sooo good.

Anyway, I like this oolong, but it is not amazing. I am thankful to Angel from Teavivre for providing me with this sample to try.