Taiwan 'Shan Lin Xi' Light-Roasted High Mountain Oolong Tea

Tea type
Oolong Tea
Ingredients
Oolong Tea Leaves
Flavors
Butter, Creamy, Floral, Apple, Bitter, Flowers, Forest Floor, Grass, Menthol, Pastries, Peach, Pine, Stonefruit, Sweet, Thick, Vegetal, Honey, Green, Herbaceous, Cardamom, Cut Grass, Macadamia, Medicinal, Nutty, Peppermint, Pineapple, Roasty, Sesame, Walnut, Wood
Sold in
Loose Leaf
Caffeine
Not available
Certification
Not available
Edit tea info Last updated by eastkyteaguy
Average preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 30 sec 6 g 5 oz / 140 ml

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10 Tasting Notes View all

  • “I had found myself taking a bit of a break from high mountain oolongs, for whatever reason, but reached for this sample for a lazy morning outside. I did pick up What-Cha’s regular (ie....” Read full tasting note
    92
  • “There are several listings for this tea. More likely, according to tea reviews, this is the one I drank yesterday and I am having again today. This oolong is a marvel. I wish I had more more...” Read full tasting note
  • “So this is from Kawaii433 but I also received some from derk.  THANK YOU BOTH.  Not sure if Kawaii’s is also from 2017, as derk’s is noted on the sample.  I thought it was time I try it, since...” Read full tasting note
    68
  • “This is one of those elusive teas that I feel I don’t have the right words to describe. It is a bit like a cross between Dong Ding and high mountain Jade oolong. One thing is for sure though, I...” Read full tasting note
    91

From What-Cha

An expertly light roasted oolong which has a lovely honey sweet lingering taste coupled with balsam notes.

Tasting Notes:
- Smooth texture
- Lingering honey sweet taste
- Balsam notes

Harvest: Spring 2017

Origin: Shan Lin Xi, Nantou County, Taiwan
Altitude: 1,600m
Farmer: Chen Family
Sourced: Specialist Taiwanese wholesaler

Cultivar: Qing Xin
Oxidisation: 15-20%
Roast: Lightly roasted multiple times
Picking: Hand

Brewing Advice:
- Heat water to roughly 95°C/203°F
- Use 1 teaspoon per cup/small teapot
- Brew for 2-3 minutes

Packaging: Resealable ziplock bag

About What-Cha View company

Company description not available.

10 Tasting Notes

92
391 tasting notes

I had found myself taking a bit of a break from high mountain oolongs, for whatever reason, but reached for this sample for a lazy morning outside. I did pick up What-Cha’s regular (ie. non-light-roasted) Shan Lin Xi a couple months ago, and have continually put off making notes on it — I’ve sadly found myself just a little disappointed each time I drink it.

This little lovely, though… all the perfect butter and florals and mouthfeel. Alistair’s note includes balsam, and I’d agree there, too. It doesn’t look much different from the unroasted upon visual inspection — but what a treat and education, to be so surprised by what a tiny bit of roast can do to elevate these little green nugs.

Thank you, derk!

Flavors: Butter, Creamy, Floral

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1403 tasting notes

There are several listings for this tea. More likely, according to tea reviews, this is the one I drank yesterday and I am having again today.

This oolong is a marvel. I wish I had more more descriptors to adequately convey what is going on in my cup.

Fragrant. Floral nectar. Sugarcane sweet. Gentle honeyed sweetness. Honeysuckle, maybe. A bit green with subsequent steeps . And juicy, very juicy.

Leafhopper

Sounds like the roast doesn’t overwhelm this oolong.

derk

Oh my gosh, I’m so glad to see another note for this tea! I think it was a one-time offer when I bought it several years ago. I was so enamored with it that I bought an extra 50g bag to store sealed. I see it every now and then when rooting through my oolong box and it always makes me smile. The time to open the tomb will come.

Evol Ving Ness

:)

My packet was sealed and hidden in a dark cool place, which, I suppose is the reason that is tastes so fresh and lovely. But damn, this a very lovely tea.

