Bama Tea

My friend sent me this treat when he got back from his last trip to China for a long time (new job, with all his trips being in the USA instead of to China) with not much more to go on than the name of the company. (Bama Tea has been growing and producing tea in China since 1736.) A little google searching and I found this. The bags look the same and the symbols on the packages were the same, so I’m calling it this one.

Nice, little, tight leaves with a soft scent when they’re dry.

Not overly stong, buttery and with a hint of something I can’t quite quantify after steeping. The liquor is a nice golden color.

I’m trying this in my new finum 5oz hot glass system which I also really like. I’m going to use that a few more times before writing a review, though, but it’s definitely really nice and easy to use.

I’m going sort of gongfu style with the steeping, starting at 1 minute and then adding a little more each time. it’s getting more buttery with each steeping, which is awesome.

One thing I love about oolongs is how much the leaves expand when steeping. I started out with less than a teaspoon of leaves (somewhere between 1/2t and 3/4t) and they’ve expanded to more than 1/8c.