Nepal Silver Oolong Tea

It’s an unflavored, pure leaf tea, but somehow this Silver Oolong tastes like the juiciest Bai Mu Dan white was met with lemon-grapefruit essential oils, all whipped into a light-as-air chiffon. The citrus flavor is vivid and soft, and is joined by the depth and aroma of zest. It’s a sophisticated, lightly sweet lemon drop candy, with all of the essence and none of the acidic bite of fresh lemon juice.

The Silver Oolong is unique among any tea I’ve tasted, while at the same time bringing to mind similar flavors in other teas. Winter White Earl Grey, a Mu Dan white tea and bergamot blend by Harney & Sons, could seem like an attempt to blend what Silver Oolong creates with pure leaf. The resemblance is in the Winter White’s base tea as well as the bergamot, since the Silver Oolong’s citrus flavor seems more like Meyer lemon or grapefruit than tangerine. However, even in the smoothest blends (in which I would include the Winter White Earl Grey), I find bergamot oil to be harsh, a form of bitterness that I have taken in for the experience but have not found pleasant. In contrast, the Silver Oolong captures the essence of citrus without delving into the bitterness of bergamot oil.

I brewed this tea in a sort of hybrid style in a 150mil ruyao easy gaiwan. It was the last of the bag, which ended up being less leaf than would be recommended for the gaiwan. So, I chose steep times that bridged gongfu and Western (around 30 sec, 1 min for later steeps), and this brewing a good number of flavorful cups. This tea had lots of staying power. Even as the sweet fruitiness faded and the deeper flavors became more apparent, every cup of Silver Oolong was still sweeter, juicier, and gentler than any bergamot tea I’ve tasted.

Another tea that the Silver Oolong brought to mind was the Cannon Ball Green Tea. It was a fun realization that both teas are produced by Nepal’s Greenland Organic Farm. I’ve tasted only a cup or two of the Cannon Ball Green, not enough for a detailed comparison, but plenty to recall that it too captured citrus blossoms in a tea leaf.

A very nice, easy to drink floral tea. Nice to drink late in the evening.

Sipdown (117)!

Totally forgot that I still had any of this left, but I found the little sample package over the work week and cold brewed it. I was hesitant to do so because I thought I wouldn’t have enough leaf left for a flavourful cold brew but I have to say that the opposite was true and this turned out to be one of the more flavourful cold brews I’ve prooduced using a pure tea.

Strong, abundantly fruity notes dominated. It was like some kind of very harmonious mash up of Bartlett pears, citrus notes (primarily sweet lemon), and other fruity flavours like green grapes? Very robust, juicy and natural flavours that complimented each other fully and which I found weren’t overly sweet either. Also, just a wee bit floral too.

In fact, I liked this cold brew so much that I shared a sip with my brother because I knew he wouldn’t be able to believe that he was drinking a tea without any flavouring in it. What I didn’t count on was that he’d actually enjoy the cold brew so much that while I was at work he finished the last half of it, sans permission to do so of course. Initially I was mighty pissed because I enjoyed this so much but then I realized that him doing so was perhaps the highest form of praise he could have given.

And I was right; he didn’t believe it was unflavoured. He was sure there was some kind of sweet lemon/citrus flavouring used.

A sample from Roswell Strange. I’ve never tried a Silver Oolong before, so she’s certainly pushing my tea boundaries with the samples she included! That’s the joy of swaps, though. I love getting to try new things, and especially things I’d never have thought of! I used 1 tsp of leaf for my cup, and gave it approximately 2 minutes in water cooled to around 170 degrees. The resulting liquor is a very pale green, almost colourless.

The leaf is an intriguing prospect. It’s a little twisted and downy-looking dry, and the buds are a fairly variagated grey-white-green. Wet, they’re a much lighter, brighter green in colour, with a flash of orange at the stem, and the odd touch of brown on the leaves themselves. It’s actually possible to unfurl the leaves to see their full extent. They’re on the small side, but it’s intriguing to observe how they’re twisted up to form the dry version of themselves. The wet leaf smells absolutely amazing – very “green”, almost in a seaweedy sort of way, with a touch of pine and a strong mineral undertone (like wet stone).

To taste, this is an entirely different prospect. The first thing I noticed was the spiciness, which tingles on the tongue. It’s not quite cinnamon, but that’s the closest I can get in terms of description. It’s a felt spiciness – a sensation – more than a taste, if that makes sense. Warming, rather than hot. I’m also picking up strong notes of hay, a touch of floral (which puts me in mind of pears, as I associate those with a floral flavour), and a whole lot of maltiness. That’s odd to me, in such a pale tea that’s mostly reminiscent of green in many respects. I can taste pithy, mildly bitter orange zest at the very end of the sip, and a touch of white grapefruit. It’s interesting to end on such a tangy, fruity note after the sweetness of the mid-sip. It’s a vibrant contrast, and one I actually like a lot more than I could ever have anticipated. If I saw it written down, I might think “ugh”, but in practice it’s strangely poetic. I can feel a warming spiciness at the back of my throat long after I’ve taken my last sip. It’s a truly intriguing cup.

