Handcrafted Oolong

Seems I may have oversteeped this a touch tonight, because there was definitely some astringency, though it was quite drinkable. However, it was a fairly unremarkable tea, IMO. Not really roasty, a bit of floral perhaps, but nothing too special, to my palate anyhow. I’ll drop the infusion time to 2 minutes next time (although we’ll see tomorrow what the resteeps bring).

I’m not an expert in oolong, but this is a pleasant and enjoyable tea, good for at least 3 infusions. It has a slightly buttery mouthfeel, and hints of floral and sweetness. Clearly I have an inexperienced palate compared to some reviewers, lol. I like the long, twisty leaves and I like the fact that I’m supporting tea farmers in Kenya by buying from this company.

Backlog:

This was from the last Amoda Tea box (I miss them!) I was happy to see this tea in the box, because it was one from JusTea that I hadn’t yet tried. I had tried their delicious African Chai – and I was happy that was in the box too, because I was more than happy to drink that one again! But since this Handcrafted Oolong was new to me, I was happy to be able to try something different.

The aroma I experienced when I first opened the pouch was that of fresh cut hay. This is a fragrance I’m familiar with having grown up in a farming community where the surrounding farms and ranches would grow hay and alfalfa, and I could always tell when the neighbors were harvesting their hay because the smell of freshly cut hay would fill the air. But I have to admit that it was a little weird to be experiencing that scent when I opened a pouch of Oolong. I often experience it when I have a white tea, but, not so much an Oolong.

My earliest infusions were sweet – like molasses – with distant vegetal notes. Later infusions brought some fruit notes into focus, as well as some woodsy tones. Notes of plum and nectarine, like the cooked fruit – imagine a plum/nectarine pie. That sounds good. I must be hungry.

A really good Oolong. Definitely one I’d be willing to have again. This one made me happy.

cavocorax sent me this one to try from Justea . I really like what Justea is doing so i’m always happy to try their teas to see if there is one that really knocks my socks off that i can get behind. Given this was an oolong, i was pretty sure this one would do the trick but i’m open to anything! :) On the whole, there is nothing about this ooolng that rocks my socks, but nor is there anything overly offensive that i don’t like. it’s just a middle of the road oolong with no bitterness or astringency, with some floral like notes hanging out in the background that i suspect would come forward as you resteeped this a bunch :) thanks cavo!

Part of the May Amoda box….

This is pretty nice. It’s buttery, almost nutty, almost fruity. Just nice and easy drinking. I’ve gotten multiple steeps from it today, too.

Well, it looks like Justea has branched out into oolongs! And I’m the first to taste it here! :O

And it’s an odd oolong at that. It has that dark thick mouthfeel I get from Kenyan teas, but can never fully describe, and yet once I get past that I can taste floral and fruity notes. It’s an interesting and enjoyable cup. Once it cools a little, the light and the dark notes come together and balance themselves out a bit.

I’m not particularly fond of this type of oolong but I think people will enjoy it! I’ll pass the rest of my sample to Sil/Terri! (bc we know they need more tea!

(Sipdown: 216. Will I ever hit 200?)