Formosa Tung-Ting Jade Oolong (TT86)

For some reason the leaf in my sample has some sort of yellowish tint instead of being jade in color… kinda sad looking. I usually brew this type of oolongs at 200F and this one is sensitive to high temperature, turning into grassy brew. Only after reducing the temp to 190 I was able to get it right.

The flavor is surprisingly mild. It has creamy, almost milky notes and is very sweet, with slightly woody, toasty background. The aroma is fleeting, I had to keep my nose close to the cup to actually smell something, which was floral and sweet.

I can’t say I’ve enjoyed this tea but definitely can imagine someone who would because all in all it is interesting, unusually tasting oolong.

I’ve had a pretty hectic week and didn’t have quality time to spend with my Oolong sampler until now. This is the third in the sampler, and it is quite lovely. The dry leaves are the greenest of the four Oolong samples (not surprising given the reference to jade in the name) and are in fact a color that isn’t far from jade green (the “darker” jade green). It’s less toasty smelling than the fine grade or the amber. Though that note is still present, there’s a greener, earthier smell to it that makes the toasty note regress some.

The color is a pretty, clear light golden yellow with the smallest touch of green. The infused aroma, too, has a greener smell to it than the others. It deepened and became more “tawny” and floral on the second and third infusion, and by the third it was downright buttery with a twinge of something that seemed almost vanilla.

The flavor is delicate and sweet, and it changes fairly obviously from infusion to infusion, getting creamier through at least the third (steeped five minutes) and fourth (steeped six minutes). These were my favorites, though I went for five. The leaves had expanded in the filter so much by the fifth that I moved to a larger cup, and that likely made a difference, or perhaps the flavor was just naturally tapering off by then.

Rainy windy day – came into work SOAKED. I thought drinking multiple steeps of an oolong sounded pretty much perfect on a day like today

Leaves smell much like a green tea. Crazy wavy looking leaves (much like my HAIR after getting stuck in the rain!!!!)

1st: 3 minutes – Beautiful golden color – I LIKE :) Sweet and smooth. Just the slightest bit woody – a bare hint. Nothing like the strength of the woody nutty flavor I got from the Formosa Amber Oolong from Upton. As it cools, this touch of woody dissapears.

2nd: 4 minutes – more of the same – slightly sweeter and the wood is gone. Still a brilliant golden color. Still delicious!

3rd: 5 minutes – can’t believe how golden the tea still is! I am tasting more floral and sweetness. Really nice. I think I’m going to have lunch after this cup, but plan to make more this afternoon :) I’ll edit this post with what I taste!

EDIT: 4th: 8ish minutes (with a student and lost track of time!) Very nice but lighter. I can sense that the flavor is fading but it’s very enjoyable still. I’ve had enough for today, but I could see going at least one more time!

Lovely greenish-yellow infusion, bears repeated steepings becoming buttery by about the third steeping.

Doesn’t really excite me but isn’t the worst tea I’ve had.

I like this better than the Ko-Kei Cha, which was very grassy tasting. This has more subtle flavors, and a little bit of sweet banana twinge at the end. It’s nice.

Strong woody, pungent, almost fish aroma. Mild flavor, strong mouth feel, very astringent.

Very pleasing, rich golden color with two steepings.

Infused in a small amount of water for 45 secs, discarded, then re-brewed for 3.5 minutes at 180°F. Rich body, floral aroma. Smooth, sweet and floral flavor with virtually no astringency. Not quite as good as previous batches I’ve had of the same (TT86)—the supplier and/or the season clearly changed—but still quite wonderful for the price.