I’m going down the rabbit hole here with two Taiwanese oolongs, like Alishan Wonderland. The first time I visited a “Star-ba-ke” in China, I tried ordering a “tea with milk”. But they said it was too gross, several times, and they wouldn’t make it for me. I thought they had to be joking! They weren’t. My friend later told me I was insisting that “cheese” chai was a thing at American Starbucks. I could have died from the mix of embarrassment and jet lag.
Not too far away from that, around 1200 meters up Ali mountain on a foggy island with low temperatures, both the Osmanthus Oolong from Tea Ave and the Alishan Jin Xuan Milk Oolong from Tea Vivre were born to have complex flavor profiles, but nothing like cheese, I was assured. It is literally translated as Golden Daylily. I tried both these teas without adding any sweetener.
The Tea Vivre Jin Xuan Milk Oolong was so clean tasting that at first I wasn’t sure I steeped it, but the body of it feels thicker than 
just water and when the fruity aftertaste lingered, I was completely blown away. The flavor really crept up on me! I was able to resteep this naturally flavored tea several times and the fresh-then-orchid combo never failed to delight.
Osmanthus Oolong by Tea Ave was an equally light colored infusion but had more flavor at the front end instead. A very clean apricot flavor greeted my taste buds with this fuller bodied brew. The floral aftertaste was somewhat tannic but not as long lasting as the original flavor style. One aspect I really liked about this brand were the specific instructions for each brewing style, down to the grams for tea and mL of water. The scientist and the tea lover in me both wish I was Canadian so I could order more of this brand.
Overall a lovely experience with two drink-all-day oolongs. The best part is that now I don’t have to cringe at my bad memory when I hear the phrase “milk tea”.
Skysamurai checks out Lu Shan Yun Wu from Teavivre. . . .
After reading my review go to the webpage listed before for this tea. It is packed full of great information regarding where the tea came from, how it was processed, and even how the climate affects the leaves. One who loves tea should also love to learn. . . . .
Let’s start off with the dry leaves. They have a truly unique aroma. Mainly chocolate and malt. If you were to pass this sample around I can guarantee you that only a few people would guess that it is not flavored.
Knowing that these tea leaves are hand rolled makes me want to be extra gentle with them. Xie Xie to whoever worked on this sample of tea.
The wet leaves have no chocolate to them. Which is good. That would freak me out. Only the essences of sweet grass and a somewhat nutty aroma reside now. The flavor is nice and crisp with a golden water color to match.
Overall the flavor is grassy. For those who enjoys grassy flavors this is a must try. It’s so refreshing.
Next time I would like to brew it Gongfu style to see if it opens any other tasting notes. Anyone who has been to China will automatically be pulled back into their memories while drinking this.
Personally, I’m thinking about the college trip I took there for my marketing major.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Teavivre
Description
- Grown in Lushan Mountain (庐山) in Jiangxi Province, China
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Harvest time: April 16, 2016.
- Lushan Mountain (庐山) in Jiangxi Province
- Tea Liquid: bight, clean in light green color
- Flavor: brisk and refreshing, heavy sweet flavor with light roasted chestnut fragrance. Has sweet aftertaste and long-lasting brisk fragrance in your mouth.
- Low caffeine (Less than 10%’s amount in a cup of coffee)
The fresh tea leaves of Lu Shan Yun Wu are picked under strict requirement of one bud with one leaf or one bud with two leaves. After processed, the leaves will shape into tight, curly and strong strips. The liquid presents bright and green color while showing brisk fragrance. The scent of roasted chestnut lasts long. This Lu Shan Yun Wu is better to be brewed with big glass. It will has brisk and refreshing flavor and sweet taste. After several steeps, you will see the tea leaves tenderly stretched and showing its soft and light yellow appearance.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
MrsPremise’s Oolong-A-Thon. . . . .
As I delved into my tea cabinet recently, I realized I had been stockpiling oolong teas. Where did they all come from?!
