Okay, my nose is stuffy. I’m having trouble smelling pretty much everything. So dry, these leaves smelled like nothing. But after a quick rinse? Kapow! I can smell that! I’m horrible, however, at saying what things smell like when 1) I have a stuffy nose and, especially 2) when it is a dark oolong. I just don’t have much experience with them. But this smelled a lot like Adagio’s Wuyi Ensemble – if pressed I’d say it smells like a pleasant smoke smell plus a dark honey (plum or something) but I feel like I’ve been saying that about everything (either that or ‘bake-y’) so don’t push me to actually say what it smells like other than Adagio’s WE, k?
I’ve overfilled the glass so I’m going to have to wait a bit for it to cool a little so I don’t pour freakishly hot liquid down my front. On the plus side, it gives me the chance to notice the pretty color. Like apple juice. Or clear cider. Very pretty in my Bodum cup.
Okay, it’s cool enough now… Oooh, this is good. Sweeter than Adagio’s Wuyi Ensemble and a little more complex. Not quite as dark. Smoky at the front then a fruity taste (peach? DH mentioned apple… maybe pear? it’s not very strong and mostly comes across as sweet) then the finish gives hints of what this would taste like as a less oxidized oolong. Very sweet. Very smooth.
So yeah, this one kind of flies in the face of my belief that I’m not a fan of smoky or darker oolongs.
Preparation
Comments
I use ‘bake-y’ too much aswell – mostly in relation to oolongs, but I have no idea how else to describe them. shrugs
For whatever reason, the darker oolongs are tough for me to get a handle on as well. It’s not that I don’t like them, it’s just that they’re…tough. Guess that just means I need to drink more of them. I have no problem with that.
Bake-y is a good word to describe teas apparently. :)
The first oolong I ever tried was a dark roasted one – I hated it. I’ve had a few here and there and never really liked them until I had a Honey Orchid Dan Cong which was pretty good. So this one brings me to a grand total of 3 darker oolongs I have enjoyed.
I use ‘bake-y’ too much aswell – mostly in relation to oolongs, but I have no idea how else to describe them. shrugs
For whatever reason, the darker oolongs are tough for me to get a handle on as well. It’s not that I don’t like them, it’s just that they’re…tough. Guess that just means I need to drink more of them. I have no problem with that.
Bake-y is a good word to describe teas apparently. :)
The first oolong I ever tried was a dark roasted one – I hated it. I’ve had a few here and there and never really liked them until I had a Honey Orchid Dan Cong which was pretty good. So this one brings me to a grand total of 3 darker oolongs I have enjoyed.