Organic Oolong 17 from Driftwood Tea

organic_oolong_17Tea Information:

Leaf Type:  Oolong

Where to Buy:  Driftwood Tea

Tea Description:

Organic Oolong 17 is considered to be Thailand’s finest tea. Oolong 17 was developed from imported Taiwanese stock and, given Mae Salong’s similar altitude and climate, is highly comparable to the quality and taste of high mountain teas grown in Taiwan.

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

The dry leaf of this Organic Oolong 17 from Driftwood Tea has a strong vegetative aroma.  It’s really quite fragrant, smelling almost like a cross between steamed spinach and kelp.

I brewed this tea in my gaiwan, giving it a quick 15 second rinse and then proceeding with the infusions, starting at 45 seconds and adding 15 seconds to each subsequent infusion.  I combined the first and second infusions to create my first cup … and it is marvelous!  Sweet and buttery, but not so much “creamy” buttery, but more like the taste of butter.  It has a smooth texture, but not really a creamy texture.

It has a light vegetative taste … lighter than I expected given the scent of the dry leaf.  It is also lightly floral and just … really sweet and pleasant!

The second cup (infusions 3 and 4) is a bit sharper than the first … with more distinct floral tones and less of that buttery taste that I noticed in the first cup.  There is more of a tangy astringency in this cup than in the first cup.

My third and final cup (infusions 5 and 6) is very much like the second cup.  The floral tones have emerged very distinctly now.  This is no longer buttery, that ‘heavy’ buttery taste has lifted to allow the complexity of the cup to come through.  This cup is very refreshing:  vegetative and floral.

A very nice Oolong … and it is one I’m really glad I got to try.  This one is quite different from the “usual suspects” … in fact, if you’re an Oolong fan, I’d recommend putting this on your to try list because it’s just different enough from other Oolong teas out there – it’s one that you should definitely try!

 

1 thought on “Organic Oolong 17 from Driftwood Tea

  1. Interesting, couldn’t resist a comment because I like Driftwood Tea, at least their online presence. Their brains behind it all has shared some interesting stories. Glad this tea was good.

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