This tea is sturdy and sophisticated, like a sweater vest on a college professor who is woke to the kids’ causes. It is tasteful. It is educated. It knows how to reap the health benefits of green tea AND black tea.
There are notes here of plum, stone, moss, and maybe some algae, which I say with utter love and absolutely no derision. It’s earthy and wet and vegetal and a little bit juicy.
It somehow manages to make me feel like I know what’s going on. Like drinking it has made me a better person. Like maybe, very slightly, I have it together.
I do not, just to clarify.
I do not at all.
But the tea is very nice.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Qi Aerista
Description
Aroma is honey, woody and with a lightly roasted aroma. Flavor is smooth, crisp, with a sweet aftertaste. To dry and enhance flavor profile, the tea leaves underwent a slow roasting process with charcoal for 9 straight hours to produce its characteristic smooth flavors.
This High Mountain Oolong is grown on Xiyan mountain in Dapu county. This beautiful county is known as the Shangri-La of the Hakka world, where Hakka is one of the ethnic subgroups in China.
What makes this cup of High Mountain Oolong incredibly delightful is that these tea plants are grown at high altitude with an age of more than 60 years old
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
High Mountain Oolong from Qi Aerista. . . .
This tea is sturdy and sophisticated, like a sweater vest on a college professor who is woke to the kids’ causes. It is tasteful. It is educated. It knows how to reap the health benefits of green tea AND black tea.
There are notes here of plum, stone, moss, and maybe some algae, which I say with utter love and absolutely no derision. It’s earthy and wet and vegetal and a little bit juicy.
It somehow manages to make me feel like I know what’s going on. Like drinking it has made me a better person. Like maybe, very slightly, I have it together.
I do not, just to clarify.
I do not at all.
But the tea is very nice.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Qi Aerista Tea
Description
Our High Mountain Oolong is grown on Xiyan mountain in Dapu county. This beautiful county is known as the Shangri-La of the Hakka world, where Hakka is one of the ethnic subgroups in China.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Meishan Cing Xin High Mountain Spring Oolong Tea from Taiwan Tea Crafts
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Taiwan Tea Crafts
Tea Description:
Our Spring 2015 Cing Xin Oolong crop from Meishan comes from a well-established growing area which was one of the first to grow higher mountain teas in Chiayi County. Meishan sits between Shanlinxi up north, and Alishan further south and was one of the first high mountain tea growing areas to be developed in central Taiwan, well before Shanlinxi and Alishan. This Qing Xin Oolong has the typical green, crisp pastoral notes with hints of mountain flowers that charms the nose. The palate will immediately be pleased by the ample creamy texture and taste that evokes fresh buttered green beans with hints of sweetness.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
There must be something wrong with me. Some kind of chemical/spiritual imbalance, I’m sure. I used to drink oolongs by the gallons. It was pretty much the tea that I drank exclusively, aside from the occasional herbal or puerh. But I think something happened along my tea journey. I think I oolong’d myself out. If that is even possible. But each oolong that I have had lately has bored me, or rubbed me the wrong way. Either it’s the sign of the apocalypse, or my tastes are just changing with the seasons. I hope it’s the latter, I would like to drink down some of my tea stash before the world really ends.
Meishan Cing Xin High Mountain Spring Oolong Tea from Taiwan Tea Crafts is a mouthful to say, never mind type! I am hoping that this is the tea that will spark my interest in the tea that once held my heart. The leaves are tightly rolled, smooth and so fragrant I almost swoon. Almost. The dry leaf smells like milk and honey, jasmine blossoms and lilies. I was lazy, and not wanting to clean one of my gaiwans, or infuses, I just tossed a few pearls of oolong into the bottom of a mug. Leaves that do a lot of expanding perform so well grandpa style.
Watching the leaves unfold in my mug was nothing short of a spectacle. The aroma is promising, all the creamy, floral goodness wafts up to my nose. The deep gold liquor is thick and smooth, and the floral notes are strong with this one. There are short bursts of grassy notes, it’s got all of the flowers, stem and all. Later on in the steeps, the smooth buttery notes came out, sweeter than the steeps before. This is becoming a strong competitor in the campaign to turn me back on road to oolong! Throughout all the steeps, there was always something else to discover. I may be back on the path to oolong!
Premium Taiwan High Mountain Oolong from Bird Pick Tea & Herb
Where To Buy: Bird Pick Tea & Herb
Product Description:
Origin: Taiwan
Brew: Russet Gold
Type: Oolong
Flavor: Delicate with woodsy notes and a refreshing finishDescription: High Mountain Oolong Tea is synonymous with the finest Oolong teas in the world. They are grown at high elevations in Taiwan, which has a unique environment due to its geographical location, mountainous terrain, and subtropical climate. The result is a greater quality tea. Also known as Wu-long Tea, this semi-oxidized tea is commonly brewed strong and is known to help metabolism.
Cups per 4 Oz: 20 cups.
Tasters Review:
The aroma of this Premium Taiwan High Mountain Oolong from Bird Pick reminds me of one of the Charcoal Oolong Offerings that another company offers that I have enjoyed in the past.
It does taste different tho. This specific tea tastes like a nice, flavorful Oolong. It starts off with an earthy and leafy taste and ends sweeter and more refreshing. It doesn’t seem to keep the charcoal traits I thought it would based on the aroma…but that is what makes this different, I suppose, and I am excited about that!
This is a really nice oolong…Nice and strong! I am really excited about the Bird Pick Teas I have received and will be reviewing more soon! They have many wonderful offerings and the majority of them on their website are making me what to place an order in the new year!
Alishan High Mountain Oolong from Canton Tea Co
Where To Buy: Canton Tea Co
Product Description:
Alishan (Mount A Li) is one of Taiwan’s most famous oolong tea-growing areas. The mountain has a rich soil and ideal climactic conditions. It is cool and moist with daily mists so the plants grow very slowly and produce tender, flavourful tea leaves and buds.
This Alishan oolong is hand-picked and hand-processed by traditional methods into rolled ‘fists’. It has a smooth, fruity, sweet taste and a pleasing bright colour. This tea has a complexity that means each brewing brings out new characteristics and flavours.
New 2010 spring season tea. This is a very good example of one of Taiwan’s most celebrated high-grown oolong teas. The fresh, clean almost creamy taste makes it an extremely refreshing and satisfying tea to enjoy at any time of day.
Our Buyer’s notes
“This tea is produced by an old friend of mine on a small tea farm in Ali Shan. He is a skilled tea maker and only uses the best leaves processed in the old-fashioned way to ensure a sweet taste.”
Tasters Review:
This has been on my “TO TRY LIST” for a long time! I tried this both ICED and HOT.
HOT is crisp and clean and truly Ali Shan! All I can think of while drinking this is beautiful and happy thoughts…it’s bright and sweet! It’s oddly…but fabulously CREAMY for an Oolong! It’s a gem of an Oolong and I just LOVE it!
COLD…it seems juicer but is still very creamy and quenches my thirst! Excellent either COLD or HOT…YUM!