Tea Information:
Leaf Type:
Where to Buy: T-Oolong Tea
Tea Description:
This quality Alishan Charcoal Fire Medium Roast Oolong is handpicked, handcrafted and produced from Alishan oolong. Use only the charcoal made of either Taiwan Longan wood or Taiwan Acacia wood to roast the tea (NOT by electric roasters), and follow old traditional method. This tea has a strong charcoal aroma and taste mixing with flavors of Alishan oolong. The aftertaste is enjoyable and long lasting. It tastes very smooth, sweet, rich and complex, and stands up very well to multiple infusions.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Today I reached into my grab bag of teas to review, and was thrilled when I pulled this, Alishan Charcoal Fire Medium Roast 2012 from T-Oolong Tea! Not only has my tasting from T-Oolong Tea been sorely underdone, but an oolong, Yes! Not only an oolong but a fire roasted oolong, yes again! This sounds so good that I hope it meets my high expectations!
I sneak a sniff as it steeps. I smell roasted fruitiness, and the aroma of a very clean spring from the mountains. Granted I do use good bottled water, but this aroma is not simply the water I use, its different, and reminds me of the natural stream I used to sip from with friends when I was younger, back in the days when I rode horses, daily. We knew of a stream – the best tasting water I have ever had, that we would ride to when we were parched.
So I have taken my first sip and oh my goodness, this is delicious! As I taste fruity notes, smokiness, and mineral notes. There is a wonderful sweetness to this tea, a brown sugar or German rock sugar sweetness, somewhere in between the two. I am not getting as deep of a sweetness of a brown sugar, but there is something a little more to it, like a caramel perhaps.
I also get a lovely white flower note as well as a green note, but not green like vegetal, more green like greens themselves, almost like dandelion leaves.
The after taste is clean, clear, and very refreshing! The sweetness gives way leaving a wonderful rock mineral note, floral, and that green bite, not bitter but tart.
The sad thing about this tea is that T-Oolong Tea is currently out of stock, I assume waiting on the 2013 batch, I am going to have to keep my eyes peeled for this one, this is absolutely a reorder worthy tea, and permanent stock worthy as well!
This tea is a must try for anyone who loves oolongs, especially darker roasted oolong tea.
Yes it certainly did meet my expectations, soared over them! I love this one.
Alishan Charcoal Fire Medium Roast from T-Oolong Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: T-Oolong Tea
Tea Description:
This quality Alishan Charcoal Fire Medium Roast Oolong is handpicked, handcrafted and produced from Alishan oolong. Use only the charcoal made of either Taiwan Longan wood or Taiwan Acacia wood to roast the tea (NOT by electric roasters), and follow old traditional method. This tea has a strong charcoal aroma and taste mixing with flavors of Alishan oolong. The aftertaste is enjoyable and long lasting. It tastes very smooth, sweet, rich and complex, and stands up very well to multiple infusions.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
It’s probably no surprise to people out there that I’ve accumulated a vast quantity of tea. I’m pretty much surrounded by tea, and that’s just the way I like it. But even with all this tea around me, I still get really excited when it comes time to try an Alishan Oolong – which is my favorite type of Oolong tea. And when it is an Alishan Oolong from T-Oolong Tea, the excitement multiplies, because I’ve come to appreciate the level of quality that T-Oolong Tea offers. Their teas are always top-notch, and this Alishan Charcoal Fire Medium Roast is no exception! This is outstanding!
It’s the charcoal roasting that makes the difference here, creating an Alishan experience for me that is quite different from others I’ve had. I still taste some of what I recognize as Alishan – the smooth, sweet, floral-y notes, but these notes seem to fill the background while the notes of charcoal and toasty, wood-roasted flavor take the foreground.
The crisp, floral sweetness of the Alishan peeks through the more rugged taste of the charcoal notes, and I notice a bit more of a mineral-y kind of taste and texture, a bit more earthiness, and even notes of sweet, toasted nuts. The charcoal firing has added such a lovely dimension of flavor, creating a taste that is quite different from other Alishan teas that I’ve tasted … not better or worse, really, just different, and I am really enjoying the differences.
Deliciously different!
Shanlinxi Zhu Wan Oolong from T-Oolong Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: T-Oolong Tea
Tea Description:
This high quality Shanlinxi Zhu Wan Oolong Tea is handpicked, handcrafted and produced from Qingxin Oolong varietal grown in the mountain areas of Zhu Wan district in Shanlinxi area. The aroma and taste of the tea are intensely floral and sweet, very rich, complex and delectable with almost no bitterness and astringency. This tea also comes with a very sweet and long lasting aftertaste, and stands up very well to multiple infusions. It is a very enjoyable Shanlinxi tea we highly recommend.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I’ve often stated that Ali Shan Oolong teas are my favorite type of Oolong, however, I must admit that after trying a few of the Shanlinxi Oolong teas from T-Oolong Tea … the Shanlinxi are offering up some stiff competition to my beloved Ali Shan! This Shanlinxi Zhu Wan is amazing!
