Buddha's Hand "Fo Shou" Wu Yi Rock Oolong Spring 2015

I really enjoyed this tea. Lots of fruity flavors in the early-mid steeps. Possibly peach, though at times I thought it might have been like pear too. Fruitiness is accompanied by a creamy texture and sweet vanilla-like finish. After the fruit flavors fade, a sort of mineral flavor takes over for them. This flavor is extremely smooth, and if one uses their imagination, almost comes across as a more muted fruit flavor. I really liked this tea, but do have a bit of trouble coming up with descriptions for the flavors. The roast on this tea was apparent in the aroma, but I did not pick up on it at all in the flavor of the tea. I think it more added to the great overall sweetness of this tea. I previously tried with water at 190 degrees, but felt like I wasn’t getting nearly all this tea had to offer. Doing this session at 205 degrees confirmed this suspicion, and I will try with boiled water next time.

First impressions

I recieved the tea a week ago with my tea club shipment. The dry leaves had a distinct peach note which after heating in a gaiwan opened up with the addition of cinnamon, vanilla, toasty malt, and some florality.

The first brew was full bodied with a lot of floral notes, a good touch of minerality, flint, some toast, and a hint of peach. The tea lasted about 8 brews, however the tea peaked on the second brew and was much smoother and less complex thus forth. The teas energy is warm and calming, but definitely slight and requires focus. There was a nice cooling in the mouth for the first few brews accompanied by some sweetness.

I’ll update this review next time I brew it. Overall my first impression is that this is a good entry/mid-level yancha, aromatic and flavorful with good sensations in the mouth. Well priced.

I open up the package to be greeted by big, thick, dark leaves & a distinctive rock & roast smell.

This is a mellow rock oolong, no astringency or bitterness, a little drying, with a soft thick mouth. The roast is not overpowering in any way, and tastes to me a lot like some of the aged oolongs in the 2015 group buy. To me its a classic mineral taste with a bit of trees thrown in there, but firmly in the medium with everything, except caffeine. I didnt get much in the way of fruitiness that was listed on the website, but my taste has been a bit bad due to blocked nose recently. maybe a slight cream in there, but hidden under the mellow fluffiness.

It feels like this tea has a slightly higher caffeine content than I prefer – I can feel an elevated heart rate & a ‘firmness’ on my body. – But im really sensitive and wimpy when it comes to this, so other peoples mileage will definitely vary.

I think anyone who likes rock oolong with a medium, mellow, aged taste to it, but also with a caffeine kick will like this tea, fo sho! Had to put that in there somewhere didnt i :P

I have been grandpa styling everything recently for convenience, and 3g just off boiling 12oz water.