I’m really impressed with this one, and I’ll certainly be having a good look at What-Cha on the strength of this sample. It’s good to know that there are still teas out there than can surprise and delight, even after having tried so many over the last few years. This is the best journey I’ve ever been on. Thanks again to Roswell Strange for sharing this with me.

Finally managed to get around tasting this magnificent tea, on a lazy, warm, late afternoon. Just the smell promised a treat, and a treat it was…
The taste was fruity but tender, with hay notes present during every infusion. Speaking of, with my Gong Fu powered Gaiwan I managed to get 10(!) whole infusions before losing that precious taste. Sweet!

Recommended 9/10.

Gaiwan 100 ml, 3,33g for 5/10/15/20… sec @ 82°C

Wowza. Nepal has yet to fail me with their teas. This is so sweet, malty, fruity and smooth. It’s hard to pick just onto aspect to love.
I knew at the rinse that I would love this. I smelled the promise of malt, the hint of honeydew, and a kiss of citrus. Like a mandarin or the sweetest grapefruit I have ever tasted. The maltiness is so nice in comparison with the fruitiness and the candy-like sweetness. The candied orange peel became more and more obvious in the later steeps.
I was almost nervous to steep this at oolong temperatures by looking at the leaf. The bright green leaves tinged with silvery green-grey fuzzies had me buggin’.
I believe I got this as a thank-you sample from Alistair in my last What-Cha order. The second he puts a sale up again and this tea is part of it, I may just have to get tons more. This is killer tea.

Never had a silver oolong before. This tea from Nepal looks similar to a Taiwanese Bai Hao, an open-leaf style oolong with loosely curled strips and some fuzzy white buds in the mix, though this is more green. There’s a very distinct and familiar smell to this tea that I can’t quite figure out from smelling the dry leaves. It smells like old book pages and something else… I believe the aroma I am getting is pine wood, similar to a pinewood box (fuku masu) for drinking sake when it is wet and full of sake.

When I pulled the lid off my gaiwan after the first infusion, the first words to come out of my mouth were excited expletives, as I wasn’t expecting the intense aroma that drifted over to me. It’s hard to describe, but the scent smells like fruit flowers, maybe a little like orange blossoms, and is very vibrant and uplifting. It reminds me of the aroma of some of the best white teas I’ve had the pleasure to enjoy. There’s a good deal of the scent I’m familiar with in a good quality first flush Darjeeling as well, sort of perfumed, a bit earthy, and lightly fruity.

The brew is very sweet. The taste is very floral with hints of citrus and definite notes of pear.

On the second infusion the aroma is of flowers and fruit, maybe raspberries. The taste is a bit more perfume-like, reminding me once again of orange blossoms. The infusion is a pale creamy yellow. Oh, hey! Look at that. I just checked the website to read up on this tea a bit and they also describe it as having an orange blossom note.

This tea is really vibrant and enjoyable. The energy of this tea is more invigorating than calming.

The fourth infusion tastes more like orange blossoms and herbs. It’s really sweet and relaxing, very spring like.

This tea is incredibly aromatic and seems to be best when brewed somewhat lightly. If you go too heavy on the leaf, it becomes astringent.

Okay I like this a lot. Today’s cup was super juicy and cooling – lettuce, cucumber, hay, and spices. Very similar to a Darjeeling white tea.

This reminds me of citrus, almost like a slightly bitter winter orange. Dee-licious. guzzled my first mug in seconds flat, and got 3 more western style brews out of it. Next to try is some gong-fu!

This. Is. Awesome. Just thought I should get that out of the way. The leaf looks silver and fuzzy with a mix of green leaf. It resembles white tea but it is an oolong. The aroma is citrus. When water hits the leaf the nose becomes very definite citrus. At first I am thinking lemon. Then breathing in again, I’m thinking orange. So nice.

The liquor is sunshine yellow and very clear. The aroma of the leaf is so wonderful, I was a little afraid the taste would not compare. Wrong. It is better. At the front I get sweet buttery corn. Then mid sip it changes to spring water. While the brain is still trying to adjust, this moves into a beautiful citrus finish. No bitterness or astringency that I recall. Nothing even vaguely approaching off in the taste. Just lots or refreshing yum.

I have had the pleasure of trying several teas from What-Cha. Picking a favorite would be difficult. This one is definitely a contender for that spot.