Li Shan Oolong Tea

I’ve been sipping down teas in anticipation of Black Friday, and decided it was time to try this sample from Yezi Tea. I used the entire 3 grams in 6 oz of water in a series of 60 second steeps.

1st steep: Nose is soft and spicy with hints of straw. Flavor is light and grassy with milky texture. Finish seems more powerful than the taste. As the tea cooled the flavor opened up and became quite buttery, but the spice disappeared.

2nd steep: the nose is more grass than straw, with just a hint of spice. A bit more powerful than the first steep. The first sip just exploded in my mouth: tremendous power! It has an incredibly rich mouth-feel, with flavors dominated by straw and grass, with undertones of spice. The taste transitions smoothly into a long, powerful finish.

3rd steep was less powerful than the second. Mildly spicy nose. Same flavors, but much less buttery texture in the mouth. Finish is still good, but not quite as good as the second steep.

Many thanks to Yezi Tea for providing the sample

Thanks to Yezi Tea for the sample!

While I really enjoy oolongs, I admittedly don’t have very much experience with them, especially the greener ones. I’ve basically only had a few milk oolongs, a couple tieguanyins, and several roasted oolongs mostly from the Wuyi region. Yezi Tea is currently doing a promotion where you can get three free samples of their teas and only pay a few dollars in shipping. I got two oolongs and a black tea, in the hopes of being able to learn to differentiate the oolongs. They also add an additional sample to orders (mine was another oolong which I believe I’ve already reviewed in brief).

Anyway, on to the tea. I’ve steeped this 5g sample four times so far and have enjoyed each steep. I wasn’t able to take notes for each specific steep, unfortunately, so I’ll just write my overall impression.

Very floral (orchid, specifically), but not overpoweringly so. Sweet, honeylike taste. Lightly grassy aftertaste. No astringency or bitterness. Smooth. Makes me think of spring meadows with wildflowers everywhere (minus the allergies!). It does taste different from the last oolong I had (Dong Ding Winter Peak), but I can’t quite place it. I believe the texture is slightly different but I’m not sure. Still working on figuring out how to taste oolongs!

While window shopping for new tea to try, yes it is a hobby that I partake in most evenings because either I am completely obsessed or…actually or nothing, I am completely obsessed with tea. It is a lifestyle. Anyway, while window shopping I discovered the website for Yezi Tea and their delightful ‘try before you buy’ promotion sending you three samples of their teas for the very reasonable price of shipping. Of course I chose three different Oolongs because they are my favorite tea to drink (maybe). They were kind enough to send me an extra sample and that is what I am reviewing today.

First off, you need to visit the website for the Li Shan Oolong because it is wonderfully informative! Not only is there really detailed steeping instructions, it also delights in telling me that this particular Oolong is from the Li Shan Mountain Range in the Nantou County of Taiwan, harvested at 6,600-7,800 feet above sea level. Those who follow my blog know how much I love this kind of information, I am such a collector of information that it makes me giddy! But I bet you are here for the actual review of the tea, so allow me to introduce this Oolong’s aroma! Why, hello delightfully floral Oolong, you are very light and reminiscent of a spring day. The main floral aroma is honeysuckles, not so much the heady summery aroma of honeysuckles but the late spring early bloom where the flowers are just starting to open their petals. Hiding beneath the freshly blooming honeysuckles are notes of sweet honey and a touch of rose.

As the tea steeps it first takes on the aroma of hay and strawflowers but very quickly turns into heady orchids. It fills the room up with the aroma of orchids and that mild chestnutty aroma I find in Oolongs, and it is lovely and sweet. The brewed liquid smells like honey and very mild orchids, surprisingly mild considering how heady the brewing leaves are.

The first steep is mellow and sweet! The initial taste is that of honey followed by the slight mix of fresh vegetation and mown hay. It gives a slightly tingly mouthfeel that is very refreshing and enjoyable. There are aftertastes of flowers that do not linger.

In the second steep we lose some of the sweetness and it is replaced with an intense richness. The taste becomes much more heady and floral, intoxicating, with a touch of vegetal green taste that blends well with the intense floral taste. The aftertaste is that of chestnuts and hay.

In the third steeping we get something that I absolutely adore in Oolongs (other than all the other tastes that have graced me with their presence) a mix of copper and minerals. That may not sound very tasty, but it is, every time I drink and Oolong that has these flavors it reminds me of a mountain spring, it is very clean but the undertones of minerals and copper are delightful. I should note that the mineral and copper taste are just hints, the main taste in this steeping is an even more intense floral with rich nutty notes.