If I had tasted it immediately, I also would have picked up more too. Oh well. I don’t need to have ALL the teas. Immediately, anyway. :)

Seems you and I have similar tastes in terms of what we find to be fabulous.

derk

Someday we’ll have to share teas in person :)

Evol Ving Ness

That would be awesome and I would love that.

That said, I am out of commission for swaps because for the past couple of years, I cannot commit to any sustained effort. Health and other things have been a challenge and I don’t want to disappoint anyone, or myself, for that matter. Likewise, I can’t take on extra stress and/or additional commitments.

Hope that doesn’t sound too crazy. That’s just the way things are at the mo. Hopefully not forever.

derk

No worries, the last thing I want is to impose. Be well <3

Evol Ving Ness

No imposition at all. Thank you for hearing me. And you too. <3

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68
4169 tasting notes

So this is from Kawaii433 but I also received some from derk.  THANK YOU BOTH.  Not sure if Kawaii’s is also from 2017, as derk’s is noted on the sample.  I thought it was time I try it, since there are two separate samples!  I don’t know what I was thinking though, as I just sipped a roasted oolong the other day and they are definitely not the type of tea I want to drink often. Anything with the name “roasted” is all I can taste, which ends up being very one note and disappointing, as I know others can usually taste other flavors in these roasted oolongs.  It’s always a shame!  It is all I can taste: roasted charcoal.  The third steep was especially off putting… shouldn’t have brewed if for four minutes, that’s for sure. The leaves are VERY dark and VERY tightly bundled.  The flavor is smooth anyway, until that third steep.  I think I sadly give up on roasted oolongs.  They just ain’t my thing.  But it’s nice to officially know that at this point.
Steep #1  // 1 3/4 teaspoons for full mug //  rinse //  29 minutes after boiling  // 1 minute steep
Steep #2  // 28 minutes after boiling //  2 minute steep
Steep #3 // just boiled // 4 min
2020 sipdowns:  52 (one sample sipdowned anyway)

Kawaii433

I have no idea when year it was, tea-sipper but it probably is the 2017. I’ve come to a similar conclusion concerning Dan Cong oolongs. o.O

tea-sipper

Yes, Dan Cong oolong isn’t my favorite either. I hope all of those people you knew with Covid have recovered, Kawaii!

Kawaii433

tea-sipper, the family of 6 with 4 little kids recovered with no issue. Thank goodness. Rusty who is in his 50s recovered and poor Sue will probably have lung damage the rest of her life. :( Thank you so much for asking and hoping all is healthy and well with you <3.

tea-sipper

Thanks for the update, Kawaii. It’s good to know most of them are mostly okay.

Leafhopper

I just saw this note. I also have trouble detecting anything other than roast in these oolongs.

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91
943 tasting notes

This is one of those elusive teas that I feel I don’t have the right words to describe. It is a bit like a cross between Dong Ding and high mountain Jade oolong. One thing is for sure though, I like it a lot!

The aroma has a lot going on, but I really can’t place it. There are some notes of pastries and stone fruits, but that’s far from a complete list. Taste starts off vegetal, grassy, and bitter with a very sweet finish. There is a nice short-lasting astringent bite and flavours such as butter, flowers, apple, peach. Aftertaste is more floral and has notes of forest floor and pine as well as a long-lasting sweetness. As derk mentioned, there is also a strong menthol quality in late steeps. I also got a bit of a fenugreek flavour, not unlike the one you get from some wild Taiwanese varietals.

The mouthfeel is thick, oily, soft, and slightly numbing with a throat-cooling quality – this tea certainly doesn’t lack in the texture department. It is also very calming and body-warming and makes me sweat a bit. A final point to note is that it lasts a long time, I can easily get 200ml/g from it, and if pushed, even quite a bit more.

