China Oolong Se Chung

Tea type
Oolong Tea
Ingredients
Oolong Tea
Flavors
Astringent, Autumn Leaf Pile, Dry Leaves, Twigs, Cardboard, Cinnamon, Floral, Honey, Honeysuckle, Nutty, Roasted, Roasted Nuts, Smooth, Wood, Musty, Peach, Sweet
Sold in
Loose Leaf
Caffeine
Medium
Certification
Not available
Edit tea info Last updated by Mastress Alita
Average preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 3 min, 30 sec 9 g 63 oz / 1856 ml

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31 Tasting Notes View all

From Upton Tea Imports

A top grade of this lesser known style of China Oolong. Slightly green, with a woody aroma and flavor. A style served in Hong Kong Chinese restaurants.

Ingredients: Chinese oolong tea

Steeping Suggestions:

Leaf Quantity: 2¼ g/cup
Water Temp: 190º
Steep Time: 3-5 mins.

About Upton Tea Imports View company

Company description not available.

31 Tasting Notes

70
411 tasting notes

Finished up my last of this tea, and it went out with a bit of a whimper rather than the hoped for bang. Ah well, a day with oolong is better than one without.

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87
2036 tasting notes

This is the last tea in the Upton sampler, and the only one that is a China Oolong rather than a Formosa Oolong. I’ve really enjoyed all of these and I’m looking forward to comparing Oolongs from other companies as well as some of the pricier ones at Upton to see if pricier equates to that much better.

I don’t know whether it is psychological or whether I read this somewhere, or both, but I expected this one, since it is last, to be the most complex, fullest, heartiest and perhaps even best of the bunch. It’s been a while since I had enough time to feel as though I could enjoy this without rushing through it, as I knew I’d want to put it through multiple steeps. Of course, since it has been so long between my note on the third sample, the Jade Oolong, and this one, I don’t have a clear memory of what that one was like. So I’m going to do a side by side taste test of those two. (I don’t think my bladder could handle doing multiple infusions of all four samples, and I’d probably be bouncing off the walls all night. I may be too caffeinated for this hour now as it is.)

However, I will comment on the dry leaves of all four. These do in fact look the fullest and heartiest. They’re big and and curly and greenish brown. They have the most in common with the Formosa Amber leaves in terms of color and the intriciacies of their curl, but they’re uniformly large whereas the Amber’s vary in size. The Fine Grade looks a little mulchy by comparison, and the Jade’s curls are smaller and the leaves greener. The aroma comparison is pretty interesting as well. The first three teas each seem to have a dominant note in the aroma of the dry leaves. The Fine Grade is toasty, the Amber is white-winey (champagny), and the Jade is “green.” This one is richer and deeper than all of the others. It’s got both the toasty and champagny notes, but they’re smoother and without the tang the others have.

I steeped these in identical glass mugs, using identical amounts of tea (1 tsp) and identical amounts of water (about 7 oz, I think — I forgot to measure the mug’s capacity first). Either there’s something wrong with my eyes, or the liquor of these is indistinguishable in color. They’re both a golden yellow color with maybe a little twinge of green. I’d love to be able to say one is greener or oranger than the other, but I really can’t.

The Se Chung’s aroma in the cup is bolder and has the toasty/champagny overtones of the dry leaves. The Jade is more delicate and more floral.

On the first steep at 3 minutes, the Se Chung is less silky in the mouth than the Jade, but bolder, deeper, and less green in flavor. Very pleasant, though the Jade is as nice as I remember it, too. (Did I mention that I’m finding this side by side tasting thing hard? I’m trying to clear my palate with crackers between tastes, but I’m wondering if the crackers are affecting the taste in their own way…. Any tips from those more experienced greatly appreciated.)

Second infusion, 4 min.+ The Se Chung’s mouth feel got creamier, and the flavors opened up some and became rounder and more buttery. There’s something else, too, that is more noticeable this time which could be a floral note. (I am particularly bad at identifying floral notes when I’m not told that the tea has jasmine, rose, or whatever in it.) The Jade is much as I’d said in my first note about it. On this steep the two seem to be converging toward a tawny/floral middle ground.

Third infusion, 5+ minutes. And they diverged again. The Jade took a very subtle turn toward the vegetal, though it was still silky and buttery. The Se Chung remained much where it had been in terms of flavors, on the toasty/woodsy side of things. But the flavors seemed to become more varied and more interesting, though I am having a failure of imagination trying to find comparisons for these more varied flavors.

Fourth infusion, 6 min.+ Though they were both pretty mellow and starting to fade by this time, the Se Chung had more of a nutty perkiness to it while the Jade was rounder and continued its subtle drift toward the vegetal.

The infused leaves of the Jade are significantly lighter and a fairly uniform green, and those of the Se Chung are darker, more varigated in color. And as could have been anticipated by the appearance of the dry leaves, they were generally longer and broader than those of the Jade.