It is so sweet and there is a light creaminess to it, but it is also light and crisp, like the sweet, clean taste of mountain air. It has a pleasant floral tone – not sharp or intrusive, it is a very smooth, sweet floral note. The creaminess adds a richness to the texture and taste, but, it isn’t heavy tasting nor does it feel heavy on the palate. It tastes and feels very refreshing and clean.
And as with any Oolong of high quality such as this, this Oolong is ready and eager for multiple infusions. Subsequent infusions delivered a more unified flavor, very smooth and harmonious, with the floral notes and sweet, creamy tones melding in a very seamless way. The floral notes are stronger now and rest on the back of the palate. Still not heavy in any way, the flavor is stronger, but it flows more smoothly across the palate.
If you like Ali Shan, you should do yourself a favor and also try Shanlinxi Oolong teas – they are similar enough that I think fans of Ali Shan can enjoy the Shanlinxi teas too, but they also offer some intriguing differences that are really quite refreshing.
Shanlinxi Long Feng Xia Oolong Tea from T-Oolong Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: T-Oolong Tea
Tea Description:
This high quality Long Feng Xia Oolong tea is handpicked, handcrafted and produced from Qingxin Oolong varietal grown in Long Feng Xia district. The aroma and taste of the tea are very floral and sweet. This tea has honeysuckle-like flavors and a sweet long lasting aftertaste, and it stands up well to multiple infusions. It is rich, smooth and delectable with almost no bitterness and astringency. Absolutely a very wonderful oolong we highly recommend.
Learn more about this Oolong here.
Taster’s Review:
I realize that I previously reviewed this tea, but that was last year’s harvest, and this is a whole new harvest! With new harvests come a whole new opportunity to explore new tastes within the tea!
This is so smooth and beautiful! It has a strong floral essence, with foreground notes of honeysuckle that remind me of my gramma’s house when I was younger. She had a honeysuckle bush that grew just outside the window of the bedroom where I would sleep, and on the warm days when the Santa Ana winds would blow, I would be treated to the most amazing honeysuckle essence that not only filled the olfactory nerves but also seemed to tantalize the palate. I also taste a hint of orchid in the distant background.
Like I said, a strong floral essence, but, what I’m liking here is that the taste and texture is so smooth that the floral notes do not taste sharp. They meld into the tea, allowing the other flavors to come forth. The creaminess is not as strong as I remember from the previous harvest, this is more like a rich smoothness rather than a thick creaminess. Fruit notes begin to emerge toward the end of my first cup (which is the combination of the first two infusions), providing more of a sweetness than a real distinct fruit tone.
With subsequent infusions, I find that the floral notes begin to taper somewhat. No… not really taper. That’s not quite the word I’m looking for. The flowery notes are softening, though. They are still very present, but, the layer of floral notes becomes slightly more transparent, allowing for easier tasting of the layers of vegetative notes and a subtle touch of cream. The fruit tones are emerging more now, almost tasting like something between a peach and a sweet grape. It has a very thirst-quenching taste … very calm, very pleasant.
An amazing Oolong that is certainly worth checking out with every new harvest!
Alishan Shi Zhao from T-Oolong Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: T-Oolong Tea
Tea Description:
Our Alishan Shi Zhao Oolong tea is handpicked and handcrafted. The tea is produced from Qingxin Oolong varietal (the most-loved Oolong tea varietal) grown in the mountain areas of Ari Mountain, frequently covered with fog or clouds. The brewed Alishan Shi Zhao oolong tea has a floral aroma and taste, a long-lasting flavor and a sweet and pleasant aftertaste. It is very smooth and delectable with almost no bitterness.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Alishan! Alishan! Alishan!
When I first started drinking Oolong tea, I tried Formosa Oolong, and I loved it. I was very new to tea back then (although I probably didn’t think I was), and I had no idea that there were other Oolong teas. I thought Oolong tea = Formosa Oolong, and that’s it.
A few years later, I experienced my first “green” Oolong, and I was astonished! It was so different from the Oolong I was used to. And I liked what I tasted, but still, my heart remained true to my beloved Formosa Oolong.
Another year or so later, I tried my first Alishan Oolong. It was love at first sip! Since that time, I’ve tried many Alishan Oolong teas, and I am still so amazed at how different two Alishan teas can taste from one another… not to mention how different an Alishan tastes from a Formosa Oolong. This is one reason why I adore Oolong … it’s always an adventure.
And while Formosa Oolong teas still hold a special place in my heart, I must say that my favorite Oolong tea is Alishan. I even have my own Yixing Mug that’s dedicated just to Alishan Oolong.
This Alishan is phenomenal. So smooth, sweet and delicious! Very floral, but also with a fruitier background than I usually associate with Alishan. The floral tones here are not sharp or pungent, they are quite smooth … almost creamy! There is a pleasing honey-like tone to the flavor, and it has a thick, luscious mouthfeel.
This Alishan takes my breath away, it’s so good! I love it!