Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Nan Nuo Shan
Tea Description:
Mineral, slightly roasted, with clear floral hints. Hua Xiang Rougui is a well-balanced tea with a brisk, full and clean flavor.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Mmm … this Hua Xiang Rougui Oolong Tea from Nan Nuo Shan is so nice! It’s one of those Oolong teas that I just want to curl up to and enjoy. It’s one of those types of teas that make you feel all warm and fuzzy and cozy when you drink it.
I brewed this the way I’d brew most Oolongs: in my gaiwan. I heat the kettle to 180°F and let the tea steep for 15 seconds. Then I strained the liquid and discarded it – this is called the rinse. Need to awaken those leaves! I resteeped the leaves, this time for 45 seconds and strained the liquid into my teacup. For each subsequent infusion, I added 15 seconds. My first cup is the combination of infusions 1 and 2, while my second cup is infusions 3 and 4 … you get the idea, right?
This first cup is warm and wonderful. I taste notes of mineral and a sweet, roasted fruit note, reminiscent of what a roasted peach might taste like. Notes of flower weave their way throughout the sip. I taste a very subtle note of what I want to call cinnamon, although it’s not as warm/spicy as a cinnamon note would be. This is a subdued cinnamon flavor that i’m tasting.
The second cup was even nicer than the first – with intense, sweet fruit notes that taste like the aforementioned roasted peach along with the sweetness of dried fruit. Like the sweetness of a dried apricot and raisins. The spice notes are still there – still warm yet subdued. The mineral notes have softened somewhat. This cup seems more intently focused on the delectable sweetness of the fruit. The flavors were more intense but the overall cup was smoother.
With my third cup, I noticed the flavors starting to wane a little bit so I decided that I’d make this my last cup. I’m tasting the mineral notes again, almost to the same level that I tasted them in the first cup. It was kind of odd to me that I barely noticed them at all with the second cup but now they seem to be as pronounced as they were in the first cup. Still sweet, still fruity, but with a little less of the dried fruit notes. This time, I’m picking up on more floral flavors, notes of what I want to describe as gardenia with hints of orchid. I’m even picking up on notes of honey!
A truly remarkable tea – this is one that you definitely want to take through the different infusions – because there are so many layers of flavor to be discovered.