Since the season is finally starting to turn, and oolong teas always make me think of spring, it seemed like a good time to try them all.
So I had an Oolong-A-Thon and brewed ten samples from my stores. The numbers below aren’t a “best-of” ranking, but they roughly move from most delicate in flavor to the most potent in flavor. . . . .
- Alishan High Mountain from Cameron Taiwan Premium Loose Leaf – The dry leaf smells sweet and nutty, and this sweet-oat flavor is echoed in the first steep with additional notes of green melon. The second steep is nuttier still more oat than fruit, though a bit of the green flavor lingers on the aftertaste. (See a review from my fellow Sororitea Sister).
- Alishan High Mountain Eco First Pluck from Terrior Tea Merchant – The dry leaf smells like sweet grass and sour fruit. The first steep is not sour at all, but very green and buttery, with more interesting notes like citrus or bok choy coming out on later steepings.
- Ding Dong Oolong from Eco-Cha – Prior to brewing, this tea smells dry and earthy, like hay or dried grass. Brewed, the first steep is roasty and savory, with just a hint of starchy sweetness in the aftertaste. The second steep has nutty, brown rice flavors, but still remains light and drinkable. (See a review from my fellow Sororitea Sister).
- Ding Ding Oolong from Cloud Nine (Spring 2015) – The first steep features fruit notes like plum, grape, and currant. There are almost red wine or acai berry flavors. This potent fruit flavor drops off in the second steep, with more green notes and fewer berries, more like green grapes and white wine, though the brew never got too bitter or dark even with longer steep times.
- Ping Lin Pouchong from Cameron Taiwan Premium Loose Leaf – These long dark tea leaves smelled like caramel or burnt sugar when dry, but their first steep was surprisingly green and floral. The brew turned out to be slightly buttery, with almost-seaweed notes. The second steep wasn’t distinctly different, with similar savory tones and a smooth, buttery aftertaste.
- Jin Xuan Milk Oolong from Teavivre – The first steep of this tea ended up tasting like sour grapes and bright florals, with a hint of roasted nuts and a supremely smooth mouthfeel. The second steep increased the almost-honey flavor and feeling of the tea, and brought forward some either, grassier notes to the brew, and maintained the milky smooth texture.
- Tie Kwan Yin Oolong from Tea Ave – The first steep was surprisingly roasty, with notes like warm toast or freshly baked bread. There were no green or floral flavors, but the starchiness was well-balanced with an herbaceous earthiness. The second steep brought out a stronger roast, and slightly bitter, dry hay notes, though the flavors were still balanced and very drinkable.
- Shui Xian Oolong from Origins Tea – The tightly rolled dark leaves, smelled like hay and earth slightly bitter, though the first steep had a pop of tart currant, quickly buried under strong, roasted almond flavors. This tea had a dry mouthfeel, very nutty and savory, with even a hint of smoke, like an oolong for lapsang-lovers. The second steep brought out even more sweet, starchy, marzipan flavors.
- Alishan Charcoal Fire Heavy Roast from T-Oolong Tea (Spring 2012) – Despite the name the first steep of this tea did have some bright notes like a greener alishan oolong but with a distinct, roasted, malty depth. There are some charcoal notes: mineral and toasted. Both steeps brew up dark in color, the second steep maintains the toasted rice and malt flavors as the first steep, but develops a smoother mouthfeel. (See a review from my fellow Sororitea Sister).
- Gingseng Oolong from Enjoying Tea – I tried this tea last, because it was the only flavored oolong in this grouping. Anything with added flavor was bound to be more potent than just the leaves alone. This tea smells sweet in the dry leaf, and brews sweet and sour with a very strong passionfruit flavor: green and slightly tropical. The second steep is earthier, less sweet and more like wet foliage, still some lingering passionfruit notes, especially on the aftertaste.
And there you have it– the results of my Oolong-A-Thon!
Like black or green teas, there are many variations and flavors to be had from trying a variety of oolong teas. From my point of view, there wasn’t a bad tea in the bunch, and each had its own flavors to suit the changing weather or my variable tea cravings.