Flavors: Apple, Bitter, Butter, Floral, Flowers, Forest Floor, Grass, Menthol, Pastries, Peach, Pine, Stonefruit, Sweet, Thick, Vegetal

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 15 sec 7 g 5 OZ / 140 ML

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90
379 tasting notes

Another awesome What-Cha oolong. After the rinse, the leaves smelled of a wonderful aroma of light roast, sweet honey, some unique notes already stated in the previous great reviews. The aroma alone can put it on another level. It’s lovely. Light amber liquor also with a unique aroma.

Very smooth, sweet and creamy, a fragrant roast but light toasty roast with floral, honey and stonefruit notes. Long lasting natural honey sweet finish. Thick. The balsam menthol is very nice and makes it quite unique.

gaiwan, 6g, 203°F, 110ml, rinse, 7 steeps: 25s, 35s, 45s, 55s, 65s, 75s, 85s

Flavors: Creamy, Floral, Honey, Menthol, Stonefruit, Sweet

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 0 min, 15 sec 6 g 4 OZ / 110 ML
derk

Do you have a recent harvest of this? I think mine is from 2017. Curious how they compare. I absolutely love this oolong.

Kawaii433

I have the Spring 2018 harvest. I can send some to you. :D

derk

You know, I think I’ll take you up on that, thanks! Moving tomorrow, so I’ll message you when I’m settled.

Kawaii433

Yay. Sounds good!

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90
70 tasting notes

Such a lovely and delicate tea. Sweet floral fragrance accompanied by a light herbal medicinal note. Produces a light golden liquor with a greenish tint. It’s thick and coats the mouth. The taste is a combination of sweet, creamy floral notes, very light herbal green bitterness and a minty cooling sensation in the throat. The sweet flowery aftertaste lingers for a long time. (I wonder what flower this is.)

Flavors: Creamy, Floral, Green, Herbaceous, Honey, Menthol, Sweet

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 1 min, 0 sec 6 g 6 OZ / 190 ML

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1557 tasting notes

Unsealed the last 50g packet of this tea that I hoarded a few years ago. It’s a 2017 harvest and still tastes magnificent!

Not much attention paid like today’s white tea… There is some change with age, though very little. Honey with a hint of butter, cardamom, clean-sweet peppermint, dried cut grass, balsam wood, roasted walnut, black sesame seeds, background roastiness. And I think I get that grilled pineapple Daylon got as a fruity midtone. All the tastes translate into the aftertaste, where they also meet with a grassy peach skin. Eventually a very strong returning sweetness from the throat. I’m not usually a fan of Taiwanese roasted oolong but this one is something special.

Flavors: Butter, Cardamom, Cut Grass, Honey, Macadamia, Medicinal, Nutty, Peach, Peppermint, Pine, Pineapple, Roasty, Sesame, Sweet, Walnut, Wood

Preparation
Boiling 0 min, 30 sec 5 g 4 OZ / 110 ML

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92
1704 tasting notes

A tea deserves at least a 90 from me when I crave its flavor, and a few extra points when I want to designate it as morning tea.

I know that a lot of people choose something brisk to wake them up, but the earthy tones and honeyed tang coax me to alert my senses and appreciate the subtler profiles. This mornings brew was more subdued than I’ve had it before. I got the heather honey, something like grilled pineapple, and a smooth texture, but I tasted a little bit more mineral that I was not expecting. Vague florals coated my tongue midsip that reminded me more of a Ba Xian, and I was not sure how to place them. If I could taste colors, I got an orange amber and purple despite the liqour’s tawny hue. Was I tasting lily? I don’t know. When the florals end in the honey note, it has a little bit of a violet effect amidst an earthier background from the light roast.

I hope that my notes aren’t too much of an actual exaggeration. Some are repetitive. I could interchange grilled pineapple and heather honey as the same note for example, albeit the char subtleties gave me the idea of grilled pineapple and the floral mix in a dark sweet end gave me heather honey. Nevertheless, this is a satisfying tea for my mornings, and one that I can see more experienced drinkers playing with for the flavor profiles.

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