Ahhh, Wuyi oolong. Heavy roasted Wuyi oolong, in fact. This tea was the first wuyi I ever had, and once you've had one...well, you can't go back. Those darn Wuyi mountains just have something about them that makes their tea totally unique and memorable. It also makes their tea pretty expensive, though this is a pretty affordable example of the genre (especially as compared to Da Hong Pao, taste test coming soon!). Being affordable doesn't mean it's terrible, though, as we'll see below.
The dry leaves smell as roasted as they look, with a hint of raisins or other dried fruit mixed in with tobacco and chocolate. They're lovely big leaves, too. One gets the sense that this tea was picked and processed with care.
The wet leaves are basically a more intense version of the dry, very punchy and complex. The tobacco is a little more pronounced, while the chocolate is less so, but overall the aromas are the same.
Finally, the brew, and hoo boy were there a lot of them. I managed to get eight really good infusions and about three more after that were alright. I imagine that if I adjusted brewing parameters I'd get significantly more, but still, this is a robust tea.
Most of the flavours remained consistent over all the brews, with some popping in and out. Raisins, chocolate, a bit of sourness...the gangs all here. The mouthfeel remained smooth until the end, and perhaps slightly oily.
To be perfectly honest, my palate is not developed enough to really tell you everything that's going on here. I taste certain things that I know I've tasted before but I can't place...it's frustrating, because this is a very good tea and I wish I could express the whole thing to you.
But...at the same time, maybe it's just more impetus to buy it and try some out for yourself.
Overall: Buy this tea, it's really great for the price.
Showing posts with label oolong. Show all posts
Showing posts with label oolong. Show all posts
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Taste Test: Jing-Shuen (Golden Lily) oolong from It's About Tea
Another day, another oolong. I have tons of these things. It's not a bad thing, but looking back, I wonder if I could have spent the money on teas I enjoy more. The members of the Tea Club don't seem to like them that much, either, but hey, a little tea variety never hurt anybody. Plus, I can't just write off oolongs when I've barely tasted any.
Today's oolong is Jing-Shuen, of the Formosa persuasion. I think all the oolongs I have are Formosa, actually. Boy howdy, variety!
Dry Leaf
Small, dark green rolled leaves. A bit shiner and greener than the Dong Ding. There's a baked bread aroma, and like a lot of these oolongs, a faint nutty aroma as well.
Brew & Wet Leaf
At the first touch of hot water, the leaves unfurl into their lovely original shape, along with some stems for good measure. You really get a feel for tea as a plant from teas like this.
The wet leaves smell "baked", like rye bread or honey bran bread. It's delightful!
The second infusion produces a honey yellow liquor, and the honey feel doesn't stop with the colour: the aroma also smacks of Winnie-the-Pooh's favourite food. When sipped, the mouthfeel reveals itself as fairly thick and clingy, again reminding me of honey. No surprise that the predominate taste is...honey! There's no sourness like in the Dong Ding, and I find that this tea goes down a bit easier.
Sadly, though, later infusions don't bring out anything special. The honey taste vanishes by the fourth infusion, being replaced by a progressive bitterness. The brew is pretty undrinkable by the sixth infusion.
Overall, I was disappointed at how short a life this tea really had. The honey taste was a welcome surprise, and I would have liked to have had it stick around longer. It was a good time while it lasted.
Today's oolong is Jing-Shuen, of the Formosa persuasion. I think all the oolongs I have are Formosa, actually. Boy howdy, variety!
Dry Leaf
Small, dark green rolled leaves. A bit shiner and greener than the Dong Ding. There's a baked bread aroma, and like a lot of these oolongs, a faint nutty aroma as well.
Brew & Wet Leaf
At the first touch of hot water, the leaves unfurl into their lovely original shape, along with some stems for good measure. You really get a feel for tea as a plant from teas like this.
The wet leaves smell "baked", like rye bread or honey bran bread. It's delightful!
The second infusion produces a honey yellow liquor, and the honey feel doesn't stop with the colour: the aroma also smacks of Winnie-the-Pooh's favourite food. When sipped, the mouthfeel reveals itself as fairly thick and clingy, again reminding me of honey. No surprise that the predominate taste is...honey! There's no sourness like in the Dong Ding, and I find that this tea goes down a bit easier.
Sadly, though, later infusions don't bring out anything special. The honey taste vanishes by the fourth infusion, being replaced by a progressive bitterness. The brew is pretty undrinkable by the sixth infusion.
Overall, I was disappointed at how short a life this tea really had. The honey taste was a welcome surprise, and I would have liked to have had it stick around longer. It was a good time while it lasted.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Taste Test: Dong Ding oolong from It's About Tea
Before I forget, I have to mention that It's About Tea is the name of the locally-owned tea shop in the city where I live. There's another tea outlet, David's Tea, in the mall, but it's a chain and I really don't trust them to know anything.
