It is currently snowing outside.
We Lord of the Rings loving Minnesotans are trying to determine whether this is third winter or elevenses. I’d prefer it to be over all together. But because I am not equipped with elemental superpowers to rid us of this weather a mid-day gong fu session will do.
Recently I have had the pleasure of enjoying many oolong using this fashion of tea ceremony. It is incredibly relaxing and makes one truly appreciate the tea. Not to mention you are able to pull out unique flavor nuances that may otherwise be missed. Nothing to be missed with the dry smell of this tea though.
Almost put it in my nose and still couldn’t detect anything. The liquid is a light honey color. If brewed with hot water, pour a cup every 10 seconds and let them cool slightly. Doing so will let you properly experience the liquid. Silky on the tongue with minimal astringency in the after taste. Flavors of summer flowers abound, a meadow of marigolds, especially when steeped longer than 2 minutes.
Also it should be noted that the Liao Mian Ji I am sampling is not the same as the one in the link below.
This one is definitely a lighter oolong. Maybe a 30-40% oxidation would be my guess.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Verdant Tea
Description:
Master Zhang cultivates this almost unheard-of varietal as part of his commitment to achieving the rich biodiversity in his tea fields, all while maintaining zero-impact agriculture for his Original Ecological Preserve designation. Liao Mian Ji is a unique cultivar, full of deep dessert-like caramel undertones and rich nutmeg and cinnamon spice. Master Zhang’s slow full roast brings out even more sweetness in the aftertaste.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Sun-Link-Sea Oolong Tea/Fong Mong Tea Shop
Currently Fong Mong Tea has their Spring 2018 Shanlinxi Taiwan Sun-Link-Sea Oolong Tea featured in their shop. It’s a High Mountain Ooolong Loose Leaf.
I haven’t sipped on the Spring 2018 one YET but the Sun-Link-Sea Oolongs from previous years have been stellar!
Gaiwan Style is preferred but in a strainer always seems to get the infusing job done, too! I used about a tablespoon – maybe a little more – and let sit just until the leaves were ‘open’. This is what I like to call a ‘dancing tea’. Yup! You guessed it! The leaves dance around in the cup naturally while uncurling and steeping.
As much as I hate the term ‘mouth-feel’ I don’t really know how to describe the texture of the sip. It’s really quite amazing. It’s smooth, light, refreshing, a tad floral, a little vegetal-sweet, and even a bit fruity-sweet…maybe like a sweeter crab apple.
This tea is just begging me for multiple infusions. Of course, I had to oblige. I infused longer each time and was able to get a solid 3 to 4 infusions out of it. Delicious!
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Fong Mong Tea
Description
Located between Xitou and Ali Mountain in central Taiwan – Nantou County, Shanlinxi (Sun-Link-Sea) is famous for its amazing “sun links sea” scenery. Situated at an altitude of approximately 1200 meters, Sun-Link-Sea has an average temperature of 20 degree Celsius all year long. Shanlinxi (Sun-Link-Sea) tea tree mountains, not as high as other high-mountain tea tree ones though, with their distinctive geographic environment, gestate another different fragrance and taste which is another characteristic fine tea of Taiwan high-mountain teas.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
King Dragon / Wendigo Tea
Big Red Robe. This tea is as unique as its name.
While some are closer to being a queen dragon with more floral notes this one deserves the title of King Dragon with hints of smoke and earthy notes like oak, cedar, and damp soil.
There is a surprising amount of mineral notes, especially in the aftertaste. Though it may be weird to say one tastes wet rocks, it really does have that flavor.
Perhaps with a bit of granite mixed in. The astringency is also unique. It doesn’t quite make you pucker your lips as some black teas do, however, it leaves a familiar texture in your mouth as often astringent teas do.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Wendigo Tea
Description
All arise for I am King Dragon, an ancient and illustrious oolong tea. I smell of exquisite honey, leather, orchids, and wet stone. My taste is of ripe peaches, earth, and smoke with a smooth lingering sweetness.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Dragon’s Tooth/Swallowtail Tea
First off, I have to say that this tea is nothing short of amazing—it ties in everything I love about greens and oolongs in a perfectly smooth, sweet cup of tea. I expected something a little more vegetal/grassy with how green the leaves were but I was pleasantly surprised with a nice floral taste.