In the final steep the sweetness from the first returns, delightfully mild with a touch of honey. The floral taste also is much more mellow and a sweet chestnutty aftertaste is present. A wonderful last cup!

Photos and blog: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2013/09/yezi-tea-li-shan-oolong-tea-tea-review.html

I’ve been so excited to try out these samples from Yezi Tea, so here goes another one! It’s the first time I’ve made oolong on my own, so bear with me. Forgot to smell the dry leaves cause it was so cold I just wanted tea right away!

First steep: Steeped for 45 seconds as recommended. Smells floral (maybe orchid like the description says, but I’m not good with identifying beyond “floral”) and a little buttery perhaps? Tastes sweet, smooth/buttery, and nutty to me. And one of the most important things to me, no bitterness through to the end of the cup!

Second steep: Not sure that my water was hot enough, but steeped for about 20 more seconds. Color is a lot brighter & greener compared to the yellow from before. A lot of the smooth/buttery taste and texture have gone away, but the other flavors seem similar to before. Oh, and there is a bit of bitterness that wasn’t there before, but not much.

Third/fourth steeps: Steeped 20 more seconds each. Pretty much same taste as second steep.

Overall, very tasty! I’m sad that the sample is gone, and I’m definitely considering repurchasing in the future.

I had high hopes for this tea that were not realized. The wet leaves were nice and earthy, redolent of warm spinach, and that first steep was pleasant, but clearly not developed. It woke up a bit more in the second steep, but still nothing to write home about. The mouth feel softened somewhat in the third steep, but there was still not much there. Either I underleafed or this is a very subtle oolong. Worth another try, but it didn’t do much for me. Hey, they can’t all be fabulous.

The warm leaves in the gaiwan have a scent of orchids and mountain air, very sweet and fragrant. I’m really eager to try this tea.

After the first infusion, the wet leaves are giving me big whiffs of floral with hints of honey, wheat, and grapefruit. There’s also a vegetal scent. The flavor is light with mostly floral notes and a bit creamy, but there is a sourness to it that I’m surprised about. The finish isn’t as enjoyable as the onset.

(I made sure at this point that my kettle was producing clean tasting water and wasn’t in need of cleaning, and the water tasted normal. )

The next infusion has quite a sour taste to it as well. There’s a drying quality to the tea that is really difficult for me to tolerate. The flavor is floral and has a pungent kind of sourness like grapefruit.

By the third infusion, the flavor is more round, floral and vegetal, but it’s bordering on bitter or sour tasting. I am brewing this tea lighter yet than I typically brew these types of rolled high mountain oolong teas, so I’m pretty certain I’m not overbrewing it.

I am bummed that I’m not enjoying this tea. The scent is great, the kind of luscious floral you’d expect from high quality high mountain oolong, but the flavor is kind of harsh. It doesn’t have a clean mouthfeel. It is pungent and sour. I love Yezi teas and feel bad leaving a less than positive review for a company I enjoy so much, but I believe reviews should be honest and unbiased. Personally, this helps me to look back at what I’ve tried and know what things to purchase or try again in the future. I suppose it can also help vendors decide which of their teas are well-liked and which ones may be more of a risk to sell.

I gave this tea a second chance with what I had left of the sample, making a fresh batch, and I had the same experience, overall good flavor, but marred by pungent sour and bitterness that sneaks in in the finish.

My brewing times were 45s, 25s, 20s, 30s, 40s, 60s, with no initial rinse.

I received this as a sample. This is one of my favorite types of tea as it’s delicious all on its own. Really yummy and comforting.

Got a sample of this from the lovely Albertocanfly.
I usually love Li Shan Oolong, but this one doesn’t have tons of flavor. I even steeped it for longer than it said, but still not much flavor. So I’m kinda bummed out about this one! :/
It’s wayy too light for me. It’s lightly roasted, but mostly just kinda tastes grassy….
Kinda hard to tell. xD Definitely not something I’d get more of. But always glad to try another oolong. Thanks, Albertocanfly! [:

Watching this tea bloom in my gaiwan was quite a treat. This is a tea that made me remember why I love oolong the most. Each steeping was a transformation on the last.

Origin: Li Shan (Pear Mountain), Taiwan
Leaf Appearance: Spinach green color rolled balls with scents of vanilla wafer
Method: Gaiwan 200F immediate rinse-45"-55"
Liquor: Pale Spring green with Orchid scent
Flavor: Floral, creamy, sugarcane