Wuyi Ensemble

Happy New Year! Still trying to sip down some older teas in the next few months, I think, and then I can go back and restock my favorites/try new things. I’ve pared down my collection by nearly half already in three months or so (wow!), so I’m nearly there! I can’t wait.

My review of this last time was accurate; I taste different things with each sip, and I think that makes it good for a new year. At the very least I find that roasty, woody quality soothing on a cold day after staying up too late. I get more of the fruitiness this time around, almost like something dried (prunes?). As always, I really do like Adagio’s oolongs. They surprise me, which is not something their other teas do.

Nice, although I think I need to switch to decaf now…

This tea is definitely one of my favorites from Adagio. It was also my first WuYi oolong. Might I say, what a pleasant experience!

I got 2-3 good cups out of this stuff, which is good for the price IMO. The first and second cup yielded that mineral, rocky flavor with some sort of fruitiness. I can’t quite put my finger on it — perhaps lychee? Anyway, the fruitiness was somewhat prominent and added to the complexity. There was also a nice, lingering aftertaste.

The second cup didn’t quite have as prominent of a fruitiness, but a lot of sweetness came out paired with the rocky taste. On the third cup, things started to quiet down as a whole.

Interestingly, I used about 2 tsp. / 8 oz. of water, and my first two steepings were at 1 minute each. I wonder if I should have steeped them for longer? Oh well, only time will tell when I obtain more.

All in all, this tea is very refreshing, in the sense of its unique flavor and just how the aftertaste coats your throat. While I want to explore more WuYis, I don’t want to stray too far from this one!

In the pouch: Not as much smell as some of the other teas. Almost an odd, plastic odor that I have to blame on the packaging, actually, so not much from the tea so far.

Steeping: Nutty, smoky scent that gets stronger.

Drinking: Light and nutty with a faint smokiness. This is actually my favorite non-flavored oolong so far from this box of samples. I think I’ll be doing at least one more steep, and there might be a tin of this in my future.

Not one of my favorites from Adagio’s oolong lineup. It is a fairly balanced oolong, but I tend to prefer the greener lightly oxidized varieties better. Still I would say it is above-average quality.

When I first tried this tea, I was unimpressed. The woody flavor wasn’t, er, my cup of tea. One the second steeping of these leaves, however, I was very pleased to find a balanced cup of delicious tea! A few days later, I tried steeping dry leaf again, this time making sure to awaken the leaves by pouring boiling water over them and discarding this first brew. Upon drinking my tea, a bright smile spread across my face as notes of honey and pecans hit my senses. While a dash of sugar was nice, this tea is really special all on its own. Just awesome tea! Definitely one of my favorites.

My daughter thought this tea smells like rain water, my husband said it smells a little bit like chocolate and I thought it smells like hay/grass/ grains/barley. The leaves look beautiful: dark and twisted. Taste: nutty/grainy/hearty. Turns out I like Wuyi teas…
Leaving for vacation tomorrow, will be completely unplugged for a week but I will take some tea with me, that’s for sure.

A stronger wuyi oolong than the others that I’ve had before. It has a nice medium roast with a bit of a slightly smoky nutty notes to the overall earthy sweetness.

Interesting. This has a very nice color, very large leaves. Upon drinking, it has a very strange, tight mouthfeel: not smooth; astringent, but also there is something else, a brightness under the soft palate which wanes with later steepings. It has a warm flavor, very unique, which occurs nearly entirely in the back of the mouth: nutty, not sweet, not black, not green; I would almost say sour. That’s not bad though; it’s only the typical complexity of oolongs; it’s a flavor not to be simply taken, but explored. (The flavor cools and dims with later steepings, picking up more sweetness and a floral note.) It certainly has me thinking of a rainy day in the mountains.

Preparation: I’ve done it a few ways but I think I like this most recent way the best: A tablespoon and a pinch of tea per four to six ounces of water, just under boiling, for 1, 1, 2, 4, and 8 minutes.

Wuyi Ensemble. Adagio.
Lot no: 85424. FB: n/a.

Variously called Da Hong Pao, or Big Red Robe, or Rock Oolong, this is a type of tea I’ve battled before from several other vendors. I prepared Western style, as directed, using the entire 3.5 grams of dry leaf (smelled of seaweed) in 8 oz 190°F spring water for 3 min, resteeping once for 5 min. Yes, I could taste toastiness like toasted rice, minerality, floral and vegetal notes, aroma and flavors of kelp, and a sweet lengthy aftertaste of fruity flowers. It was like a floral sushi roll: a bundle of wilted orchids rolled up in toasted sesame rice in a nori (seaweed) wrapper, dipped in soy sauce. But only a quarter of the strength you are imagining. The flavors were too subtle for my liking, even though it was many times stronger than the BRR from Tealyra that I disliked and reported on two weeks ago. The resteep was similar but weaker. I would not waste time or spring water running a gongfu session on it, and I can feel my resentment toward this type of tea building, so I better stop here. Rating as 25 and not recommending, out of spite (toward the tea type, not Adagio which is likely blameless!)