So where do I come out? I’m not sure. It’s pretty close to a tie, and I think the question of whether one is better than the other really boils down to which I’d be in the mood for at the time. I can see keeping both on hand, potentially, and drinking the Jade when I’m looking for something mellower and the Se Chung when I’m looking for something more “Oolongy.” I’m giving the Se Chung a slightly higher mark, only because I do think it has more in common with the Formosa Amber, and I enjoyed it more.

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 3 min, 0 sec
Steve

Nice side-by-side comparison. I experienced a lot of the same impressions from the Oolong sampler.

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1112 tasting notes

In a multiple steep/oolong mood today :) I am finding I really like greens and oolongs for work, because I don’t have to think about sugar or milk (I have not yet evolved beyond sugar and milk in my black teas ;) and the fact that one teaspoon of tea goes reeeeealy far :)

1st steep: My water temp was a leeeetle low (around 180) but I went for it. 4 min. It made for a very light (tea was almost clear!) but nutty/woody cup. Not getting anything floral or vegetal. No bitterness.

2nd steep: being more careful of temperature. Steeped at a perfect 190 for another 4 min. Another very lightly colored tea steep. I’m getting a delicate nutty flavor. Very nice.

3rd steep: 190, 4 min. Getting some floral notes! Yum! Ends with the nutty flavor. Someone on the Upton site said that this tea really comes into its own on the 3rd steep, and I have to agree! The liquor is even a bit darker – interesting!

I’m going to take a little break for lunch, and hope for some more steeps this afternoon! I’ll edit this post.

EDIT: Time got away from me! I have to run to class now and can’t do another steep. Sigh!!

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 4 min, 0 sec

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78
127 tasting notes

Got a sample of this in my last Upton order. Glad I did, as I do like it and was happy to get to try it.

This tea smells nutty, roasty, and earthy/woodsy once brewed. It’s interesting. I was actually expecting a slight vegetal note because of the slight green character of the oolong, but I’m not really picking any up. Not that this is a bad thing. I don’t mind either way.

The taste of this one is slightly roasty (though not nutty), with a stronger earthy/woodsy character. It’s pretty smooth in the front of the mouth and slightly (very slightly) drying in the back. I’m also picking up a slight sweetness, and that sweetness carries into the aftertaste. The more it cools, the more that sweetness is highlighted. Interesting. There’s also a nice champagne like smell coming from the cup, now. I don’t really think it’s coming through in the taste, though.

Overall, this is a nice oolong offered from Upton. I’ll have to see how this stacks up against the other oolong samples I ordered from them. I like the different aspects of the flavor and how they work together. It’s got some nice complexity. I’d buy this again. It would make a nice standard, everyday oolong. =)

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 3 min, 0 sec

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89
41 tasting notes

This is my standby oolong at work. It is really tasty, but cheap enough that if I get distracted I won’t be mad if I brew a cup then not return to my desk for an hour and have to make a new cup. It has a nice baked aroma with some honey sweetness. The tea itself is a little bit like honey with a slight bit of tannin. Nothing too complex, but good to sip on throughout the day.

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 30 sec

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99
14 tasting notes

Great value, color, flavor, aroma. My favorite tea from Upton and in general. I always make sure to keep this stocked and it’s the first Oolong I give those who have never tried it before.

The dry leaves are very aromatic: being floral, malty, and slightly vegetal. I could just fall asleep forever with my nose in the tin. As far as the taste, it’s thick and delicious. Highly recommended to try if you get the chance.

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 4 min, 30 sec

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65
46 tasting notes

I’ve had three cups of this today, testing how the leaves handle multiple steepings. The first steep (190 degrees for 2:30) was quite lovely – full-bodied, earthy, and I may have detected a small hint of sweetness, not sugar-sweet but almost the natural sweetness of white tea. The second steep (190 degrees for 3:00) had less body and more of a bitter taste than the first steep. The third steep was actually quite disappointing. It was bitter and incredibly weak, and the liquor was so close to clear that I actually double-checked to make sure that I had actually added the leaves to let it steep! Since the first steep was quite good and the second was acceptable, I can let a less-than-desirable third steep by.

Overall, I was very pleased with this tea, which I got as a part of Upton Tea’s sampler set “Introduction to Oolong Tea”, but I will definitely only do two steeps with the leaves.

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 2 min, 45 sec

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43
42 tasting notes

I would say the description of this tea is dead on, except for the tinge of jasmine I am getting. I don’t like jasmine. I’m giving this a low rating for MY reference.

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 5 min, 0 sec

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77
11 tasting notes

Again with the Se Chung ;-)

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 4 min, 0 sec

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95
17 tasting notes

This is my favorite tea from Upton and among my favorite of all teas. It’s so reasonably-priced relative to how complex and interesting it is. The aroma has woody tones, a hint of skunkiness, and at times seems a bit like a red wine. It has a pleasant bite to it, and the aroma is more than a bit unusual. Although I liked it the first time I tried it, it has grown on me a great deal.

This tea can be brewed many different ways, and I always brew it for multiple infusions. I think connoisseurs of oolongs would do well to try this one…in my opinion it ranks among the best of the greener oolongs.

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 5 min, 0 sec

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