Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Fong Mong Tea
Tea Description:
Taiwan characteristic Oriental Beauty Oolong Tea, a long narrow strip like of various colors, is also called Bai Hao Oolong Tea. Bright white-tipped leaves, a symbol of high level Oriental Beauty Tea, can only be cultivated irreplaceable strong fragrance in organic ecological tea plantation. This tea, with very limited quantity, can only be produced by a senior experienced tea master at one harvest each year.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This is not the first time that I’ve sampled and reviewed Fong Mong Tea’s Top Grade Oriental Beauty Oolong, but with every new year comes a new harvest and this is a top notch Oriental Beauty! It’s definitely worthy of another examination because it’s one of the best Oriental Beauty Oolong teas that I’ve encountered.
To brew this tea, I reached for my gaiwan. I measured 1 bamboo scoop of leaves into the bowl of the gaiwan and then I heated the water to 180°F. After a 15 second rinse, I steeped the leaves for 45 seconds and strained the tea into a small teacup. The teacup holds 2 infusions, so I went ahead and infused the leaves a second time, adding 15 seconds onto the steep time (1 minute) and then combined the two infusions into the cup before I started sipping.
The first cup was delightfully sweet with notes of fruit that are peach-like. There is a honey-like sweetness to the cup as well. The liquid is very smooth and has a soft, rich mouthfeel. It has a barely there astringency. By the time I reach mid-cup, I start to pick up on a light floral tone and subtle woodsy tones.
I noticed the flavors became more developed with the second cup (infusions 3 and 4). The fruit and honey notes remain the strongest flavors of the cup and these flavors have intensified. The peach notes are like a soft, ripe peach. I can almost feel the soft, luscious texture of the peach as I sip this tea.
There is a little more astringency with this cup than in the first cup, but it is still quite a light, barely noticeable astringency. The floral notes and woodsy tones I started to notice at mid-cup are a little stronger with this cup. A pleasantly sweet and beautiful cup to sip.
Later infusions offered an even stronger sweetness. In the third cup, I noticed the floral notes emerging a little more and I found these to be sweet and as they melded with the honey notes and the sweet peach notes it intensified the sweetness of the overall cup. I also started to pick up on some earthier qualities.
A very intriguing tea, I highly recommend this one to all Oolong enthusiasts!
