First, let me say I love hand picked teas! Especially with the oolongs, as they usually require more courting and patience to wait for their leaves to fully unfurl. What a treat and reward to those that dare to have the endurance to see and taste this great development. The complexity and change in each steeping, yields even more character and delight.
This tea is such a tea. One that is delicate and tender, with a certain youthfulness of the leaves. Young and aromatic, yet deep and fulfilling. Its medium yellowish green color is brilliant, with a sparkly clarity. The taste of the sip is very intense – creamy, slightly flowery, but more clean and palate cleansing. I’m picking up something that has a nice and tasteful mineral tanginess to the tounge(no it’s not the water – I only use filtered water from my Brita)that definitely adds to all the other sensations with drinking this tea. There is a fullness to the liquid, thicker almost. The flavor lingers on the tongue and sweetens the entire mouth.
Each rolled tea ball, has been tightly rolled with stems attached. Not the normal low quality stems that you usually see from some budget teas. These tea leaves, once they unfurl – reveal some very nice looking leaves and bud tips that are attached to the stems. Everything looks like it still has life to them, freshly picked – not the overly dried up and poor quality look.
I’m very pleased with this tea thus far. For the quality, the pricing isn’t bad at all, if your looking for a good quality oolong.
This company ships for FREE anywhere in the US, which another great reason to try them!