Milky Oolong

I got this from a little tea store up Yonge quite a ways north of Bloor that I found by accident a while ago. It was a bit pricey tea wise but I think good quality and they had a wide selection of teaware! I think 100g is the smallest amount they usually sell at once but I talked to her awhile and got her to sell me 50g of this and she even gave me a sample of some sencha too!
This tea smells milky and toasty and brews up a beautiful orangey gold colour. There is a cozy sort of sense to it. I find the taste initially just mildly grassy, then I get the same toastiness that’s in the smell. It feels very smooth and just a little creamy. Overall very enjoyable! I would like to try this gong-fu style as soon as I get a decent gaiwan.

To this day this is one of my favourite oolongs and teas full stop. It’s the first oolong I ever tried, and has single-handedly solidified my love of oolong processing, as well as high quality tea. I’m not sure if it’s actually soaked in milk or just has a natural cream flavour (will have to ask next time I pop by the tea shop this is from), although I suspect the latter.

I actually love making huge Western batches of this oolong in my large teapot, it handles long steep times very well with hardly any puckering astringency. I usually use 4 to 6 teaspoons with 90°C water, no idea how big my teapot is though. Steep time is anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes.

The soup always becomes thick and nutty like almond milk, but with an unbelievable toasty sweetness that I’ve rarely found in other oolongs. Usually roast/toast flavours dominate everything else. I think the sweetness and rich, complex flavour is what astounded me the first time I drank some. There was a moment of “What? Tea can taste this good without sugar or blended ingredients?” Needless to say my eyes had been opened wide from then on.

The flavour is very similar to freshly made candy coated nuts (like if you’ve ever driven past a nut processing factory). Lots of sugary notes like honey or sugarcane, toasted but not heavily roasted like a charcoal oolong, as I said very nutty, creamy like butter or whipping cream, and just an utter joy in every sip!

This tea makes me warm and fuzzy inside, perfect for rainy days or long winters.
I’ll upload a photo when I buy some more, I just used the last of what I had in stock.