Roasted Oolong (ZO20)

This tea is actually one of my top 5 favorites, I really like it very nice and toasty and it gives me great pleasure and enjoyment but today I did not enjoy it as I usually do but I think that has to do with my Water first then my mood and my surroundings and situation, I usually enjoy it(and all of my teas)with only filtered water heated in my kettle or on the stovetop out of my Roasty Oolong cup and in the comfort of my own home with a book or some tv or just sitting alone or with Lance. This time we are in the hospital my water had to be microwaved(no other choice)I do have my Roasty Oolong cup but my hubby is sick and we are stuck up here and i have bad microwaved water and this couch is NOT mine so this just isn’t the best situation. I thought this tea would make this situation better and I am still glad to have a not so great cup of it rather than none at all but it worked out opposite instead of this tea making this situation more pleasurable This situation made this tea less pleasurable. I’m not complaining I’d just love to have a good cup of tea right now and “not good” water makes for “not good” Tea and this is just saddening, Sitting in the dark with not so good cup of tea hurts my feelings, still glad to have it tho.

I like the roasted flavor on this one. It’s not as aggressive as some of the others I’ve tried but really seems to make for a sweeter tea. I feel like I’ve got brown sugar in my cup. There is a nice dry vegetal note which blends nicely with the brown sugar sweetness. A very smooth, well behaved cup.

Tommy The Toad sent me a good deal of this a while back and it seemed to slip thru the cracks! Eeek! Sorry about that!

This sort of tastes like roasted cocoa and oolong with a bit of mineral rock type flavor to it. It’s smooth yet rich, crisp, and sweet!

This is darn tasty! Thanks TTT!

I love this oolong. It’s the kind of oolong that reminds me of sitting in a Chinese restaurant drinking cup after cup of tea. I was worried what it was roasted and thought it would be smoky verging on bbq but it is not all. There might be a little smokiness in the background but it is not a big component. There is a bit of peach and jasmine flavors. There is no grassiness in the taste. The smell is a little smoky and a little vegetal. Really a nice oolong.

I’m gonna save the rest of this sample for stir-fry dinner later in the week (and I’ll pull out the chopsticks too).

I got this as a sample when I ordered some supplies from Upton. I think I will order more of this one.

Lightly smokey and toasty. Yum! This is a great oolong for people who love genmaicha or hojicha.

Update: Second steep is even better than the first. Loving this tea.

I get an earthy mineral taste that reminds me of the hot springs my family would hang out at up in the mountains when I was younger. Then I get a faint light-roast coffee aftertaste, which was a little stronger on smell. I dont detect much of the boiled spinach-water taste I seem to pick up in many greens and oolongs, which is always a plus. Good stuff.

This has been my favorite tea from Upton so far. I wasn’t expecting much based on the smell of the dry leaves — very similar to the China Oolong Se Chung I had right before it. A little cardboardy and stale, if I’m honest.

But woooo… first steep was a little longer than is typical for me — maybe 15-20 seconds (how I so frequently forget to pour the tea after pouring the water is one of life’s great mysteries). But WOW, it was perfect straightaway. Cocoa right out front, with grandpa’s smoky basement fireplace right behind. Then Christmas plum pudding across the room — dark spicy dough, raisins, brandy. It was every piece of memory from that paneled Ohio basement that I could hope for.

The charcoal roast is VERY prominent, and while I appreciate a roast that disappears into the melange, this one held a really special gift and I wouldn’t want one less iota of smoke and dank than it brought me.

This explosion of nostalgia and complexity didn’t last terribly long — even by my second pour (which I think would normally have been my third, in terms of steep time) it was starting to fade. Still — some nice little cups that trickled out, and I look forward to drinking this one again. Happy to have found it.

I know this sample I got has to be older… something about Upton’s quality and storage makes it like liquid cardboard though…. not appealing :/

300ml zisha yixing
12g

INF1–5
212º
probably why they came out more sour & metallic than roasted

195º

INFs started at 2min (by accident; was going to try 1m)

I just finished off the last of this tea, and since it was one of the first teas I bought, I thought it would be fitting to review it. This is my favorite oolong from Upton, it’s very smooth with a toasty feel to it. I’ve drank it both western and gongfu and can’t say I have a preference, but the western method brings out the toasted taste more.

For the price I think it’s one of the better teas I bought from Upton in general.