Shan Lin Xi High Mountain Oolong

Tea type
Oolong Tea
Ingredients
Not available
Flavors
Apple, Apricot, Astringent, Broccoli, Coconut, Cream, Cucumber, Dried Fruit, Fruity, Papaya, Pineapple, Sugar, Sweet, Tropical, Vegetal, Creamy, Floral, Green, Milk, Peach, Sugarcane, Thick, Bergamot, Cantaloupe, Lily, Lychee, Mango, Pear, Cake, Herbs, Smooth, Butter, Pine, Fruit Tree Flowers, Bitter
Sold in
Loose Leaf
Caffeine
Not available
Certification
Not available
Edit tea info Last updated by Eco-Cha 一口茶
Average preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 2 min, 0 sec 4 g 12 oz / 364 ml

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51 Tasting Notes View all

  • “We’ve been drinking tea & watching ‘Captain Phillips’. I’ve been sharing steepings of this, & the previous oolong with Tony. The 4 Seasons was much more floral, this one is sweet, creamy,...” Read full tasting note
  • “Brewed up a cup of this according to the instructions on the packet. Used 14 oz of water to the packet of oolong and added a little less than a teaspoon of sugar because unsweetened oolongs of any...” Read full tasting note
    75
  • “Oh wow. I don’t even know where to begin. This is my favorite tea so far from Steepster Select. The delicate smell and taste of sweet perfume and fruit are out of this world. The leaves unfurl...” Read full tasting note
    100
  • “♡Love this Tea♡ My favorite from Steepster Select. Nicely floral,but pleasantly sweet with just a touch of stevia. With the second steeping I get a bit of fruitiness and honestly I steeped this...” Read full tasting note
    92

From Eco-Cha Artisan Teas

Currently in its prime age, the tea garden is at 1,600 meters elevation in one of the largest and most popular regions of Taiwan for producing top quality high mountain oolong tea. This couple manages their farm by themselves, using only natural fertilizers, zero weed killers, and only a minimal amount of water soluble pesticides early in the growing season.

Flavor: Fruit and pine aroma. Balanced, complex, subtle sweet and astringent qualities. Enigmatic. An exemplary high mountain tea.

Garden: This farm is managed by a husband and wife team who transformed their plot of virgin high mountain bamboo forest into a tea garden just ten years ago. They produce approximately 300 pounds of tea from a typical day’s spring harvest, compared to 1000 pounds a day from larger productions in the area.

Harvest: Hand-picked. Small batch. Spring 2013.

Elevation: 1600m

About Eco-Cha Artisan Teas View company

Company description not available.

51 Tasting Notes

921 tasting notes

I am so in love with my new fishtank! When I was at the store picking it up I also collected a few more shrimp (I have six now!) and I impulse bought a Kuhli Loach. Usually I try very hard to not impulse buy fish, but there was only the one and it was lonely. Loaches are quite communal little (long) fish, so I hope to get him a companion at some point, I love Loaches, they are such fun to watch. Of course mine is missing, because they are also notorious hiders, so who knows what rock it has stuffed itself under.

Today, continuing with my themed Oolong week, is Eco-Cha’s Shan Lin Xi High Mountain Oolong, specifically the Fall 2015 harvest, so nice and fresh! I really enjoy Shan Lin Xi, it is an Oolong that I just find to taste so clean, like mountain air during the winter, so I am excited to see how this harvest compares to others I have had. If you have not, I highly recommend checking out the website for this tea, it is a wealth of information about the grower and this batch’s harvest. The leaves are quite pretty, tightly balled and vibrant green, and the aroma is both intense and gentle…it makes sense, I promise. It starts out with a gentle chestnut note, then moves to creamy sweetness, then on to clean alpine air (it is a bit pine-y, just a touch) with a finish of lily of the valley, sugarcane, and a delicate note of oatmeal.

The first steep unfurls quite beautifully, showing off the richly green leaves. The aroma has left the realm of gentle and just moved straight to intense, I first notice the alpine fresh air with gentle green notes and just cleanliness, it smells refreshing. This moves on to honey, rolled oats, and a touch of gentle flowers. The liquid is quite sweet, notes of oatmeal and lily blossoms, sugarcane, honey, and that fresh mountain air. At the tail end of the sniffing is a note of snap peas adding a bit of green.

Now it is time for sipping the pale golden liquid. The texture is smooth, not quite buttery, but certainly no dryness at all. The tasting starts out sweet, a gentle sugarcane sweetness, this moves pretty immediately to snap peas and alpine air, honeysuckles, lilies, and a touch of butteriness. The finish is a nice lingering honey and smoothness.

