Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Fong Mong Tea on Ebay
Tea Description:
Located between Xitou and Ali Mountain in central Taiwan – Nantou County, Sun-Link-Sea is famous for its amazing “sun links sea” scenery. Situated at an altitude of approximately 1600 – 1800 meters, Sun-Link-Sea has an average temperature of 20 degree Celsius all year long. 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 more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This is the first time I’m trying a “Sun-Link-Sea” Oolong (at least to my knowledge, unless I tried another Oolong that was in fact a Sun-Link-Sea but it was called something different by the purveyor). And as I sip this tea, I am really glad that I finally do have this opportunity to try it, because it is outstanding!
The tightly wound leaf pellets look very much like many other “green” Oolong teas (like Ali Shan or Tie Guan Yin, for example), but this tastes much different. Sure, it has many of the qualities that I often associate with green Oolongs, such as a green vegetative taste (which is very slight here) and amazing floral tones, and even a hint of fruit. But where this one strays from the pack, so to speak, is that it doesn’t have that strong creamy presence that so many other green Oolong teas tend to have. It doesn’t taste or feel buttery or creamy or milky.
Instead, this has a remarkably light and crisp flavor and texture. The floral tone that I mentioned are reminiscent of a magnolia-scented Oolong. The magnolia notes are there, but they aren’t as strong as you might find in a tea that has been specifically scented with the flower. Perhaps a hint of osmanthus flower, and even a touch of orchid. Very exotic floral notes that seem to meld together in a seamless way.
The fruit notes that I mentioned previously are very similar to apple, but not in a conventional way. What I actually taste is what you might experience if you were to drink a sweet-and-sour dry apple wine… if there is such a thing. It tastes light, and the apple-y notes seem to become progressively stronger as I sip, but never become a very prominent flavor.
But that is what I like so much about this tea. It isn’t really strong or distinct in one way, but, hints at so many different flavors that it becomes an exciting adventure with every sip. And I strongly urge you to indulge in multiple infusions … I enjoyed the third and fourth infusion even more than the first. So sweet and amazingly good.
This is in no ordinary Oolong!
Sun Moon Lake Hong Yue Black Tea from T-Oolong Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: T-Oolong Tea
Tea Description:
Our Taiwan Sun Moon Lake Black tea #18 is organic, handpicked and handcrafted. The tea is produced from Hong-Yui varietal grown in Yu-Chih township in Nantou County near the Sun Moon Lake. The steeped Taiwan Sun Moon Lake Black tea #18 has a characteristic and attractive natural mint flavor, a delightful, complex and pleasant taste without any bitterness and a sweet and mild aftertaste. The Taiwan Sun Moon Lake Black tea is of extremely high quality and is lovely in its rich and smooth taste.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This is so lovely!
This is one of those comforting types of teas – the type you want to drink while its hot, and with which you want to curl up under a big, fluffy blanket and sit in front of a roaring fire in the fireplace. And as I write this, we are experiencing one of our chilly spring days here in the Pacific Northwest, so it is quite a nice cup to enjoy today.
The website description of this tea suggests a minty flavor, and I am tasting that. It isn’t an overwhelming mint note, but it is cool and crisp and very refreshing, offering a nice contrast to the smooth, rich, malty notes of this tea. The cup is sweet, reminiscent of molasses. I notice hints of smoke in the distance, and these slight smoky tones meld beautifully with the molasses notes.
I notice that this tea is currently out of stock on the T-Oolong Tea website, and I do hope that they’ll get it in stock soon, because it’s really quite amazing. This is a tea I’d recommend to everyone. If you like tea – you’ve got to try this! It has such a rich, enjoyable flavor that I think every tea drinker will appreciate it.