Yancha

Tea Information:

Leaf Type: Oolong

Tea Description:

Rougui [cinnamon] yancha [rock tea] is an oolong tea from the Fujian province of China.

Our Rougui is fragrant and smoky with a mineral finish. It is considered a medium roast.

Learn more about this tea here.

Learn more about White Two Tea’s Tea Club Subscription here.

Taster’s Review:

I’ll admit that I have less experience with Rougui Oolong teas than I do with other Oolongs like TieGuanYin and AliShan. But I still enjoy them!

And this Rougui Oolong from White Two Tea is lovely!

I brewed it the same way I brew other Oolongs – in my gaiwan! I measured a bamboo scoop of leaf into the bowl of the gaiwan, and then I poured in water heated to 180°F. I did a 15 second rinse, and then infused the leaves for 45 seconds. With each subsequent infusion, I added 15 seconds. My first cup is the combination of the first two infusions.

And the first cup is delightfully fragrant. It’s pleasantly sweet with notes of fruit and flower. It’s very flavorful. Usually, the first cup tends to be the lightest flavored cup that I enjoy of an Oolong experience, and that may be true of this tea as well, but I like that there’s still plenty of flavor to be experienced!

Sweet! Hints of smoke in the distance. The wording of the description lead me to believe that this would be smokier than it is – but the smoke notes are faint – I like that! Woodsy tones marry with notes of stone fruit. I taste sweet notes of peach and plum with hints of sour at mid-sip. I also taste hints of mineral and light spice notes in the background. It’s a wonderfully complex cuppa!

And that was just the first cup! The second cup is even more delightful! The flavors have become smoother now. The sip is smooth from start to finish with a mild astringency at the tail – a slightly dry note. I also pick up on a slight citrus-y note toward the finish.

While I experienced a slight ‘sour’ note from the fruit tones in that first cup, I find that those notes seem to be tapering. The fruit is still an abundant taste, but this cup focuses on the sweetness of the fruit and there is very little noticeable sour note.

This tea just seems to get lovelier and lovelier the more you infuse it!

The third cup was sweeter and smoother than the first two. I can really taste peach notes now. I am still tasting hints (wisps!) of smoke. The spice notes seem to stand out for me in this cup, so it’s like I’m tasting peach and spice. Nice!

A really lovely Oolong! This is the first Oolong that I’ve tried from White Two Tea, and it’s been a wonderful experience!

liberteas

Anne (aka the Mad Tea Artist) has celebrated her 29th birthday for many years now. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her hubby and her youngest daughter. Her oldest daughter is married and has bestowed Anne with the proud title of "Gramma" and her grandson is about the cutest boy you ever did see. Anne started her journey with tea as a casual drinker and became more serious about her tea drinking when she realized that she couldn't drink coffee. Shortly thereafter, she started becoming obsessed with the beverage and she started creating small-batch, artisan blends of tea that she sold online as LiberTEAS. After a few years, she realized she wasn't cut out to be the sole proprietor of a business so she closed LiberTEAS and started reviewing teas online. She met Jennifer through another blog that they both reviewed for and they decided to start their own review blog. This review blog! Throughout her journey as a tea reviewer, she discovered 52Teas and became enamored with the idea of creating a new tea every week. When the founder of 52Teas decided he wanted to move on, he offered the business to Anne but knowing that she wasn't cut out to be a sole proprietor, she instead offered the company to her oldest daughter who employs her as the Mad Tea Artist for 52Teas!

This post was posted in Oolong