Milky Alishan High Mountain Oolong from Oollo Tea is one of those teas you didn’t know you MISSED until you had another cuppa after a long pause in between. A classic case of ‘you don’t know what you have until it’s gone’ I guess.
Once upon a sniff I knew right away this was a Milky Alishan. It’s been TOO LONG since my last solid milky aroma like this! The tea liquor is pretty pale creamy yellow but the flavor is the true shining star here! There is a real freshness to this sip one that is minty without actually having MINT in it. It’s crisp and clean. There is a sweet yet creamy linger to it that goes on for miles!
Milky Alishan High Mountain Oolong from Oollo Tea has those amazing thirst-quenching capabilities and as it cools a bit at room temperature the floral notes come out to play more.
The layers of flavor continue to amaze me. I take an enchanting journey into its complexity.
I’ve enjoyed a slew of Milky Alishans but there is something about this one, specifically, that stands out. I’m not sure what it is but I LOVE it. Milky Alishan High Mountain Oolong from Oollo Tea is a true gem!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Ollo Tea
Description
Product Description: From the world renowned Alisan Mountain comes the unpretentious high mountain oolong. The Alisan family farms tea trees that were bought from our family in 1990. They practice zero pesticide natural farming. Origin Varietal: Qingxin Oolong Curator: Grandpa Lo Location: Alisan, Jiayi County, Taiwan Elevation: 1200-1800m Date: 2014 Winter
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Iron Buddha Oolong Tea from Oollo Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong Tea
Where to Buy: Oollo Tea
Tea Description:
A present from the loving Bodhisattva of Compassion. Tightly rolled, the full leaves unfurl to emit pleasant stone fruit and wild honey notes with a hint of roasted nuts.
Origin
Varietal: Iron Buddha
Grower Name: Wang Family
Location: Pinglin, New Taipei, Taiwan
Elevation: 500m
Harvest: 2014 SpringTea Review
“It’s sweet with notes of honey, nutty and toasty with a very pleasant peach-like flavor. It’s very smooth with a silky mouthfeel.” –Soriritea Sisters
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Iron Buddha Oolong Tea from Oollo Tea is from the Pinlin, New Taipei, Taiwan Region and grown by the Wang Family. As you can see from the product description above this is the Spring 2014 Harvest and I must say that Iron Buddha Oolong Tea from Oollo Tea is a real winner! I think it’s one of my FAVORITE Iron Buddha’s thus far!
Iron Buddha Oolong Tea from Oollo Tea is incredibly (yet naturally) sweet, juicy, and delicious! If you like stone fruit – you may get a kick out of this one – because I agree with the description when it says it has notes of peach-like flavors floating about. This tea was reviewed by Sororitea Sisters (Anne) before and I thought it was time for me to write about it as well.
The roasted notes, for me, are more of an undertone. The peachy notes shine thru very nicely. I have noticed, however, that if you cold brew or ice this tea the roasted notes pop up more in the middle to end sip. This is also a nice tea for multiple infusions. Just another reason I’m a fan of Iron Buddha Oolong Tea from Oollo Tea.
Red Jade Black Tea from Oollo Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Oollo Tea
Tea Description:
A perfect marriage between Burma Ashamu and Taiwanese wild tea. The long twisted whole leaves give distinct smooth raisin, date and cinnamon infusions with traces of peppermint.
Origin
Varietal: Taiwan No. 18
Curator: Yoshi Lo
Location: Yuchi, Nantou, Taiwan
Elevation: 800m
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Red Jade Black Tea from Oollo Tea has already been reviewed by Anne here at Sororitea Sisters but some teas are worth reviewing more than once. This is one of those teas and I agree with Anne thoughts as to how AWESOME this tea is. The following are my additional thoughts on this tea.
