Qi Lan (2016)

I had around 6 grams from derk. Thank you!

Prepared grandpa, overleafed with all in my 85 ml gaiwan. Ehh, it wasn’t so clever.

I feel really weird somehow. I can’t really explain why, because I don’t know myself. Like some nostalgia coming up, or just being tense because my nieces and nephew are coming tomorrow for a week.

Anyway, prepared this tea of char aroma when dry. I have to say, it wasn’t too appealing for me, but I hoped it will disappear with rinse or first steeps. Please note, that this note was written while I already finished it and I was drinking it in family circle (is that valid in English?).

First steeps were really mineral and char like. Not even much of roastiness for me. Then it started to transform into stonefruits as well my headache started to grow. I don’t really blame tea for it, but unfortunately I think it took its part as well. After few steeps it became really fruity, but it is as well quickly over. Not my favourite oolong I guess. Thanks for chance to try it though, derk.

Dark, sweet aroma with orchid but no sweetness in taste. Instead the taste is rather thin and herbaceous, dirt-mineral with orchid and roasted almond. Still some lingering char/roast notes that fade away a few infusions in. Undercurrent of alkaline bitterness.
An indistinguishable fruity aftertaste presents early, something like strawberry-apricot-orange-pineapple mixed with cream. That transitions to a clearly defined sweet white peach. The liquor develops a thick viscosity when the tastes start fading into grass and orange zest.

This session left me wanting something different. The dry leaf shows that this is low oxidized and medium roasted which really isn’t my favorite presentation for Wuyi oolong. This Qilan had aftertaste in spades but seemed unbalanced overall. I’ll have to revisit this tea soon, if only to hasten its departure from my cupboard :P

I have been going crazy with Wuyi oolongs since at least late July, and quite frankly, the offerings of Old Ways Tea are almost entirely responsible for that. I think I placed my first order there back in February, and since then, Old Ways Tea has become one of my go-to sources for quality Wuyi teas at reasonable prices. For some reason, I just got the urge to start drinking more Wuyi oolongs in July and have been going through at least one pouch a week since that time. That fact also makes me wonder who the hell decides to drink roasted oolongs during the hottest months of the year. Apparently a weird guy like me, that’s who. Anyhow, this was a very nice Wuyi oolong. Like several Qi Lans I have tried, it was softer and more delicate in the mouth than teas produced from some of the other Wuyi cultivars.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a brief rinse, I steeped 5 grams of loose tea leaves in 3 ounces of 203 F water for 5 seconds. This infusion was chased by 16 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 7 seconds, 9 seconds, 12 seconds, 16 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 5 minutes, and 7 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, I detected aromas of cream, baked bread, blackberry, and orchid coming from the dry tea leaves. After the rinse, I detected subtle char, smoke, rock sugar, and blueberry scents along with a more defined aroma of roasted peanut. The first infusion presented slightly stronger roasted peanut, rock sugar, and orchid scents. In the mouth, the tea liquor offered notes of blackberry, blueberry, char, smoke, rock sugar, roasted peanut, and orchid that were backed by impressions of baked bread, tart cherry, and pomegranate. The following infusions saw the tea present new aromas of cedar, cherry, plum, cinnamon, and orange zest. New impressions of minerals, orange zest, grass, cinnamon, roasted almond, parsley, roasted grain, and plum appeared in the mouth. By the time I got to the last couple of infusions, the tea liquor was emphasizing a belatedly emerging popcorn note and lingering notes of minerals, cream, char, cedar, and rock sugar that were backed by roasted grain, roasted almond, and orange zest.

An approachable, but also satisfyingly complex Wuyi oolong, I could see this tea making a fantastic introduction to teas of this type or a highly enjoyable daily drinker for those who have an all-consuming love of Wuyi oolongs. One thing I especially appreciated about this tea was its smooth, creamy texture compared to some of the other teas of this style that I have tried. I also appreciated its lack of prominent bitterness. In the end, I would have no difficulty recommending this tea to curious drinkers or established Wuyi oolong fans. At least consider checking it out if you happen to fall into either of those groups.