I made a little pot of this Pouchong one afternoon along with another Yezi tea, their Dong Ding Winter Peak. It was fun to taste the two side-by-side. I am just becoming better acquainted with oolongs and figured that doing an “oolong tasting” of different kinds would be a good way for me to pick up on the nuances of flavor between them.
I steeped this Pouchong in a ceramic teapot for 4 minutes. The color of the liquor, like the Dong Ding, was a lovely golden hue. The aroma and taste was of sweet cream, honey and lemon, with hints of vanilla and pine; and it was also slightly vegetal like green tea. Oh gosh it was splendid. I think I was in heaven.
Needless to say, I am really, really enjoying these oolongs that share similarities with green tea. I like green tea, but sometimes it can be a little sharp, a little too vegetal, so I have to be in the right mood for it. Oolongs, or at least the few I’ve tried so far, seem to contain the best of what I like about green tea yet with flavors entirely their own, and they are just oh so mellow and sweet and delicious! How have I not tried these before? Wow, have I been living in a bubble or what?! I am SO pleased with this tea and wish I could make a million pots of it and drink it all day long, morning, noon, and night. Food? Don’t need it. All the flavor I could want is already here, contained in this cup.
Another day when I have time I would like to do shorter and more frequent steeps to separate out and pinpoint the flavors. That should enable me to provide a more thorough analysis. For instance, I think I detect some floral notes, but which flowers?