Time for the second steep, the leaves are more unfurled and the liquid a little darker, the aroma is sweet and sugary, with notes of snap peas and oats. The texture of the mouthfeel is creamy and very smooth, I would go all out and say it is buttery this steep. The taste is a perfect balance between sweet and green, notes of sugar cane and lilies, alpine air and snap peas, and a finish of oats. The aftertaste kinda sneaks up on you with a gentle floral sweet burst, just like nectar.

Moving right along to the third steep, the leaves are so fluffy I can barely close my gaiwan! The aroma is sweet again, the oat and sugarcane notes are stronger, the snap peas and alpine notes are more laid back, and it has a buttery undertone which is quite rich. The taste is sweet, creamy and sweet with a lean more towards flowers and green notes. Growing things, alpine air, snap peas, and a touch of crushed vegetation, the green then moves on to honeysuckle, lilies, and a touch of lilacs. The finish of flowers give the tea a nectar sweetness that lingers for a while. I went on for quite a few more steeps, these leaves just give and give, one of the reasons I love Eco-Cha’s Oolongs so much, staying power!

For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2015/10/eco-cha-shan-lin-xi-high-mountain.html

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371 tasting notes

I obtained this last year from a free Steepster Select Box. It really held up…

Brewed semi-Western style with a gongfu glass tea pot. 20 second rinse. Steeping times: 1 minute, 45 seconds, 1 minute, 2, 4.

The dry leaf smells of sweet and tangy (unidentifiable) fruit. I don’t necessarily detect pine as the packet suggests, but I do get deciduous trees from the wet leaf – full-leaf, very green, in between field and forest. The liquor aroma has quite a sweetness. Lovely aroma to take in, overall.

The pale yellow liquor is light-bodied yet flavorful, filling the mouth. The flavor profile is consistent: it has the sweetness of maple syrup, but without the heavy, thick feel. The tasting sessions starts of as purely sweet and becomes a little more floral with each cup. The texture is thick, but the at the third infusion, it becomes wonderfully creamy. The fifth – the last – infusion is very different. Sweetness faded, there are only floral notes. Also corn husks. Never had corn husk in my tea before. Eh.

So so sweet. Great to drink on a cooler summer morning. I really like the aromas this leaf has to offer.

Preparation
Boiling 2 g 5 OZ / 147 ML

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89
314 tasting notes

I’m still sipping down some of my Lewis & Clark TTB samples.

1st steep (60s): Leaves still tightly furled. Rich buttery aroma with hints of spice. Light flavor, strong buttery finish. 2nd (60s): aroma of green beans/asparagus. The taste is more of a straw/spice/wood blend. Much less buttery. Finish is still excellent. 3rd (60s): Still good, with flavors similar to the second steep. This probably could have handled more steeps, but I got distracted and reached the point where I didn’t want more caffeine for the day.

This was a really pleasant tea: flavorful with absolutely no off-flavors. It’s not quite my favorite style, but I still enjoyed it a lot.

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 1 min, 0 sec 4 g 6 OZ / 177 ML

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91
518 tasting notes

Interesting. I have had the empty packet of this tea from the one (free) Steepster Select box I got sitting on my desk so I’d remember it and order it if I ever placed an order with Eco-Cha for months. I never wrote a review or added it to my wish list, apparently.

And I didn’t take tasting notes today because I was sure I’d written a review before. I just don’t see it.

But this oolong has kept me company all day long. It’s been a cruddy day at work, but the tea has been excellent.

Blodeuyn

Tea therapy! Hope tomorrow is a better day, bad work days stink. :(

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90
359 tasting notes

(Backlog)

This tea embodies what I love about oolong.

First, the dry leaf is green, I mean, really green. Emerald City green.

Anticipation. A premiss of what is about to happen. Cause I just know it won’t disappoint.

The dry scent is floral and a little spicy.

I do a quick rinse to bring the leaves to life.

And boy to they come alive.

First steep and I already get tons of flavours. It’s as green as can be for oolong, vegetal and very floral.

Nice buttery and creamy mouthfeel going on, with a touch of spice. The finish is so fresh, like an evergreen breeze.

I did multiple infusions, and the later steeps lost that floral imprint in the mouth as more piney notes emerged.

And the leaves took so much room in my little gaiwan as they expanded, just beautiful!

Another amazing product from Eco Cha. All three oolongs I have purchased from them are fantastic.

Pics:

http://instagram.com/p/sGn3Yawh4x/

http://instagram.com/p/sG2djOQh_i/

Ysaurella

sounds great !

