Boy…do I have a unique oolong for you today! It’s Imperial Pearl Oolong from Mountain Tea. It’s considered to be a BRANDY Oolong and is on the more rare side of oolongs you may have (or have not) tasted. If you manage to get your hands on it – I highly recommend it!
A brief overview of Brandy Oolongs are as follows…
It’s made from a special cultivar of the tea plant unique to Taiwan that is highly oxidized (85-90%) and has only recently been introduced to western tea enthusiasts. It’s also known as “Ruby-18″ which is a style of oolong initially created by crossing the Assamica tea varietal with the native tea plant to produce a tea that has become the favorite for tea enthusiasts of every age.
Before infusing I thought the dry leaf of Imperial Pearl Oolong from Mountain Tea smelled a bit like pine. Post infusion Brandy Oolong’s rich and amber brew hints of spice, cinnamon, and sweet-creamy malt notes REALLY come out to play! There is a tinge of crusty and bakey-ness to it that morphs into a sweet yet malty sip. Another thing I find interesting about this tea is when it’s fully brewed it has to be one of the darkest oolongs I have ever sampled!
Imperial Pearl Oolong from Mountain Tea was the winner of the 2012 NATC – Dark Oolong Category – Judge’s Choice Award for Exceptional Tea – as well as the winner of the 2011 NATC – Black Tea Category – 2nd Place. And I can totally understand why! Shame on me for procrastinating on the taste test and review for this one! It’s flipping fantastic and now among my favorite oolongs to date!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Mountain Tea
Description
This rare brandy oolong (what is brandy oolong?) is a must have in your tea chest.
You will be enraptured with notes of molasses, honey and maple syrup. The dry leaf recalls the fragrance of ground red pepper, a splash of hot water and the nose transforms into something more savory and miso-like. We only picked the tenderest leaves of our prized oolong plants to create this exceptional tea; in doing so, we created a tea that is deep amber in color and pointedly sweet in flavor, sans astringency or bitterness.
Hotter water and longer steeping times will brew a more complex and spicier tea. Lower water temperature and shorter steeping times will brew a sweeter tea. Imperial Pearl is also known as Red Oolong in the East.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Pine Oolong from Golden Leaf Tea
The dry leaf and the first brew of this oolong smelled like sour green fruit, like white grapes. Brewed, the tea reminds me of a kukicha green tea, with a slightly fermented flavor with notes of sweet grass and new hay. There’s an extra mineral sharpness to this tea, and that might be the “pine” part of this oolong. There was an almost-lemon citrus flavor that made my mouth pucker with tartness. I brewed this tea twice, and by the second steeping, the blend had more warm roasted tones and notes of honey, making for a smoother experience than the first brewing.
I like the idea of an evergreen tea, such as pine or spruce…. maybe not hemlock (which is poisonous, just ask Socrates). Still, I love the smell of pine resin in the woods and the smell of green Christmas trees. This tea doesn’t quite satisfy that evergreen feeling, but Pine Oolong from Golden Leaf Tea is a solid oolong with a nice balance of sweet and sour fruitiness.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Golden Leaf Tea
Description: Pine Oolong Tea is a semi-fermented delicate green tea from the pristine hills of Taiwan. This tea brews to a light honey color with a slightly floral fragrance that lingers after the last sip. A light and delicate green oolong.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Uper Fagu Darjeeling Oolong from The Tea Shelf
Hello Tea Friends.
Darjeeling, one of the most famous tea growing regions in the world. Did you know tea produced in Darjeeling accounts for 7% of India’s total tea export? I love to read and learn about tea, there are some great facts on Wikipedia.
The Tea Shelf specialise in Indian teas from source and offer worldwide shipping. A new company to me but they offer worldwide shipping and have a wonderful selection on their site.
The tea I will be reviewing is Uper Fagu Darjeeling Oolong. Upper Fagu is a tea garden in Gorubathan, Darjeeling. This particular sample was picked in 2015 and is second flush with a silver tip grade. I did my best to try and break it down and explain where this tea comes from and what it is. The packet contains a lot of this information which is always useful to buyers.
Opening the packet and scooping some leaves into my hands I see long, thin leaves with a natural curl in a mixture of earthy green and brown colours with plenty of silver tips. The tips also have downy hairs. They bare a dry and floral scent with a touch of fruit.
Steeping Parameters: 1 teaspoon of leaf, 95C water. 3 minute steep.
Once steeped the tea soup is golden and light in colour with a sweet floral and fruit scent, very similar to it’s raw form.
The first few sips reveal a clean, peony base with a nutty, dry aftertaste. Further sips reveal a crisp citrus with honeyed tones. It becomes thicker in strength as it cools slightly.
