Li Shan Bi Lu Xi Oolong

A few days ago, I wanted some green oolong without having to open an entire 150 g pack, so I raided my tea museum for this small sample bag. The label doesn’t have a year on it, but I suspect it’s from 2021 or 2022. This Lishan deserved a better fate! I steeped 6 g of leaf in 120 ml of boiling water for 55, 45, 55, 65, 75, 90, 120, 180, and 240 seconds, plus some long, uncounted steeps.

The dry aroma is of peaches, orchids, other florals, cream, mung beans, and grass. The first steep has notes of underripe peach, cream, orchid, sweet pea, mung beans, and grass, with a nice, thick texture and a peachy aftertaste. I notice a bit more grass than is usual in Wang’s teas, though that could be due to age. Steep two is grassy peaches and cream. The next couple steeps are more floral, with notes of cream, custard, and sadly, more grass. The next few steeps retain the ethereal floral, peachy aroma, but the taste increasingly features spinach and grass. Still, I continued to steep the leaves several more times to extract those lingering florals.

This is a good oolong that might have been fantastic when it was fresher. I’ve added it to my list of great teas from this company, which also includes their SLX Wild Garden, Da Yu Ling, Fushoushan, Osmanthus Alishan, and SLX Small Leaf Black Tea.

HO-LI SHAN this is amazing! Now I see why people like Lishan so much. Fruitiest tea I’ve tried. Furthermore, the steep-to-steep variance is insane.

The smell when I opened the bag was heavenly. No other way to describe it. Red, tropical fruits, sweet. Wet leaves screamed breakfast table, still with some fruit. First steep was all fruit all the way, quite sweet. Second steep was savory, green, vegetal. Third steep was back to sweet and fruity. Fourth steep is white sugar and a bit sweeter. Later infusions are vanilla, fruity, and sweet.

A top five tea in terms of complexity. Balance is top notch. Hui gan is fruity and lasts at least 2 minutes. Zero bitterness and astringency. Medium-high sweetness. Mouthfeel is very smooth and full and slippery like a longan. Longevity is 9-10 infusions.

This experience reminds me why I love tea so much. Thank you, Wang Family.

Harvest: Spring 2024
Location: Bi Lu Xi, Renai Township, Li Shan
Elevation: 2300 m
Cultivar: Qing Xin

Dry leaf: Pomegranate, cherry.
Wet leaf: Breakfast table, toast, butter, cream, papaya, guava.
Flavors: Papaya, guava, blackberry, sweet, mung bean, vegetal, savory, jackfruit, peach, white sugar, vanilla.

Backlog.

This was the second tea from my Wang Family Tea order. A few months ago when I was knee deep in studying, my tea consumption went way up despite having less time for leisurely gongfu sessions. Most of the time, I just wanted to be able to quickly fill up a mug or tumbler. So I resorted to compounding all of my gongfu infusions into one mug. And to my surprise, infusions often tasted better when combined than on their own. Such was the case with this tea. It expressed itself differently depending on how it was steeped yet was delicious no matter what.

I brewed it grandpa style the first time. Upon opening the bag, the tea leaves smelled of buttered flowers. First sip tasted like crisp, clean spring water with a lily floating in it. Reminiscent of baozhong with its lilac and light floral notes but absent the usual body and minerals of gaoshan. Refreshing flavor with a little fruitiness in the finish. After topping off, it had a more body along with sugarcane and vanilla notes.

Next session was normal gongfu where I tasted each steep individually. The leaves, which had been allowed to rest for a couple of days, now emitted a soft tropical aroma. A heady burst of orange blossom, coconut, and mango following a rinse. The flavor of the tea was sweet, juicy, and mineral rich. Full bodied with a bright, minty herbaceous note, and lingering florals.

The best result though came from combining all of the steeps. Using my 65ml mini kyusu, I stacked 4 steeps at a time and was shocked at how intensely fruity it tasted. It felt like a tropical cocktail in tea form. Fresh pineapple juice accented with with lychee and melon. Some top notes disappeared by the time I got to the later infusions but it was very fruity and delicious.

Quick note.

I got this at the beginning of the year as a birthday present. Brewing 5 grams up in 5 oz vessel Gong Fu, I started out with a rinse of 15 sec, then brewed it 3 oz at 20 sec, then 5 oz at 25, 30, 25, 45, 55, 75, and onto losing cout going into minutes.

The rinse had an interesting hibiscus cream note that was really nice, and lots coming from the aroma. The tea’s texture is very soft with a very clean profile. The first brew was floral, creamy, vegetal, and smooth reminding me of lilies and peach skins. 3rd and 4th brews had more fruitiness, with a little bit of pineapple among hyacinth, and oddly enough, hibiscus in an extremely green body. Thick and viscous, but soft. The mung bean vegetal taste was fairly prominent, but complimented the floral and fruity notes in a fresh mix, occasionally giving off a vanilla-orchid note. The later notes are a little stemmy or spriggy, but not really woodsy. If it is woodsy, it’s kind of like fresh bamboo.

Overall, a really pleasing Lishan I’m glad I got to try. It’s very fresh and forgiving….and long lasting. There are others from Wang Family Tea that I liked a little bit more than this one, especially in terms of their Shanlinxi’s, but the huigan is incredible. This is the kind of tea I’m going to take my time with. There were elements of this that made me think of a Dayuling, especially with some of the rose notes I got midway through, but it was overall thicker.

Rating is between 85-95. It’s high quality for sure that leans more in the 90’s. Price is the main thing keeping me from rating it higher, though this tea might grow on me like it’s long lasting after taste.