There is certainly an oolong out there that will fit your tastes as well. Happy oolong brewing!
Nonpareil Taiwan Li Shan Oolong Tea by Teavivre
I steeped this tea at 212 degrees for 2 minutes (using the entire sample packet). The packet suggested 1-2 minutes; I sampled it after 1 minute and decided I wanted it stronger, so I left it in for another minute.
The rolled leaves start to expand as soon as they’re submerged. They’re pretty tightly rolled, but they expand a LOT. I’m not really good at determining the level of oxidation in an oolong but I’d say it was fairly light to medium, based on the color of the leaves (and of the liquor). They seem to be high-quality, fairly intact leaves; I was able to pull out one crumpled piece and tease it open to discover that it was actually a couple of entire leaves attached to a bud by the associated stem. So cool! It makes me feel a lot closer to the plant, somehow, than when the leaves are pre-measured into a sachet and/or chopped up into eensy bits.
The tea liquor when steeped is a mid-light yellow, not quite as light as the average green tea, with that distinctive oolong-y fragrance (a bit floral and a bit savory).
First sip: tangy. There’s a definite presence of acidic/astringent aspect. A warming, slightly roasty flavor travels over the top of the tongue while the astringency pulls at the sides of the tongue. By “roasty flavor” I mean an almost nutty, hearty savoriness. It’s not exactly roasted (and certainly not smoky) but it’s a very hearty presence with more depth than just the floral/orchid oolonginess.
The flavor is overall quite smooth with no noticeable bitterness. This smoothness combines with the savoriness to give an almost buttery impression. There’s maybe a tiny bit of mineral-y-ness as well, combining with the green (in a good vegetal sort of way) and slightly roasty/hearty/buttery flavor to create a very satisfying flavor profile.
The tea is fairly sweet already, so I added just a pinch of sugar. I don’t usually prefer milk with oolongs, so I didn’t add any. I imagine you could re-steep this tea with good results as well, based on the quality of the leaves.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Teavivre
Description
The Nonpareil Taiwan DaYuLing High Mountain Cha Wang Oolong Tea is grown in the area at the altitude of 2500 meters, in which the climate is cold and forests grow well. This cold and moisture condition is suitable for tea trees’ growth. In addition, the soil here is fertile, meanwhile performs well in drainage. Thus the tea leaves carry a natural scent of flower and fruit.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Nonpareil Taiwan DaYuLing High Mountain Cha Wang Oolong Tea from Teavivre. . .
My daughter asked me what tea we were drinking tonight. When I told her the name of this one, I got quite a stare, followed by “All righty then.” What a delight this was to make and to drink. The tea is gorgeous before you even steep it – tight, hard twists and knots of deep army green and the most delicious aroma. And then you steep it and those hard knots become giant green leaves packing the infuser basket and promising many more steeps to come.
The tea is pale in color, but a buttery fragrance wafts from the cup. The taste is smooth and creamy, not quite a milk oolong but close. And a floral fragrance lays on top of the buttery aroma. No roasted oolong this, but a fresh green one. After the sip, a soft vegetal taste rises and lingers.
I love tea like this when I am going to be drinking it for an extended time, resteeping and sharing. This is a tea that the seasoned tea drinker can enjoy, but also would be a great introduction for those who are new to fine loose leaf and oolong. Interesting, flavorful, and accessible. Although it is a more expensive tea than some, the fact that it resteeps so well makes it well worth the price for the green oolong lover. And if anyone asks what you are drinking, look wise and mystical and impress the socks right off of them as you rattle of the name of this one!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Teavivre
Description
The Nonpareil Taiwan DaYuLing High Mountain Cha Wang Oolong Tea is grown in the area at the altitude of 2500 meters, in which the climate is cold and forests grow well. This cold and moisture condition is suitable for tea trees’ growth. In addition, the soil here is fertile, meanwhile performs well in drainage. Thus the tea leaves carry a natural scent of flower and fruit.
