Vietnam Gui Fei Oolong Tea

Mmm, I do love me some Gui Fei.

In fact, I just ordered 50g more of it from Camellia Sinensis and at that point I hadn’t even tried the 50g package of this sitting on my shelf! So, I rectified that this afternoon and during a more mentally clear point in the day I steeped up a mug of it.

This was pretty nice Western steeped! Much like your typical/generic Gui Fei profile this had a lovely honeyed sweetness to the profile. I’d call it sort of light to medium bodied overall with a very soft, gentle toasty roasted flavour as the key/main background and supporting flavour throughout the sip. Otherwise, notes of honey, lemon water, and wood were present. Really smooth, and easy to sip. In fact, before I knew it the entire mug was already gone!

I want to clarify the lemon water note a bit better though. When I say lemon water that isn’t to say that it was a weak or watery lemon flavour but rather the smooth, crisp and refreshing lemon quality that lemon infused water has without any of the tartness/sourness or acidity. It was actually a really pleasant and enjoyable fruity note in this particular Gui Fei.

The SO wanted oolong this morning, so we decided to try out two gui fei oolong. This was one of them. The leaves are tightly rolled with white fuzzy bits all over them. Despite being a light roast, the roast becomes immediately apparent upon washing.

These leaves take a few steeps to really unfurl, but the flavor is strong from the first steep. This oolong has reportedely undergone medium oxidation which makes sense, as there are still a few hints of green on the leaves here and there but it’s got much more depth than a greener light roasted oolong. After several steeps, I also get hints of some of those citrusy notes that leaves can develop with oxidation.

Good drinking experience, but the flavor profile is not quite to my preference for an oolong. I think it’s definitely worth giving a try, though!

The tea opens with a gentle woodsy note, followed by light honey and a hint of indistinct fruit. The finish is fairly smooth and without bitterness. I am most reminded of Oriental Beauty, and this compares favorably.