Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Butiki Teas
Tea Description:
Our Oriental Beauty is organic and utilizes the Chin Xin oolong varietal. Originating from Hungshan in the Anhui province of China, this oolong is crafted by tea master Shan Zhen Chen. Our Oriental Beauty is made from young shoots and is heavily fermented (60-70%), heavily withered (13-25%), and lightly roasted. This gorgeous tea contains leaves that vary in color, including: silver, gold, forest, auburn, cocoa, and charcoal colors. Rich honey notes linger and mingle with apricot, macadamia nut, and orchid notes. Some pastry-like notes are present and pairs well with the sweetness of this oolong, which provides a flavor somewhat reminiscent of funnel cake.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
The first note I noticed with my first sip of this Organic Oriental Beauty Oolong Tea from Butiki Teas was the orchid. How lovely! After experiencing the orchid, I discovered a strong peach-y/apricot-y flavor. These notes were so sweet and nectar-like that I could almost feel the fruit pulp! It amazes me how the pure tea leaf so perfectly captures the essence of the fruit.
I brewed this Oolong tea the way I usually brew an Oolong: in my gaiwan, using short steeps and combining two infusions in one cup. After a quick 15 second rinse, the first infusion was 45 seconds, and then I added 15 seconds to each subsequent infusion. The first two infusions combined produced my first cup, and the second cup was infusions 3 & 4 … and so on. I took this tea through its paces and had five lovely cups of tea (a total of 10 infusions.)
My first cup was very orchid-like. Of the five cups I enjoyed of this Oriental Beauty Oolong, the first cup was the lightest in texture. It felt somewhat thin in comparison to the other cups, but, there was a little bit of soft texture to it. The apricot notes came through after the orchid, and then there was a sweet, honeyed finish.
The second cup was my favorite. It was much more luxurious to sip, the texture was soft and sumptuous, and the apricot notes were prominent. The orchid notes remained a focus with this cup, and hints of the nutty flavors promised in the description start to emerge as well as a distant note of “pastry.” Definitely a yum cup!
The third cup was very much like the second. The orchid notes were a bit softer, and there was a little more astringency with this cup than in the previous two. The nutty tones were a little stronger, as were the buttery pastry notes. The fourth and fifth cups were less floral and more fruity/nutty. The astringency seemed to be strongest in the third cup, with the fourth and fifth cups offering a softer astringency, and a slightly thinner texture than was experienced in the second and third cups.
Overall, this was a truly lovely afternoon spent with this Organic Oriental Beauty Oolong from Butiki Teas, proving once again that this is definitely a company worth exploring. I’ve not yet been disappointed by a tea from this company. This is one of the nicest Oriental Beauty teas I’ve encountered!
