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derk drank Taiwan Premium 'Oriental Beauty' Oolong Tea by What-Cha

1548 tasting notes

A very structured tea! June 2020 harvest.

There’s a lot of fruitiness between apricot-orange and savory osmanthus as the main show. Infused in that fruitiness is the classic summer, bug-bitten crystallized and honeyed muscatel flavor with a soft, sweet cinnamon-allspice overtone and a strong eucalyptus-lemongrass-mineral undertone. While there is a gardenia florality that diffuses over the main attraction, the bottom, low-toned notes hold a lot influence. Autumn leaf, sap, wood and malt give a stable, prominent base to the fruit, flowers, cinnamon-honey-muscatel, eucalyptus and lemongrass. Sometimes, in those bottom notes, I get some umami.

This tea has strength in many facets. The aroma is beautiful, a little pushy, as I’d expect it to be, with honey, vanilla, osmanthus and wood. With each exhalation, the fragrance returns. Like the aroma, it is also forceful. With each breath, I feel like I’m taking another sip from the cup and my body simultaneously cools and warms. The texture ranges from juicy to creamy to tingly to tannic. The tea responds best to longer infusions and has great longevity. It seems to transition smoothly out of its initial ba-BOOM character and ends on woody and lemongrass notes.

One other thing is the way this tea makes me feel – it’s summer late afternoon in a cup.

Flavors: Allspice, Apricot, Autumn Leaf Pile, Cinnamon, Citrusy, Creamy, Drying, Eucalyptus, Floral, Fruit Tree Flowers, Fruity, Gardenias, Hay, Honey, Lemon, Lemongrass, Lime, Malt, Mineral, Muscatel, Orange, Osmanthus, Peach, Sap, Savory, Smooth, Straw, Sweet, Tangy, Tannin, Umami, Vanilla, Wood

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Veronica
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Everything about this tea sounds beautiful!

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Veronica
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Everything about this tea sounds beautiful!

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This place, like the rest of the internet, is dead and overrun with bots. And thus I step away.

Eventual tea farmer. If you are a tea grower, want to grow your own plants or are simply curious, please follow me so we can chat.

I most enjoy loose-leaf, unflavored teas and tisanes. Teabags have their place. Some of my favorite teas have a profound effect on mind and body rather than having a specific flavor profile. Terpene fiend.

Favorite teas generally come from China (all provinces), Taiwan, India (Nilgiri and Manipur). Frequently enjoyed though less sipped are teas from Georgia, Japan, Nepal and Darjeeling. While I’m not actively on the hunt, a goal of mine is to try tea from every country that makes it available to the North American market. This is to gain a vague understanding of how Camellia sinensis performs in different climates. I realize that borders are arbitrary and some countries are huge with many climates and tea-growing regions.

I’m convinced European countries make the best herbal teas.

Personal Rating Scale:

100-90: A tea I can lose myself into. Something about it makes me slow down and appreciate not only the tea but all of life or a moment in time. If it’s a bagged or herbal tea, it’s of standout quality in comparison to similar items.

89-80: Fits my profile well enough to buy again.

79-70: Not a preferred tea. I might buy more or try a different harvest. Would gladly have a cup if offered.

69-60: Not necessarily a bad tea but one that I won’t buy again. Would have a cup if offered.

59-1: Lacking several elements, strangely clunky, possess off flavors/aroma/texture or something about it makes me not want to finish.

Unrated: Haven’t made up my mind or some other reason. If it’s pu’er, I likely think it needs more age.

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