Colored Species

Sample generously provided by Mandala Tea

This vibrantly green oolong is like drinking a silky bouquet of spring flowers. During various sessions I picked up notes of honeysuckle, clover honey, lilac, citrus blossoms, and… licorice to finish once? (the latter is probably the result of a White Wolf anise contamination but it was still lovely).

The enthusiastic garden display reminded me a tad of this ridiculously floral Gewürztraminer I once had. Like aforementioned wine, this turned out to be a happy pairing with Palak Paneer, Dahl Makhani and some garlic naan. Maybe I should try more floral-sweet tea with spicy food pairings in the future.

Steep Count: 5

There was always a long break between the first steep and second steep because I could never get into the first cup, even with a rinse. Consecutive cups were almost always better and more complex

(2018 harvest)

Swap Sample Sipdown! (39)

From Kawaii433!

I admit, I feel a bit silly drinking these oolongs Western style, but gongfu isn’t really my thing… I did order an inexpensive gaiwan off of Amazon today though, so I’ll try to set a goal to do a couple of sessions per week or something. It’s good to get out of my comfort zone! It seems to me that oolong is one of the tea types that lends itself best to gongfu preparation, so I’m happy that I have all of these great samples from Kawaii!

But for now, Western style!

This is certainly an interesting one. It has a strong mineral note that I wasn’t expecting! I do enjoy mineral flavors in tea though, and happily in this case it reminds me of a clear mountain stream rather than the odious “licking a rock” sensation I’ve also gotten previously.

So because of that, this tea feels very refreshing to me. It does have some floral presence as well, and it’s a tad bit more than I would prefer (not being a flower lover). But it certainly doesn’t go anywhere near perfume – it more makes me picture a lovely trickling spring carrying large pink blossoms floating past. I’m not sure I can place the flower specifically, but my best guess would be gardenia. There’s also a light and sweet peach note that goes swimmingly with the floral flavor.

I have a hard time describing the greener flavor in oolongs… It’s not particularly vegetal, perhaps grassy in the sweet and fresh sense? I suppose it’s because I am more used to green teas, which are often grassy, and this is not the same as that.

So much sweetness here! There’s a very light honey note that lingers on the tongue, as well as a clear honeysuckle nectar-like flavor that almost verges on melon-like.

I very much enjoyed this one, even if it was a bit more floral than I’m accustomed to. And even if it’s not my very favorite flavor profile, I can still appreciate that this is delicious tea.

Additional notes on this one:
Sipdown, and saw that they recently came out with a roasted version of this. :D I’m going to have to try that one. Instead of a full gaiwan session like I did before on this tea, I followed their suggestion. A tsp to 8 oz ratio (I did double) for 30 sec infusions. It was really good, and as I noted before, it really is like a TGY without that sour pull on the sides of your mouth. Looking forward to trying their roasted version. :D

Interesting oolong. Had it gong fu at first and it definitely changes. Overall, it tasted like a softer Tie Guan Yin with a minty aftertaste. Orchid floral, but more vegetal with the weird mint I’m talking about. Someone put jasmine on here which I get more from the smell than anything else.

I’m definitely glad to have tried it, but a sample is perfect for me. Otherwise, I’m getting some clear energy out of it. Centering, maybe. Or just another boost from the coffee and three cups of tea I had earlier.

First steep is grassy and mineral. Second steep is more grass please let me floral still mineral. Third step is sweeter a little less mineral and nice and grassy.

Second try tonight. No rinse this time. Surprisingly less mineral and more sweet. Still grass. Notes like a sencha. Second steep. Floral notes and something I can’t quite pinpoint.

This oolong changes quite a bit between the steeps which is really fun to taste. Enjoyable mild taste that opens up in the next steep. While the resteep value is high, there was a little hint of an odd flavor in this which I cannot identify but I did not care much for it… maybe a brussel srpout that was forced to retire later than it should have…

From the unflavored TTB.

I was using this oolong to test out my new gaiwans and wasn’t sure what to expect. The floral is light – jasmine/honeysuckle – but a bit of almost savory and spice element to it with a sweet vibe in the background. I’m more partial to a more floral or heavier oxidized oolong, but I found colored species to be a fun sip.

BTW, the leaves are intact and HUGE. Just like Mandala’s milk oolong. My gaiwan was quickly an explosion of giant leaves.

Another thanks to kimquat for this one!
This one is definitely interesting.
Exactly what description is on Steepster.
Honeysuckle and floral.
It’s light but strong.
Think I might have to add this one to my wishlist. :O

Sipdown!

This was the oldest tea in my cupboard and was not quite the amazing tea it was a year ago but still decent. Glad it’s finished off.

Thank you for your sale, Kimquat! This was in the Unflavored tea box, but I noticed Kimquat was selling some, so I left the leaves in the tea box for someone else to try. I had this tea a couple days ago, so the tasting note might be short: the dry leaf smells a bit like mint and even tastes like hints of mint! Never had that in an oolong before. The pouch was a nice one, so I don’t think there could have been any flavor contamination from other teas. Other than the mint, it has a vegetal flavor… I can’t remember anything else right now, just the surprising mint! Interesting!