Anywho! Today's taste test is of an oolong (partially oxidized) tea that I remember having quite an affection for when I first bought it. Let's see if it still impresses!
Dong Ding is a Formosa oolong, Formosa being the old name for Taiwan. The trees that are used to grow Dong Ding were originally transplanted to Taiwan from the Wuyi Mountains in mainland China, another rather famous tea area we'll be getting to eventually.
Dry Leaf
Somewhat large, dark green rolled leaves. The smell is quite nutty with a hint of roasted pumpkin, something I definitely don't remember being there before (and believe me, I've roasted a few pumpkins in my day). Nice aroma, overall.
Brew & Wet Leaf
I've decided I'm going to brew all my oolongs with boiling water now. Research tells me that this is the way to go. Plus, I hate weak tea, and would rather something be overbrewed than under.
So the kettle comes to a boil and I pour the water over the leaves, leave it for about two seconds, then decant. A good hot rinse is good for rolled oolongs like this, since it helps to open up the leaves. Plus, the first infusion (when the leaves are still rolled up) wouldn't taste very good, anyways, hence the decanting.
The second infusion lasts about 30 seconds or so. The liquor is a pale green, with a slightly golden hue, as well. It smells vaguely nutty, but has more of a forest-floor or cooked-vegetable character than anything else. A sip reveals a thick mouthfeel, focusing on the very tip of the tongue. It's not amazing, but it's not bad either. Taste wise, it's kind of sour...reminds me of green apples or raw rhubarb. There is a kind of mineral astringency as well. I quite like the sourness, actually, though some people would probably be turned off by it.
The third infusion is a bit longer than the second. It smells a bit more sweet than the second, and most of the nuttiness is gone, replaced by a stronger cooked green vegetable scent. When tasted, I noticed that the mouthfeel was quite a bit thinner than before, and the mineral astringency was more pronounced. There was also a kind of Brussels sprout greenness which I didn't at all enjoy, but that's probably because I think Brussels sprouts are the Devil. That enjoyable sourness is still there, though.
The fourth and fifth infusions reveal nothing else, and the tea becomes progressively more bland, even when steeped for over three minutes with boiling water. It is nice to note, however, that the tea never became overpoweringly bitter, even towards the end.
Giddy from all the caffeine on an empty stomach, I took one of infused leaves and popped it into my mouth to chew on it. It actually didn't taste horrible. Then again, I also like eating peanut shells, so what do I know?
Anywho! Today's taste test is of an oolong (partially oxidized) tea that I remember having quite an affection for when I first bought it. Let's see if it still impresses!
Dong Ding is a Formosa oolong, Formosa being the old name for Taiwan. The trees that are used to grow Dong Ding were originally transplanted to Taiwan from the Wuyi Mountains in mainland China, another rather famous tea area we'll be getting to eventually.
Dry Leaf
Somewhat large, dark green rolled leaves. The smell is quite nutty with a hint of roasted pumpkin, something I definitely don't remember being there before (and believe me, I've roasted a few pumpkins in my day). Nice aroma, overall.
Brew & Wet Leaf
I've decided I'm going to brew all my oolongs with boiling water now. Research tells me that this is the way to go. Plus, I hate weak tea, and would rather something be overbrewed than under.
So the kettle comes to a boil and I pour the water over the leaves, leave it for about two seconds, then decant. A good hot rinse is good for rolled oolongs like this, since it helps to open up the leaves. Plus, the first infusion (when the leaves are still rolled up) wouldn't taste very good, anyways, hence the decanting.
The second infusion lasts about 30 seconds or so. The liquor is a pale green, with a slightly golden hue, as well. It smells vaguely nutty, but has more of a forest-floor or cooked-vegetable character than anything else. A sip reveals a thick mouthfeel, focusing on the very tip of the tongue. It's not amazing, but it's not bad either. Taste wise, it's kind of sour...reminds me of green apples or raw rhubarb. There is a kind of mineral astringency as well. I quite like the sourness, actually, though some people would probably be turned off by it.
The third infusion is a bit longer than the second. It smells a bit more sweet than the second, and most of the nuttiness is gone, replaced by a stronger cooked green vegetable scent. When tasted, I noticed that the mouthfeel was quite a bit thinner than before, and the mineral astringency was more pronounced. There was also a kind of Brussels sprout greenness which I didn't at all enjoy, but that's probably because I think Brussels sprouts are the Devil. That enjoyable sourness is still there, though.
The fourth and fifth infusions reveal nothing else, and the tea becomes progressively more bland, even when steeped for over three minutes with boiling water. It is nice to note, however, that the tea never became overpoweringly bitter, even towards the end.
Giddy from all the caffeine on an empty stomach, I took one of infused leaves and popped it into my mouth to chew on it. It actually didn't taste horrible. Then again, I also like eating peanut shells, so what do I know?
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