Taiwan Four Seasons Light-Roasted Oolong Tea

An Ode to Tea challenge – T

From derk a while ago!  Thanks very much!   I have had this lovely oolong a few times now, and not only is every steep session different, but it seems I can’t describe any steep session!  I feel I have failed oolongs all of the past year.  Anyway… here is my sad note for this as it’s a sipdown.  The leaf here says “roasted” but it seems like a dark green oolong to me.  Flavorwise, whoa is this starchy both sipping it before and after eating cinnamon rolls.  I would have thought the starch of the cinnamon rolls would have overpowered the starch of the tea – not so!  It seemed more noticeable after.   Otherwise the flavor is very sweet and mellow – I definitely don’t notice a roasted quality (which is perfect for me!).  
Another steep session, that starchiness wasn’t there at all.  Just a light, sweet, slightly fruity oolong.    It was never “roasted” tasting anyway.   And it was delicious always!  Just impossible for me to describe.
Steep #1  // 1  teaspoon for full mug // 21 minutes after boiling  // 1 minute steep
Steep #2  // 3 minutes after boiling //  4 minute steep
Steep #3 // 12 minutes after boiling // 2 min
2021 sipdowns: 47

oh a haiku for haiku day: this took me seconds to come up with, what a pro I am:

Oolong is a treat
Never guessing the flavors
I drink it anyway

Was keeping this as I don’t get on with most oolong. But I discounted their variability. Broke it out to finish a box before the new delivery comes and it’s lovely. Summer meadows early on, dry grasses later steeps.

Update: revisited again now my taste has developed. Also tried rinsing to open up before steeping. It’s even better. More floral hints. Close to a jasmine taste but pure tea.

I really enjoy a light roast applied to Taiwanese balled oolong.

April 2019 harvest. Freebie from an order last year.

Gongfu longer steeps starting at 30s:
Dense lilac and orchid aroma. Lubricating, viscous mouthfeel. Taste — getting a lot of milk and green cardamom in this one. Lilac, orchid, grass, green stems, sugar cookies, nectar, mineral, aluminum, dry grass, walnut, spinach. Cooling, complex. Fruity aftertaste I cannot place, something tropical-custardy? Excellent for 3 infusions. From the 4th on it becomes increasingly drying like walnut skin, bitter and more metallic.

Grandpa is so pectic thick!

Really nice tea for the price.

I received this as a mystery tea in my last What-Cha order and honestly wasn’t expecting much. Even though the description said it was “lightly roasted,” I’ve learned from experience that this can mean different things to different people. However, What-Cha was telling the truth and this tea is a nice balance between the roast and heady florals. I steeped 6 g of tea in a 120 ml teapot at 195F for 20, 15, 20, 25, 30, 30, 45, 60, 90, 120, and 240 seconds.

The dry aroma is of sugar cookies, honeysuckle, orchids, and other flowers. Yeah, this tastes like a floral sugar cookie: honeysuckle, orchid, butter, light roast, and kind of a sugarcane sweetness, with a bit of grass. The second steep has notes of cream and lilac and a drying mouthfeel. After the second steep, the wet leaves in the teapot have a wonderfully heady lilac aroma, which sadly never appears as strongly in the cup. The floral and grassy flavours become even more prominent in the third steep.

From the fourth steep onward, the roast starts taking over, though there’s still some florals. I get walnuts, roast, grass, honeysuckle, spinach, and veggies in the last few steeps.

Even though it peaked early, this tea was a pleasant surprise, and I’m about halfway through my 50 g bag. I definitely recommend it as a daily drinker.