My tea master friend in Taiwan sent me this tea to try some time ago. I’ve been saving it. As I knew it was particularly special already I waited until I had enough time to sit and properly enjoy it, i.e. this fine Saturday morning. I heated my water to a fisheye boil, started up my Lin Ceramic stove and poured the hot water into my Lin kettle and placed it on the stove to keep it hot. I then prepared all of my tea making utensils, chose a tiny, 80 year old, yixing purple clay teapot which I have used for plenty of pu erh over the years, and sat down on my yoga mat in front of my gong fu set for a good tea session. I put enough leaf in to completely cover the bottom of the pot. I poured off the first rinse of liquor (standard practice really), then settled in to pour the perfect cup of Great Ocean tea.
Let me say that this tea comes by its name honestly. After the first sniff and sip I was gone, floating away to never never land (or into an ocean oblivion). The energy of this tea was overwhelming. It rolled through me like an electric charge, leaving me completely blissed out and high as a kite. Every so often I would become aware that I had paused in mid sip, with the cup raised to my lips and had no idea for how long I’d been sitting like that. I should mention that the duration of this tea session was over an hour and a half.
It was hard to concentrate on the other aspects I usually look at when evaluating a tea, however, here they are as best I can remember. The aromas. This tea is indeed complex. Aromas were spicy, bringing memories of cinnamon and oranges with a hint of walnut. Also just a faint waft of jungle floor plant matter. The flavour was full and very robust. The spices and nuts blended together in an incredible mouthful that left a very smooth, clean finish that was almost sweet.
All around, one of the best damn teas I’ve probably ever had.
