Oolong Supreme

I was pleasantly surprised by this, I’m not a huge Oolong drinker, but this one is really nice and smooth. It’s not at all bitter or overly “earthy” like some of the other Oolongs I have tried. I do get a plum flavour and it’s got a sort of buttery / creamy sweetness to it, but not in an overpowering or sugary way. I love this one, will restock.

Decided to purchase this tea after reading about it on their website. When I got to Davids Tea I wanted to smell it to see if it really did smell like ripe plum as the description said. I didn’t really get that note until I got home and opened the bag. It smelt really fruity and when brewed there were hints of stonefruit, plum, and nuttiness.

After the last three weeks that I’ve had, I don’t care how messy the house is, I don’t care that the dishes need to be done, I don’t care what needs to be put away… I’m stopping and trying to do my second ever gong fu steeping. Three weeks ago, I had my first ever kidney stone, then a bladder infection because of it, then a head cold. Also in the time, my husband’s grandfather’s lady friend (Girlfriend I guess?) went into hospital for health concerns. While she was there, husband’s grandpa had a stroke and is in there too. She doesn’t know he’s there though as they don’t want to stress her out. Also, my own brother fell off a ladder at his house where he was doing roof repair and broke his femur really bad. They had to get an ambulance to the hospital where they were transfered to a different one a half hour away. Now thankfully he’s already moving as they did emergency surgery, but it was very scarey for a bit.
That’s all on top of the fact that my own gramma had hip surgery mid-october and my father-in-law had knee surgery just before that. Thankfully they are both doing so good.

So anyways, I need to stop and do something that I really love and drink some tea! My munchkin is exhausted after his first ever playgroup this morning so now is the perfect time.

Off I go.

I’ve done a few steeps already and so far my main flavour that I get is roastiness. and some nutty as well. Third steep in I’m getting just the faintest amount of sweetness in the back of my cheeks.

I definitely understand why one would want to use a small gaiwan for a single person doing this as I’m having a hard time finishing each steep as it seems to be a lot of tea for one person. Also, I’m not very good at timing each steep, which is something I need to watch as a few times I have over steeped a bit because the tea is almost too strong or too roasted for my liking. I’m having a moment right now where I’m suddenly realizing how much this is reminding me of Nepal Black from davidstea. It just has a few qualities that are similar, which will have to be one of the next gaiwan sessions I try.

I thought by now the leaves would be completely opened up but they aren’t I’m not sure sure if I’m not steeping long enough or what, but i’m on steep… 5-7 (can’t remember..) and they are still pretty tight.

Alright, I’m going to wrap this up for now. I’m mostly getting roasted with a hint of nuts. If I get anything else I will add to this note, otherwise that’s my general thoughts of this tea. and everything else that’s going on.

Mmm, this is a lovely oolong. I’m sometimes a bit wary of the darker ones as they can be a bit too charcoal-y for my tastes, but rather than a deeply roasted flavor it’s more of a light toastiness. Nice, rich plummy stonefruit flavor as promised, though it fades a bit in the second steep and is pretty much gone by the third. Works well in a mug western-style (1.25 tsp for 8 oz water), but I’m sure it’s great in a gaiwan too.

Bought some of this from Tea Pet in a stash sale without realizing I already had some. Oops. At least it’s one that I know I like :)

This is my favourite oolong of all time, and I’ve tried a lot of them. I wrote an in-depth review of this tea on my blog Don’t Worry, Tea Happy, but I’d love to add my 2 cents here. It has a gorgeous complex flavour that transforms in your mouth from buttery to fruity and back again. I’ve reused this tea more than 5 times with good results, and my favourite tea to blend this tea with is peach infusions (if you’re into blending teas, that is). That said, it’s beautiful all on its own without any help.

I forgot how high I rated this. I still think it deserves one, but I don’t know-cough, cough, Taiwan Jade Oolongs cough, cough. I totally see why I liked it so much: plum, butter, cocoa, and florals are qualities I like in my black tea, and the oolong body lightens up. To think of it, this YanCha really tastes closer to a black tea to me, and I have found that I like most oolong varietals that turn into blacks…except Jin Xuan. Jin Xuan is a little bit too much for me black, but good on occasion. It’s still a definite yancha Dan Cong though.

This would be one of the top twenty for me-higher than twenty, but I don’t know. There’s a few definite favorites I have, and some that I know I would keep around. Not to sure about this one…

So I finally tried this one. A friend bought a bunch and decided to share with me. Lucky day!
I quite like it. Nice and roasty and smooth. It’s like the oolong you get in a fancy Chinese restaurant sometimes, only better. I really get the stone fruit and mineral notes. A tiny hint of vegetal as well.
The problem I have is that right now, the first cup or two is great, fabulous even, but then I get bored and want something else. I kinda feel like I should go for endless infusions to get my moneys worth but at this time I’m simply not interested?!
and why don’t I have that experience with other straight high quality teas? Hmmm

Woke up early so I decided to brew a darker oolong to accompany me as I read about airtight containers and the whole CO2 releasing of tea/coffee. David’s Tea is still a mystery to me… they have some great teas and then some that are awful. They easily beat out Teavana any day though. This provides a nice cup that is slightly dry.

It’s been a while since I’ve had this. Resteeps really nicely! Nice roasted notes in the smell.

Another sample from Rowell Strange!

I am not usually one for roasted oolong, I am always willing to give them a second chance. This is a Dan Cong, so it’s an easy roasted oolong to like. So! Without further ado, I slung this into my yixing and got to it!

The first two steeps tasted a bit like the Saskatoon Berry sample that was right next to it. By the third steep, it had completely gone away. The berry flavor simply complimented the roasted stone fruit and honey notes I got from the actual tea. By steep five, most of the natural fruit ha gone and I was left with the toasty flavor of barley or brown rice. The leaves were pretty resilient, there was not bitterness at all, even when I left the tea in the pot for like, 7 minutes longer than I had intended. It tasted good throughout, the texture was thinner than the thick soupy mouthfeel I typically get from greener oolong, but I thoroughly liked spending time with it anyway.

Not something I would chose for myself, which is exactly how I like it. Surprises are good! And I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this tea. Thanks Ros!