As for the aroma it’s one I truly adore in a black tea. It’s toasty and date or raisin like. The aroma matches the first sip of the cuppa, too. I can certainly pick up on the raisin notes and paired with the dark, rich, carmelly notes it’s unlike anything I have ever tasted. The end sip of the pipping-hot tea is a mish-mash of heavy, dark black tea flavors and a sugary syrupy type taste all in one. Keep in mind there are NO flavors added to this tea! This flavor is all from the leaf! It’s all natural!
As I continue to sip the post-infused liquor cools with the room temperature – unassisted – and I notice the end sip morphs into something of a minty aftertaste that is very refreshing and welcomed.
No this isn’t ‘tea voodoo’ – folks – it’s just a mighty-fine tea that has levels and levels of complexity and for that I will appreciate it until the end of time. This is a marvelously-fantastic Red Jade Black Tea that should be celebrated at every turn!
Iron Buddha Oolong Tea from Oollo Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Oollo Tea
Tea Description:
A present from the loving Bodhisattva of Compassion. Tightly rolled, the full leaves unfurl to emit pleasant stone fruit and wild honey notes with a hint of roasted nuts.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
As these last few days as a tea reviewer have been winding down, I’ve had the opportunity to try some really fabulous teas! This Iron Buddha Oolong Tea from Oollo Tea certainly belongs with that fabulous group. It’s absolutely lovely!
I brewed this in my new gaiwan which has gotten quite a workout this past week or so. My much utilized gaiwan broke so I needed to replace it and since I didn’t want to wait around for a new easy gaiwan to arrive, I decided to – for the meantime – use one of the smaller gaiwans that I happened to have on my tea shelf but have never used. I have to admit that the thin porcelain China does get very hot and it’s more difficult to pour so I’ll be glad when my new gaiwan arrives.
It takes three infusions to fill my little teacup (my old gaiwan filled it with two infusions), so this first cup is the combination of the first three infusions after a 15 second rinse.
The above description pretty much nails this tea – it’s sweet with notes of honey, nutty and toasty with a very pleasant peach-like flavor. It’s very smooth with a silky mouthfeel. Such a delicious drink – it disappeared almost instantly.
My second cup was even sweeter because the peach notes began to emerge. Still honeyed, nutty and toasty, these flavors merged with the peach notes to create a flavor medley that tasted a bit like a peach dessert.
With my third cup, I started to notice flavors waning so I decided to stop there – but I still got 9 amazing infusions out of this tea! Delicious!
Milky Jinxuan High Mountain Oolong from Oollo Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Oollo Tea
Tea Description:
The true milky Jinxuan oolong tea with natural cream milk accent and luscious texture. The Alishan family farms tea trees that were bought from our family in 1990. They practice zero pesticide natural farming.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
It’s no big secret that I absolutely adore a good Milky Oolong tea. This Milky Jinxuan High Mountain Oolong from Oollo Tea is one of the very best I’ve tried thus far. It’s so delightfully sweet and creamy but the creaminess isn’t heavy. It’s not overwhelming my palate.
I love the texture to this first cup (infusions 1, 2 & 3 – yes three infusions in one cup, I’m using a smaller gaiwan today), it’s very silky and softly creamy. Smooth!
The flavor is sweet with notes of orchid. It’s not sharply floral because the creamy buttery taste helps soften the floral taste without overpowering this delightful flowery essence. It’s not bitter or astringent. It’s just … lovely. Oh so delightful.
My second cup (infusions 4 – 6) still has some of that silky texture, although much of the milky taste has waned. This is much more floral than the first cup. It’s sweet with spun sugar notes. I taste light vegetal notes to this too. I am also tasting a light nutty flavor that almost tastes “popcorn” like to me. As the tea cools slightly, some of the creamy notes seem to develop so it’s not completely without that milky note.
My third cup (infusions 7 – 9) was softer in flavor than the second. Not as creamy as either the first or second cup, but still beautifully floral with more nutty flavors and even a hint of peach can be detected! I still get that light, spun-sugar type of flavor that I really like.
What a lovely tea!