Wuyi Qilan Oolong

Tea type
Oolong Tea
Ingredients
Not available
Flavors
Anise, Bamboo, Flowers
Sold in
Not available
Caffeine
Not available
Certification
Not available
Edit tea info Last updated by Ellen
Average preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 2 min, 15 sec 12 oz / 368 ml

Currently unavailable

We don't know when or if this item will be available.

From Our Community

1 Image

1 Want it Want it

3 Own it Own it

7 Tasting Notes View all

  • “Today has been busy busy with spring cleaning. I need to start making dinner but I am taking a break for a bit with this oolong. As always, I want to say that I’ve never been the biggest fan of...” Read full tasting note
  • “This oolong was from the April Reserve TOMC. It’s a little roasty, a little incense, pleasant thick mouth. This one has the rock taste more than some of the others I’ve enjoyed, & is not nearly...” Read full tasting note
  • “This came as a sample from Terri Harplady, called Qilan Wuyi Oolong but that page on Steepster will not let you click on it to review. So after reading reviews, I found others were having trouble...” Read full tasting note
    69
  • “Second Review: After trying this gong fu style and not being blown away by it, I tried this again, western style. Much more to my taste. Brewed it 2:30 at 180 degrees. Almost a buttery...” Read full tasting note
    93

From Verdant Tea (Special)

It is hard for a month of Reserve Club to go by without featuring one of Master Bi’s remarkable Wuyi Oolongs. Master Bi was one of our first tea mentors, and one of his Qilans was the first Wuyi we fell in love with. It seemed appropriate to ask him for a Qilan to share.

Master Bi has spent years in Wuyi working primarily with Qingshiyan, a small but devoted and high end workshop in crafting fine Wuyi oolongs for him to share at his very own One Word Tea Club in Qingdao, China.

This Qilan is an excellent expression of Wuyi’s rocky soil. There is a crisp, light mineral texture that makes for very interesting tasting. The roasted qualities of this tea are light but well balanced- just as oak barrels are roasted to cure before being used to age wine, and in the process the lignin wood flavor lightens and vanillin is produced to create a caramel brown sugar vanilla taste, the same process plays out in expert tea roasting.

Of course, the orchid-like florals trademark to Qilan variety oolong are strong and present, balancing the mineral notes perfectly and lingering for minutes on the palate in the aftertaste.

About Verdant Tea (Special) View company

Company description not available.

7 Tasting Notes

2201 tasting notes

Today has been busy busy with spring cleaning. I need to start making dinner but I am taking a break for a bit with this oolong. As always, I want to say that I’ve never been the biggest fan of Wuyi oolongs, but some of them I do rather enjoy.

This one seems to be one of those examples. The first steep was honeyed, with lightly toasted grain notes. Honestly I drank it up pretty quickly because it was so tasty. Today I am really digging the bready, roasty notes, moreso than usual. The second steep is also sweet and more toasty. Slightly minerally and rocky, as well, like a stream high in the mountains. This one seems particularly well balanced, and no one flavor really overtakes the rest. The minerals come out more and more in later steeps. I have to say that I have not detected any orchid-like florals in this, but I’m not sure that they would fit quite right to me. Anyway I am really enjoying this relaxing session of tea this afternoon.

Terri HarpLady

I enjoyed this one. I can’t remember if I wrote the review yet, but one of the things I like about it was that it wasn’t a heavily floral tasting tea.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

3294 tasting notes

This oolong was from the April Reserve TOMC. It’s a little roasty, a little incense, pleasant thick mouth. This one has the rock taste more than some of the others I’ve enjoyed, & is not nearly as sweat as the others. I’m wondering if it’s the same Wuyi Qilan that Verdant now offers on their webpage? If it is, I still have some in my Wuyi Oolong box. If it isn’t, then this is a sipdown.
I guess I’ll never know…

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

69
257 tasting notes

This came as a sample from Terri Harplady, called Qilan Wuyi Oolong but that page on Steepster will not let you click on it to review. So after reading reviews, I found others were having trouble with the name and that it might have been entered incorrectly.
I was also confused by the flavor of this one, it is not available anymore anyway but it had flavors I wasn’t expecting.
I followed instructions from the Verdant website, did a rinse then steeped for 1 minute.
The flavor had a touch of floral and some astringency and scents of bamboo. A little hint of fennel.
Shows you how many flavors and scents can be achieved with one Camellia Sinensis!!!!! I would love to watch them roll, roast, etc. to learn how they do it all!!!!!

Flavors: Anise, Bamboo, Flowers

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 1 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

93
46 tasting notes

Second Review:
After trying this gong fu style and not being blown away by it, I tried this again, western style. Much more to my taste. Brewed it 2:30 at 180 degrees. Almost a buttery mouthfeel, light grassy notes with floral overtones. Delicious.

First Review:
I’m using this tea to try gong fu style for the first time. All steeps at 205 degrees with 3.5 grams of tea and ~4-6 ounces of water.

1st (30 seconds): Light-bodied with floral notes.
2nd (45 seconds): Still light-bodied but with more vegetable overtones. Just barely sweet. Almost silky in my mouth.
3rd (60 seconds): The liquor has a more intense color, which I find more aesthetically pleasing than the pale liquors. The aroma is stronger and more grassy. The flavor is more grassy and full-bodied. Of the three so far, I like this one best. It’s just a more satisfying cup of tea.
4th (75 seconds): The liquor is about the same as the 3rd steeping, and the aroma is similar to the 3rd but a bit weaker. Flavor is a bit weaker than the 3rd.

Conclusion: The third steeping was by far the best. I should either tweak my gong fu style, or stick with western style.

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 2 min, 30 sec 3 tsp 17 OZ / 500 ML

Login or sign up to leave a comment.