Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Fong Mong Tea
Tea Description:
Plucking from Taiwan peculiar Four Seasons Spring oolong tea leaves, in addition to stringent management of planting, Taiwan fruity oolong tea (Sijichun) was handcrafted to refine into circumspect & traditional oolong tea. This Four Seasons Spring oolong was strictly selected as a higher grade oolong tea, possesses particularly pure and strong fresh flower fragrance plus smooth taste which you, tea lovers, won’t miss it out.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
What a lovely Oolong experience awaits when you try this Taiwan Four Seasons Fruity Sijichun Oolong Tea from Fong Mong Tea! It is a very refreshing, pleasantly sweet Oolong that provides many wonderful infusions!
The dry leaf is comprised of tiny, tiny pellets … almost as small as gunpowder green tea … in fact, when I first opened this package, I had to do a double check to make sure I was opening an Oolong and not a green tea by mistake.
The aroma of the dry leaf is more floral than fruity and based upon the name of the tea I guess I was expecting a stronger fruity essence to it. I do take in some fruit notes, but, largely, what I smell is a strong floral note. Brewed, the aroma is slightly softer than the dry leaf, but it is still more floral than fruity.
I brewed this the same way I’d brew most Oolong teas: in my gaiwan! After a quick fifteen second rinse, I steeped the leaves for 45 seconds for the first infusion, and then each subsequent infusion had a 15 second increase. I combine two infusions in one cup … in other words, the first cup is infusions 1 and 2, while the second cup is infusions 3 and 4 … and so on. The tightly wound pellets were slow to unfurl and release their flavor … making for an extended enjoyment of this tea!
The first cup was light, refreshing and crisp. Similar to the fragrance of the dry leaf, I am tasting a stronger floral presence than a fruity taste. There is a crisp … almost apple-y kind of taste to the background, but that is the only fruit notes I’m picking up on at this point. The floral tones are sharp yet sweet. A very clean tasting cup.
The second cup was a stronger tasting cup, where the fruit notes became a little better defined, as did the floral tones. This is not quite as “light” or “crisp” or even “sharp” … this is more smooth and it has a soft texture that washes over the palate. Of the three cups that I enjoyed of this tea, the second cup is my favorite … but that doesn’t mean that the first and third cups were not enjoyable. They were certainly lovely as well!
The third cup was more of a unified flavor … I noticed that the fruit notes emerged strongest here, and the floral tones softened and became almost a part of the fruit notes. There is more of a vegetative tone to this cup as well … that is to say, I taste more of a “grassy” or “vegetable” taste to this cup than I did the first two. It is not quite as creamy or smooth as the second cup … but, richer than the first.
Like I said … all three cups are very enjoyable and what I liked best is that each cup was a new adventure. This is really a lovely cup, bravo to Fong Mong Tea for delivering yet another fantastic tea experience!