While this might go good with honey, I wound up not adding anything to it. Any sweetener would cover up something that tastes perfect on its own, detracting from sweeter floral notes.
Part of the sweetness of this tea reminds me of fresh spring water. There’s a hint of minerality, but it doesn’t leave an aftertaste. I got two steepings out of this one and may even try a third, as the flavor didn’t change much aside from losing a little of its floral flavor. It was still about as bold as the first brew.
This one’s a keeper! I’ll definitely be adding this to my “must have” list.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Swallowtail Tea
Description
This wonderful Mao Xie oolong has dramatic floral notes of lilac and jasmine, with the complexity of butter, stone, and steamed greens.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Phoenix Dan Cong Duck Honey Snowflake/SerendipiTea Studios. . . .
Gongfu Brewing. . .something has always scared me away from trying to brew tea up in the tea ceremonial fashion and kept me to western brewing. I think scared may be the incorrect word. I think intimidated is better.
I was intimidated by the amount of teaware you had to have, intimidated by having the right teaware, and also intimidated by making a complete fool out of myself for trying. But when March rolled around and I turned 40-I finally convinced myself it was time to finally immerse myself into learning something new.
And learn something I did. I found myself taking notes after notes from different videos on YouTube from amazing tea bloggers like Tea for Me Please and tea companies like Mei Leaf. By the time it was all said and done, I found tea ware that I already had that would work to get the party started.
So to test this out, I took a sample of Phoenix Dan Cong Duck Honey Snowflake from Serendipitea Studios and brewed the tea both in the gongfu method and western style. The different was night and day.
With the gongfu method, I was able to get these rich gorgeous notes of sweet floral that I was not getting with the western style. These pops of sweet floral thrilled my tastebuds and I found myself eagerly drinking this tea down. Towards the middle brewing sessions, I would find myself describing the tea as being delicate but with a bit of power behind it. Yes this tea is delicate but this tea demands your full attention as well. There was also this slight savory touch that I could note here and there but couldn’t really pull what I would compare the taste to.
With the western style, I was still able to pull out those beautiful floral notes with a sweet touch but I will say that the flavors were not as bold and not as alluring. Still delicious but I would say I prefer the gongfu method for this particular tea. The flavors were just more pronounced and more on point.
Regardless of how you brew this tea, this tea is fabulous and one that I will be getting more of for myself soon. I’m beyond thrilled with the tea itself and have found myself wanting more so I may be ordering quicker than I intended to. Smooth, lush, floral, with just a hit of a contrasting flavor here and there. Can’t ask for more from your tea.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Serendipitea Studios
Description
Elegant just like its name, Duck Honey Snowflake is a seasonal winter hand-picked harvest of regular Duck Honey Aroma all-natural tea. This winter version is much more florally delicate than the regular and contrasted to caramel like sweetness, its sweetness brings a rather icy wintry feel.
From the coastal area in Canton province, Phoenix Mountain possesses mineral-rich soil and is constantly surrounded by mists and fog, covered by wild tea tress and tea farms, as well as the folklore of the Phoenix Dan Cong Tea. Many wild tea trees are at least 100 to 200 years old.
It’s a special type of organic Oolong treasured for its highly distinctive natural aroma, and is also believed to be the ancestor of all Oolong teas. Well-known for its ten aromatic categories, it delivers rich and complex flavor. Local tea scholars and connoisseurs from China study and try to organize these all-natural teas into hundreds aromatic subgroups. Mandarin uses the word ‘Xiang’ or aroma for each specific type that mimics certain flower or fruit aroma. Phoenix Dan Cong’s aroma is never artificially added or perfumed but exclusively cultivated, artisan crafted, and each aroma comes from the tea plant’s natural aromatic compound.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
