Ali Shan

Tea type
Oolong Tea
Ingredients
Oolong Tea
Flavors
Butter, Bitter, Floral, Grass, Honeysuckle, Vegetal, Cut Grass, Mint, Green, Citrus, Honeydew, Lime, Rainforest, Tart, Wet Rocks
Sold in
Loose Leaf, Sachet
Caffeine
Medium
Certification
Not available
Edit tea info Last updated by Michael
Average preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 3 min, 0 sec 10 g 5 oz / 143 ml

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59 Tasting Notes View all

From Adagio Teas

Ali Shan is an alpine green oolong tea from Taiwan. While relatively new, Ali Shan is one of Taiwan’s most famous tea growing areas, producing beautiful high mountain oolong teas from its misty peaks. Warm sugar and deeply layered floral aromas, with a melting, creamy mouthfeel. Mellow and light-bodied, this hand-crafted Ali Shan oolong is excellent for multiple infusions on a quiet afternoon.

Ingredients: Oolong tea

Steeping Instructions: Steep at 195° for 2-3 minutes.

About Adagio Teas View company

Adagio Teas has become one of the most popular destinations for tea online. Its products are available online at www.adagio.com and in many gourmet and health food stores.

59 Tasting Notes

90
176 tasting notes

HOLY CRAP THIS IS SUCH A CLEAN AND DELICIOUS OOLONG. WHY IS IT SO EXPENSIVE NOOO!!! I totally want to get some of this someday though, it’s super great. Such a light colour!

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60
140 tasting notes

Single cip, Honey

A bit better this time around. Still a flavor in there that makes my nose wrinkle a bit.

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec
teatortoise

Is it the citrusy flavor?

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83
46 tasting notes

Previously I’ve brewed this western style, with good results. Today I tried 5g in my 100ml gaiwan. 10 second rinse. THEN: I got distracted by the election results on TV (first time I voted today, yay!) and completely overbrewed it. _ I was trying to go for [20, 15, 20, 30, 45 etc], but ended up doing something like [30, 20, 35, 55, 70?, 3 mins??]. You know what I’m not even sure. I was counting silently in my head then it got all jumbled when those heavily hairsprayed people with extremely white teeth on TV started rattling out other numbers.

But thankfully this tea still came out alright, despite my mishandling. I drank all steeps, shared some with my mom, and she even asked for seconds. I did manage to pull together enough attentiveness to get one fantastic brew though, I think it was the third. Now if only I could repeat that…

{_falls on knees_} I’m so sorry Alishan! Next time I promise to accord you the mindful brewing you deserve! ;_;

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C

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20
161 tasting notes

I tried to like it. I wanted to like it. BUT…I don’t. This tea smells musty, tastes sharp at first then turns super dry. It’s almost like a dry white wine but without the promise of a little buzz. Does anyone want my sample tin? I’ll trade ya!

Jillian

I’d offer but I don’t have a heck of a lot of offer in return unless you want some Stash teabags or flavoured rooibos. Also postage might be an issue since I’m in western Canada. If you’re still interested my email addy is [email protected]

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81
41 tasting notes

Oolongs are categorically perhaps my favorite tea and this is no exception. I really enjoyed this green oolong and its buttery notes. It was a bit astringent on the aftertaste on the first steeping but subsequent steepings took care of any lingering bitterness. So excited to have had this sample and will soon be purchasing more!

Flavors: Butter

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92
120 tasting notes

Heady perfume. Maybe less overt honeyed than the fancy bai hao but in a similar vein and with an incredible sultry subtle jasmine flower scent. Palate is great with buttery texture and long finish. Maybe even better on second steep. Very smooth.

Consistently impressed by Adagio’s oolong offerings.

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75
58 tasting notes

Sample 16/19 I tried this one last night and I think I overbrewed it a little bit because it was a little too grass/bitter. But, I enjoyed what I assume are “honeysuckle” floral notes. Overall a good tea, but the anxi wulong low fire from masters is still my favorte so I’m a little biased against this one! It was really nice though and glad I got to try this kind of oolong! :)

Flavors: Bitter, Floral, Grass, Honeysuckle, Vegetal

Martin Bednář

I had only once Ali Shan in loose leaf; it was in tea-room and it was just this: https://steepster.com/Martin-CZE/posts/388201
I wish I had more experience back then.

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67
24 tasting notes

Very light tea with some sweet notes, cut grass, a hint of some mint. Many better Ali Shans out there.

Flavors: Cut Grass, Floral, Mint

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 45 sec 10 g 5 OZ / 150 ML

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79
7 tasting notes

I always have an interesting time trying to brew these in my gaiwan, because the leaves are SO tightly rolled. The second steep always runs the best for me.

First of all, my favorite thing about this tea is the look of it. Ali Shan has the most beautiful leaf-lay when you’re done steeping. Talk about a picture perfect leaf. Gorgeous large, wrinkled green leaves that fill up the entire gaiwan after only being a tiny amount to start with. The liquor is a light amber/green and it’s beautifully translucent. A very pretty tea.

The initial aroma is vegetal but not in a lawn-clippings king of way, it’s very approachable. It’s more of a mossy, wet river rocks kind of smell. The smell is a lot less floral than the actual taste, however.

The taste is delightfully buttery, smooth, more like a green than an oolong at some points. The second steep always carries more of the floral aspects than the first. There’s aspects of honeysuckle that like to peek out in the different infusions. The taste changes so much because there’s a decent amount of stem material in the tea that infuse a little less or more depending on the state of unfurl the leaf is in.

It’s a relaxing tea, a mind clearer. I always seem to come back to it even though I have left Adagio for other companies. Maybe when I run out I might go back for a little more.

Flavors: Floral, Grass, Green, Honeysuckle, Vegetal

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 1 min, 30 sec 2 tsp 5 OZ / 150 ML

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95
58 tasting notes

Got this as a sample from the Adagio store because I spent a good hour there with a friend talking with the employees. It would never be something I’d buy myself since it’s pretty expensive, so I was really thankful that this was my free sample!

And honestly, I can understand why it costs so much. I never thought I’d use “buttery” to describe tea, but it’s absolutely applicable here. You can steep this tea twice and it will taste just as good the second time, which does make it a bit more cost effective. So Ali Shan, I will never buy you, but I’m glad I got the experience somehow.

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