Alishan High Mountain GABA Oolong Tea - Spring 2015

Well made GABA tea always makes me happy. Lots of full flavor here. To me it has a raw cacao quality that I love. It gets fruity and holds up for many rounds. I have also enjoyed long steeps of 1-3 hours over a small flame.

Wet leaf after rinse: Big buttery aroma with nectar sweetness and bright floral fragrances. Recognizable high mountain oolong fruity/floral character comes out after the first real infusion, along with a shift from butter to butterscotch! It is seriously intoxicating. I find myself huffing the gaiwan between sips.

Brew aroma: Butterscotch and floral, with maybe a hint of sweet cream.

Brew: Thick, slippery mouth-feel with a buttery, sweet, fruity and very slightly umami flavor. Retronasal aroma is floral and fruity.

Conclusion: Damn this is good. Drank it at night the first time around, and it was indeed relaxing. I’ve had a few GABA oolongs previously, and they were all significantly more vegetal (sweet potato) than this tea. This tea comes off very sweet and buttery, first and foremost, with layers of fruited and floral complexity that unfold elegantly.

This tea is really quite good. It’s roast profile is really light which in my opinion is good. There was no unpleasant roast flavor. The tea had a nice sweet flavor to it, not sure what to call the note. I ordered the GABA sampler from Taiwan Sourcing and this is the first I’m trying. I can’t say I felt any effect from the GABA though. That is somewhat disappointing. I did steep this gongfu style and ten steeps so I drank enough tea. This order has also left a sour taste in my mouth. A tea that I ordered 75g of was not sent in the proper quantity, a 25g sample was sent in it’s place. We will see if Scott at Yunnan Sourcing does the right thing and ships a replacement. The 25g sample portion was actually marked 75g. Most annoying. This tea however was what I can only call steller. The fact that it tasted so sweet to me and I added no sugar to it is a testament to the processing skills of the tea maker in Taiwan.

I steeped this tea ten times in a 120ml gaiwan with 7.1g leaf and 190 degree water. I gave it a 10 second rinse and a 10 minute rest. I steeped it for 5 sec, 5 sec, 7 sec, 10 sec, 15 sec, 20 sec, 25 sec, 30 sec, 45 sec, and 1 min.

This has got to be the best GABA oolong I have ever tasted. First,second, third steeps are sweet then creamy and tastes of walnut. I did several 15-20 sec steeps then added 5’s and 10’s after the 5th steep. This tea has a think mouth feel and had my mouth tingling after every cup. Just thinking about the taste has my mouth watering.

WAY OLD BACKLOG. Okay. With 5-6 leaves, this works well Western AND Grandpa. And it tastes a lot like a Darjeeling, which should be no surprise considering how close they are in terms of fermentation. I find myself craving this one, so, cause I can remember it and distinguish it, I’m raising the rating. It also lasted me a while.