Overall it’s delicate but very refined. A very nice example of a Darjeeling Oolong. Very nice tea and a company I will certainly be looking at in the future if this is the calibre of what they have to offer.
Happy Steeping!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: The Tea Shelf
Description: One of the finest oolongs of Darjeeling, the aroma of dark chocolate envelopes your senses, reminiscent of a cold wintry day! The leaves are springy with a moss like mosaic of silver and copper. The infusion shows another surprise with individual leaves clearly visible with bright colours of copper and mauve. The chocolate experience continues but now coupled with citrus and fruity notes. The steeped leaves give way to a gorgeous sunset yellow cup, which is very brisk on the palate with notes of jasmine and citrus, which linger on.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Mint Green Oolong from My Green Teapot. . . . .
If you are a fan of mint. . spearmint to be exact. . .I highly recommend you continue reading. If you aren’t a fan, this tea is probably not for you. I am a huge mint fan so I couldn’t have been more excited when this tea arrived at my door.
Never ordering from My Green Teapot, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I certainly didn’t expect the teas to arrive in adorable little take out containers. This tea instantly grabbed my attention and I quickly skipped to my kettle to prep my water. While the water was prepping, I opened the pouch and was greeted with an amazingly intense cooling spearmint aroma. One that I enjoyed insanely so. Being 100% honest, the smell did remind me a bit of toothpaste, but again, being the mint fan I am, this didn’t waiver me in checking this oolong out.
Allowed to steep for a few minutes and cooled, the first sip of this tea revealed that refreshing cooling minty love I was hoping it would in a more spearmint variety. Refreshing, cooling, and soothing with a lovely mouth feel. The minty aroma in combination with the minty flavors gave me all the minty feels and love. The oolong leaves are providing this wonderfully smooth texture that make me want more.
Subsequent steepings yielded the same smooth refreshing cooling flavor but the mint flavor does subside a bit each infusion. The tea does have a note of astringency that does seem to increase each infusion as well.
All in all, I do love the experience I had with this tea. It is a unique version of a mint flavored tea that I haven’t had before. . .and I’ve tried a lot of mint teas. But being 100% honest, I will admit a few notes in regards to this tea. Even I will say that when I first opened the pouch, I was afraid that the mint was even too much for me. This tea is immensely infused with mint, but to me this is a good thing. I will also admit that after drinking this tea for the last couple of hours, I feel like I’ve brushed my teeth and at the same time- had a very dry mouth feel, which prompted me to drink more of this, causing more of this brushed teeth feel and dry mouth experience.
The more I think about this tea, the more I can see myself needing more of it sooner rather than later. The tea is extremely memorable and unique. With how much tea I drink on a daily basis, that is saying something. The cooling effect this tea delivers is one I can’t seem to get enough of. A proper cold brew of this tea is in my future for sure.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: My Green Teapot
Description
Our Mint Green Oolong Teas are all natural whole leaf teas from Taiwan infused with mint.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Formosa Oolong from Simple Loose Leaf. . . . .
Most oolongs taste like either greens or blacks to me, but this one’s a perfect in-betweener. It’s got that lighter, vegetal green, but throws in a dash of that sexy deep note that I love about black.
There are also other notes here, some sort of a plum/raisin sugar-tartness that really kicks it up a notch. If I were going to going to assign this tea an aura color, it would be a warm autumn purple.
This is the sort of tea that I would sip while exploring an attic while wearing an oversized woolen sweater. Knowing my luck, that attic would be haunted as EFF. I’d open a yearbook from 1934 and be possessed by some girl who died of — I don’t know — polio? The vapors? What did people die of back then?
I wouldn’t be possessed long. In movies, ghosts LOVE their new bodies, but in reality, a ghost from 1934 wouldn’t know how to use my car, phone, or computer at work. She’d probably go “the hell with this” and bounce of her own accord. If our grandparents are any indication, people of that generation loathe the digital area. She’d cross over.
Back to the tea.
I really enjoy this tea. It’s just the right afternoon lift without making my heart dive-bomb out of my chest.
The outside of the bag says Formosa Oolong is a “perfect introduction to the world of Taiwanese tea.”
Okay, Taiwan. You have me interested. I’m ready for a second date.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Simple Loose Leaf
Description
This semi-fermented tea from Taiwan, gets its name from the Portuguese explorers who called the island Formosa, meaning ‘beautiful’. The copper-red leaves with tips of silver brew into a beautiful bright golden brisk cup with peach undertones. Delicious hot or cold.
Ingredients: Taiwanese Oolong Tea
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
