Ali Shan

This tea came my to me by way of an amazing hook-up from Dinosara. Thanks!
The drink, coincidentally, has similarities to many of the teas I’ve been trying lately. As it stands, when I see the brew to be a pale yellow liquor, once ready, I start assuming it will have the clean, crisp, and light sweet notes I’m coming to expect.
This tea was no exception. There were light grassy notes but little astringecy. In fact, AWM thought that the tiny bit of bitterness I found was more a noticable-and that was also minimal.
The floral sweet notes are so welcoming to me. I’ve seen through several samples that adding sweetness can be a drinks downfall for me, yet when I find one that has enough sweet notes through natural means then that, for me, is a treat.
Though it doesn’t taste like it per se, I think of sweet corn when considering the sweet and grassy notes combined. And by that I mean the whole cob, husks and all. That’s why I “think of” rather than taste it.
There are floral notes that almost cross into fruity as well.
It’s a refreshing drink that I ended up steeping several time. In fact the most memorable (this is a backlog) was the next morning. Not wanting to be done with it I gave it another try with about half of the water and a little more time; the result was amazing! It seemed to me that all of the sweet notes had continued to break down, or dissolve if you will, and I got a sweet packed cup first thing in the morn.
Sadly that means it is in fact the last cup when this happens (I’ve seen it a few times now). I’m so thankful to the many samples I’ve recieved-I’m discovering many teas that, as it turns out, are becoming favs. I can’t see that I will have a definitive grasp on what exactly I do and don’t like for quite some time.
tunes-Collection of Irish Balads=picked it up from the library over the weekend…along with 25 or so other CDs.

After my palate was…startled this morning with the pu er I decided to go with a lighter tea this afternoon to calm it back down a bit, and since I had just enough of this for a full cup, I put the leaves in a tea ball, heated the water to 180, and steeped at the below parameters.

Last time I had this I used 6 grams of leaf for 2 cups of tea, and got no real defining flavor from it. This time, I used 6 grams of leaf (my last of the sample) just for the one cup, to see if I could get any notes besides “greenish oolong”.

So far, nothing is sticking out besides a slightly salty, floral aroma. I will say the texture of the tea is very nice and creamy, though not as creamy as the milk oolong from thepuriTea. Also, the creaminess isn’t in the taste, just the mouthfeel. Yep, just getting floral with a vague grassy sweetness on the swallow.

I’m thinking overall that I just prefer darker oolong (mmm… dan cong) but I will give this a second steep and see if anything changes.

edit: Second steep was for about 6 minutes with slightly cooler water. The floral notes are really evident here – specifically jasmine, I think. Since I’m not the biggest fan of floral, I can’t say I’m particularly a fan. The mouthfeel is thinner, too. Meh. Today has not been my day for tea! :(

Backlogging from last night. I’m not going to rate just in case it was MY fault this didn’t work out but it didn’t taste like Ali Shan at all to me. And I LOVE Alishan! I’m thinking it was MY error – maybe the water wasn’t right – I don’t know – but I have enough to give it another shot and I will in a couple of days!

I love Ali Shan! It’s been quite a while since I’ve had Ali Shan, and it is certainly a welcome tea this evening.

This Ali Shan has a beautiful creaminess to it, and a sweet honey-like flavor that lingers into the aftertaste. Notes of fresh vegetation and flower, and a hint of spice. So very lovely.

The scent of this tea is very complex! I’m getting salt water, grass and flowers. It reminds me very much of a Japanese green tea. After it’s finished steeping, there is a strong floral note (orchid perhaps?) mixed with something buttery.

Sipping… this is a nice and smooth oolong. Flower and butter notes with a bit of mineral in the background. I also detect something like salt water, but it quickly disappears. It actually adds a bit of a sharpness to the sip. A lovely sweetness helps to round out the cup and it’s the last thing that lingers on the tongue. This is a very nice tea and would make a nice addition to a dessert.

I tried this one next in a frantic attempt to clear out some of my tea cabinet. I really like the fresh, earthy scent of this tea. It smells like the woods with fresh, clean leaves and twigs.

195/2 min. – The scent is still earthy, but has lost some of the freshness. The tea itself is a deep yellowish color. The taste is okay, not really what I was hoping for. I didn’t discern any notes of fruit or honey or anything sweet. It isn’t bitter at all, it’s just kind of plain. Not bad, but not exciting, either. No improvement on the second steep.

One thing to note, when I was emptying my strainer to prepare for another tea, I couldn’t help but notice all of the broken pieces of leaves stuck to the sides. The leaves plump up tremendously, but leave a lot of waste behind.

Steep Information:
Amount: ~8g
Water: 1,000ml filtered water 180°F
Tool: Breville One-Touch Tea Maker BTM800XL
Steep Time: 3 minutes, 4 minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: not much of a smell
Steeped Tea Smell: nutty, vegetal
Flavor: silky, vegetal, nutty
Body: Light
Aftertaste: slightly bitter, vegetal, smooth
Liquor: translucent yellow-green

3 minutes was too weak, 4 was a little bitter, perhaps 3:30 would have been best?

It’s a light, clean, smooth tea. This would be a poor choice as a breakfast tea, but is nice for afternoon supping.

Good but not irreplaceable.

Pictures: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/07/thepuritea-loose-leaf-oolong-tea-ali.html

Backlog:

I brewed this several days ago and forgot to log it. It has characteristics very similar to Dong Ding Oolong, but I feel that it is lacking in the depth and richness of flavor that I find in Dong Ding.

This tea is delicately floral and vegetal. A pleasant oolong indeed, but when I have the choice I’ll take Dong Ding over this one.

Steeped in a gaiwan. It is tightly rolled and bit earthy toasty aroma. After steeped you get toasty nuts. Flavor is mild nuts followed by a bit of fruit Not much tannin’s and pleasant tea.

Brew it strong to pull out a goldenrod colored liquor with a creamy chamomile and sweet, faintly grassy body. Full enough in the mouth and delicately floral on the finish, this tea is elegant without any real thought provoking refinement. Perfect for a cool, quiet evening.