Nantou Four Seasons

Sipdown #3 (#8).
This really is a lovely light & floral oolong, like walking out my front door when the lilacs bloom in spring, the air filled with their delicate aroma. There is also a little bit of a sourdough bread taste that I’m picking up today.

Tea from the December Steepster Select box…

I like green oolongs but I haven’t been buying too many because I can’t seem to drink them quickly enough. Le sigh

This has an intense floral aroma with nutty and buttery flavors, so nice for a gray and dreary day like we are having today, it’s like sunshine in a cup. :)

I might try to gong fu the remainder of this sample at home but it’s quite tasty. I may like the aroma a bit better than the flavor though… I doubt I would order this but I’ve really enjoyed trying it.

Had this one last night and it’s my least favorite of the oolongs I’ve tried lately. I definitely like the heavier roasted ones, but this is nice and light. Kind of like springtime in a cup. But I’m in the dead of winter, so I need something a little more robust. I’ll save my other pack for when I can sit on my back porch and watch the kids chase each other around the yard.

I live on the edge of the winery property, and this morning my neighbor had someone in his yard using a leaf blower starting at 8 am! This did allow me to have an early morning gong fu session with this tea, though…

I really enjoyed this tea very much. I was concerned that the subtle savory/umami flavor of this tea was a product of what I had just eaten last time I tried this, but that flavor is still there. I would really like this tea with lighter vegetarian noodle dishes and brothy soups. I might even reorder this one!

This is a pretty nice oolong! Very creamy and green. I’m only on steep #1 so I’m not sure if the lilac flavors are going to show up or not, but overall I’m quite happy with this offering from Steepster Select! I brewed this packet western style but perhaps I’ll save the other one for a time I can do it gongfu.

Steepster select!

I’m undecided on this oolong. I love how the floral in it is different than the usual floral flavors – this one has lilac in it giving a relaxing vibe similar to lavender. The floral gets stronger as the tea cools, with that, I could see this being a tasty cold steeped tea (which I’d try once the weather is better).

At the same time, the floral gives me a “bath product” feel to it, which is more of a personal thing.

Full review of the Steepster Select Dec 2013 box on my blog, The Oolong Owl http://oolongowl.com/steepster-select-january-2014-teas-oolong-owl-tea-review/

Late at night, just called the New Year. I have an early flight so I just decided to stay up and drink tea.

My second tea of the new year, this came in the first steepster select package. I could not get the temp exact in a regular kettle so this poured at 180 degrees F according to the repurposed meat thermometer. Hey, we use what we got.

This smells very oolong and quite floral. I’m fairly new to oolongs in general so this note might be a bit uninspired. Still pretty much in the ‘it tastes like a green oolong’ phase of oolongs.

This is a bit roasty and a little bit cloying from the flower, I suppose lilac. It’s quite interesting. I added a bit of sugar to bring out the flavour for me and I’m drinking it quite hot for me. Cooled down a bit brings out more of the oolong for me though there is still a bit of lilac aftertaste. If further steeps are better or worse I will edit.

Today is not shaping up to be the best day (not the worst either, but still), so I wanted to go for something that would taste good guaranteed. I remembered this tea from the Steepster Select box, so I brewed it up and it is just as good (if not better) than I remembered. I think it might actually be my favorite oolong so far. It has the perfect balance of roasted and floral notes and is so creamy. I just checked their website, and it seems they only sell in 4 oz quantities. Normally, I wouldn’t get that much of one tea at once, but this is so delicious that I might just…

This tea was incredibly aromatic and floral. It was smooth and buttery with no noticeable astringency. There were notes of orchid, lavender and vanilla with a fresh greenness in the background.

You can find the rest of the review here: http://www.teaformeplease.com/2011/06/in-pursuit-of-tea-nantou-si-ji-chun.html

I used two Steepster Select sample packs in a 170 teapot. The very soft aromas out of the package are reminiscent of snapdragon and hay. I brewed this for a coworker and myself so I married the first two steeps. The brewed aromas are more pronounced with a hint of sugar cookie in the air. The flavor is bountiful of lilac? gardenia? oh what is the flowers name? Great mouth feel and a superb golden color soup.

3rd and 4th infusions are even better and it continued to steep out for 10 times before trailing off.

All in all not a bad representation of a green oolong that can be your every day or special something. I would add that the sample pack says to brew at 200F for 3 minutes for what I’m assuming is a 4g pack, yet the website calls for boiling water. There is also instruction to use short steepings in the descriptive paragraph. I like how some sites give directions for both Gong Fu and Western preparation. Makes it easier for the not so sure, new to tea crowd like I was.