Tam Chau

Today I drank a oolong from the Lam Dong region of Vietnam.

The appearance and aroma of the dry leaf looked like a average quality Chinese oolong. The greenish brown leaves were rolled tightly with a moderate amount of stem. The aroma made me think of one thing only: a fruit roll up. VERY FRUITY. Almost like there was some scent (there wasn’t) added.

I rinsed the tea with boiling water and then steeped for 2 mins at about 190F. The aroma of fruit rollup came through in the first steep. The liquor was a pale straw color, golden in fact. Not overly sweet or astringent, I just really found it fruity. The 2nd steep was notably more sophisticated. Notes of chestnut, peach and orchid came through. While the aroma was improving, I felt like the liquor was still a bit limp and watery. Unfortunately, the 3rd steep was as my notes say “more of the same”. An interesting tea for sure, as it always fun to taste teas from Vietnam, but this was not a hit with me specifically. I have another small sample so Ill try it again, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to find more.