SarsyPie

HURRY!!!! POST YOUR REVIEWS BEFORE STEEPSTER BREAKS AGAIN!!!! :p :p :p

Cheri

I need to break this one out. I think I’m just about through with the Lewis and Clarke box, so maybe I’ll just gongfu some oolong all afternoon. =D

looseTman

Nice pics!

AllanK

Very nice pictures. To get pictures that good I need to get out my D800.

TheTeaFairy

Thanks you all :-)

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95
1379 tasting notes

The Oolong balls are medium/large in size and are made up of brown, dark green, burnt yellow and medium green coloured leaves. I can see no impurities on the leaves such as spots or loss of colour nor can I see twigs/sticks amongst the balls. A quick sniff-spection reveals a wonderful sweet grass and floral scent which is lightly perfumed and vegetal.

Once steeped the tea is yellow in colour with a sweet grass scent. In flavour this is of medium strength with pure sweet grass and sweet flower notes. Also some vegetal notes too. Sweetpea, sweetcorn, fresh asparagus and buttercup all in one delicious, smooth yet vibrant tea.

I found the Shan Li Xin High Mountain the tastiest and it has everything I look for in a low oxidised Oolong. It’s freshness and purity makes it one of the nicest I have tried.

For more information and pictures please visit my blog.
http://www.kittylovestea.co.uk/2014/06/26/2014-oolong-from-eco-cha/

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec 5 g 7 OZ / 200 ML

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85
694 tasting notes

This is from the January 2014 Steepster Select Box.

I have trying my best to drink all the little odds and ends of tea that I have sitting around. Everything that is in the 2-4 cup range. I have significantly reduced the number of teas in my cupboard, but then more tea just keeps coming in:)

I have been using my new gaiwan to brew oolongs lately. I have always been an oolong fan and now with the start of summer and the gaiwan, the more green oolongs seem to be something I am starting to crave. This one is really hitting the spot tonight. It is light, floral, slightly buttery, and I get a bit of tang at the end of the sip. I really need to do a green oolong sampler one of these days to see if I can detect more subtle flavors. With the greenish oolongs, the flavor for me seems to vary by the amount of floral, buttery-ness, and the slight bitterness at the end of the sip. Sometimes I get a slight hint of fruit, other times the bitterness overtakes the fruity notes. This seems to be a nice balance between all the components.

Charissa

Yay for green oolong tastings! Join the club, it’s a fun experience! And that is awesome you got a gaiwan. Do you notice a significant difference brewing tea that way compared to western-style? I have been considering getting one for a while, but just haven’t yet.

TeaTiff

I haven’t done a taste off yet. What I do notice is that I get a wider range of flavors as I go through the multiple steepings. I also notice that I get to enjoy a tea for longer and I am not constantly warming up my cup in the microwave. I have been doing a lot of one samples lately. When I get to some of the teas where I have a lot left I will do a side by side comparison.

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87
14 tasting notes

This tea’s immediate intoxicating effect is stunning. The tea has a rich aroma of floral plants and sweet depths that penetrate the senses. While the tea is on the tongue it has a flowery presence that morphs into a botanic secondary taste. The taste remains after swallowing and changes, like all Oolongs of this type. The effect is one of a vigorous efflorescence in the back of the mouth. This is a truly transcendental occurrence. The fermentation process has removed any bitter sharpness that the leaves may have initially possessed leaving a sweet penetrating liquor.

CharArray

I read all 23 tasting notes for this tea and yours is the only one so vividly and thoroughly described the entire experience that I could almost feel it myself.
And the phrase “transcendental occurrence” is just adorz!

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95
4843 tasting notes

Backlog (and correction):

When I previously wrote this tasting note, I wrote it for the Shan Lin Xi High Mountain Concubine Oolong tea and not for this tea … and that was a mistake. So, I’m moving the tasting note to the correct Oolong!

I absolutely LOVE Eco Cha! This is a fantastic company, and their packaging is gorgeous – very classy! It’s the kind of tea package that you’ll feel good about giving to a tea loving friend (even if that friend is YOU!)

So I was happy to see that Steepster included in last month’s select box some choice teas from Eco Cha … and this was one of them. I had already tried the tea from samples that I had received from Eco Cha, but this one is so good that I was certainly happy to get the tea again! (You can read my first review of this tea here: http://sororiteasisters.com/2013/12/15/shan-lin-xi-high-mountain-oolong-tea-eco-cha/ )

A really good Oolong, sweet, floral and a slight woodsy note. The texture is light and refreshing. Later infusions revealed the woodsy tone to be more of a pine-like note, and later I tasted notes of apple.

An excellent Oolong!

Jiāng Luo

+1 for Eco Cha love can not wait for spring flush

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