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Hmm. a bit on the fence with this one – I tried my usual Oolong comparing test, western style, which is how i usually like them to be drunk, letting the flavour change as they cool in a big mug with a book.

but it tasted a bit oversteeped this way. there was an astringency and dry aftertaste that reminded me of being too far done. Im not going to rate this until I try it gongfu and/or less

My second blend from Mr L.P. Blends arent something i usually go for, perhaps having my experience spoilt by twinigs et al. ergh.

This, on the other hand, is a thing of beauty. It smells delish, and tastes as good as it smells, which is when usually (imo) fruity blend teas fall flat.

Peach, Honey, Sugar, Candy, with a slight green Oolong taste, with a lovely aftertaste and headfeel.

I brewed this western style, as I have never made iced tea before, but this is now spurring me on to try that as a next experiment.

Really very nice and will definitely be trying more blends after this. It worked very well for me western style at 90c 3 mins. i wasnt sure how much to put in because of the flowers but 4g worked a treat.

sent this as a free sample. Not feeling too well today, but ive really wanted to try this one out as im beginning to get a taste for puehr now i have tried some nice ones and got the brewing method down a bit better.

So, rinsed to open the leaves.

first steep was quite, hmm, reserved? crisp & has a nice taste which isnt overpowering at all, nothing jumping out at me. 5 secs.

straight to second steep and for 10 seconds this time. the colour is a lot thicker and darker and the leaves smell of a slight raisin sweetness. I get, again, general pu earthy flavours & some sort of cake. not sure which cake, but something like that.

further steeps were 15 & 25 seconds. the flavour has taken on more elements of a cake or a sweet (maybe an english sweet flavoured with a herb or plant) but i cant put my finger on it. again, its a subtle flavour, nothing jumping right out at me.

subsequent steeps started to lose their flavour.

quite nice, nothing amazing, nothing bad about it.

Its a good Xing Ren. Almond aroma and taste, with a slick, oily texture. Thoughts of a dark forest, with bushes & trees. Oolong like this is my perfect horror novel tea :)

I like brewing western style, and as the liquid cools the tea takes on a more bushy form, almost gaining a jade oolong taste. its a nice mix, to start off dark brown, and end up greener. if you get my drift. It always has the almond oil thing going on though, so doesnt ever deviate completely from its nature, but nice to have these other thoughts going on, especially when reading the spooky stuff!

some hints of milk as an aftertaste lingering on my palette

id like to add that these woody tastes are really subtle thoughts, hidden in the oil. not as strong as something like an eight immortals, or other darker Oolongs i have tried, defo on the buttery/oily side of things.

lol! the aroma from the steeped leaves actually reminded me of being in a canteen at a marks and spencers (M&S is a department store if you dont have them in the US) roasty with a bit of fruit. Aroma from the cup has the oily/buttery smell of a dancong. tried it 3g western style, too weak.

5g 100c 1 minute in the gaiwan, however, the aroma, of the steeped leaves, i swear down, was a really nice british-indian curry. i kid you not. the taste, however, wasnt strong enough again. weird.

second steep, straightaway after. for 2 minutes. still smells of curry hahahaha. a bit bitter and chocolate-savoury. oversteeped, slight yucky aftertaste.

im a bit tea’d-out so i iwill update this review later when ive experimented more. any suggestions on how to brew from anyone who knows this tea would be great.

Interesting. tried this as i love whites, the leaves are more spindly like its almost an Oriental Beauty.

aroma from the steeped leaves is more vegetal than i thought. from the cup there is an underlying sweetness, a syrup.

Tried it as recommended, 4g 90c 2:30 western style. I think this might have been too much (the 4g & temp). there is a hint of sourness, which reminds me of a too-strong white. next time i’ll try it the white way, 80c 3g 3mins.

I let it cool. interesting tea. very much like a white, but with a slight sourness that hangs around on the tongue, less floral than a yin zheng, but with similar characteristics.

Tried it straightaway after at 80/3g/3mins, it was similar to a yin zhen, again more sour and less sweet. I preferred a good silver needle, ,i must confess.

Made me feel nice. slight astringency.

I think i will need to experiment more with this tea, at the moment im on the fence with it, so it gets an 80 from me.

Ok, JingTeaShop -

I absolutely love this tea. its my favourite of the famous dan congs, and my favourite of yours (so far – im still only tried small amount of your stock) really easy to brew – to experiment ive just brewed 3g/2 minutes in my gaiwan just to see how it would do and its, not great, but any others would have been horrid, and this is still drinkable.

to me its the most balanced of the dan congs i have tried with regards to roasty smoke, oily butter, flowery orchid. lovely stuff.

for $33 for 100g, this is now my go-to Oolong, which was the experiment, to see which cheaper ones would make up for the stuff i buy for a LOT LOT more in the UK. – so extra points because of how cheap it is compared to those. Just so good.

9/10

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Gongfu style for 15secs

First steep not much going on really!

second steep and the leaves havent even unfurled – this one for 30 secs – milky aroma & quite a ‘hard water’ taste? like there isnt much of a jade oil thing going on. Slight vegetal taste, and a tiny aroma of sweetness, like candy floss.

Astringency started to appear, and a smell that reminds me of greeness & kale.

3rd steep much the same but less flavour.

Its more reasonable at $35/100g than my other Jade Oolongs, and compared to the other ‘Iron goddess’ I have tried which was heaped with so much Jasmine it made me feel sick, this one is a lot better. It doesnt seem to have the magic taste that my Da Yu Lings have (but they are a lot more expensive), but it has a nice head feeling, so im happy.

and happy that I can try other Iron Goddess now without worry about the added jasmine!

edit* did a much longer steep and managed to extract some jade magic out of this one. I like it!

This is an interesting one, sent kindly as a sample from Mountain Tea. im doing gong fu @ 90 degrees, 10/15/25 etc. the first few steeps have got almond-y notes and later its tasting a bit more like a jade oolong. milkyness in taste and slight butter aroma.

nice lingering aftertaste that changes. im getting some orchids now, similar to a dan cong orchid flavour but without the roasty savouryness.

theres some kind of sweet in there from my childhood too. ahh its milk bottles :)