UNYtea

Time to start making a serious effort to clear my seemingly endless backlog. I drank a sample of this tea late last week. I had heard good things about it and had meant to get to it sooner, but after finally getting off my lazy butt and trying it, I realized that I should have gone out of my way to make time for this tea. I found it to be an excellent Alishan oolong.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a very brief rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 195 F water for 10 seconds. This infusion was followed by 12 subsequent infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 12 seconds, 15 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, and 3 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves produced gentle floral, grassy aromas. After the rinse, I detected defined scents of hyacinth, honeysuckle, magnolia, violet, sweetgrass, cream, and butter. The first infusion brought out subtle scents of coriander, vanilla, custard, and parsley. In the mouth, the liquor initially offered mild notes of cream and butter which promptly gave way to notes of sweetgrass, coriander, and parsley. A subtle touch of vanilla popped up briefly on the finish. Oddly, I could not detect any real floral character in the mouth at this point. Subsequent infusions offered the notes of hyacinth, honeysuckle, magnolia, and violet that I had missed earlier. The vanilla presence grew stronger in the mouth and the custard also emerged, though it lingered in the background. New aromas and flavors of Asian pear, lilac, green apple, honeydew, cucumber, leaf lettuce, cinnamon, rice milk, watercress, minerals, and sugarcane appeared as well. The later infusions were very mild. I mostly found subtle mineral and vegetal notes balanced by faint impressions of orchard fruits, flowers, and sugarcane.

Subtle and refined, but with tremendous depth and complexity, this was the type of Alishan oolong I had been attempting to find for some time. I greatly enjoyed this tea and actively wish I had bought more when I had the resources. If I get the opportunity to pick up more of this tea, I will most likely do so. For those who are considering giving this one a shot, it really is worth it. I recommend it highly.

This was another tote cleaning discovery. I ordered several samples from Unytea back around the start of the year, but only got around to trying one of them. When I stumbled upon this tea, my initial reaction was more or less something to the effect of “oh, I should probably go ahead and drink this. I’ve had it for awhile.” Then I remembered that Chou Shi is far from my favorite type of Dan Cong. I soldiered on anyway, and lo and behold, I really liked this tea. The fact that it was from last year’s harvest may have had something to do with it, but this was much more approachable and mellow than I’m used to Chou Shi being.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. For this session, I steeped 7 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 190 F water for 5 seconds following a brief rinse. This infusion was followed by 13 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were 7 seconds, 10 seconds, 15 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, and 3 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves emitted pleasant aromas of butter, cream, peas, and fresh flowers. The rinse allowed me to get a better feel for the tea’s floral aromatics. I picked up more clearly defined scents of lilac and violet. I also began to get touches of spinach and vanilla. The first infusion brought out touches of orchid. In the mouth, the tea led with gentle impressions of butter, cream, vanilla, lilac, violet, and orchid before vegetal touches reminiscent of garden peas made themselves known. Subsequent infusions brought out aromas and flavors of damp grass, spinach, green beans, honeysuckle, sweet pea, squash blossom, and fresh zucchini. Unlike the other Dan Congs I have tried, I curiously did not get much soapiness in the mouth. The body was slick and relatively thin, but not soapy. Around the middle of the session, I began to get fleeting impressions of incredibly gentle minerality and some vague, distant fruitiness. I couldn’t decide if it reminded me more of green apple or underripe pear. I continuously waffled on that. I also got what struck me as a more definite touch of cantaloupe. The late infusions were mild, buttery, creamy, and vegetal with a slightly strengthened mineral presence.

Normally when I think of Chou Shi Dan Cong, I think of a slick tea that often awkwardly juxtaposes fresh floral tones against a buttery, vegetal backdrop in an effort to approximate the characteristics of a typical jade Tieguanyin. That may not be entirely accurate, that’s just my perception of this style of tea. Until I tried this one, I had little interest in teas like this. When I tried this tea, however, I found an approachable, straightforward, immediately gratifying tea with a nice balance of savory, floral, and vegetal. My only wish now is that I had purchased more.

Hey ya’ll I’m back!! (I was a little busy…had a baby last year, quit my job, raising baby, and just started my own business…whew)

Anyway, I recently learned about Unytea (they are sort of local to me). So I jumped in and bought one of their gaiwan/sampler sets. And this was the tea that was included. I’ve had a lot of oolongs in the past, but wow! This one was awesome. So buttery and vegetal. So good that I ordered another 100g and that might be why it’s sold out now…sorry not sorry!

Beautiful large, withered dry leaf, which expands to lively green and brown splotched leaves – all of which were intact and gorgeous after the session, shiny and slick.

Reminded me quite a lot of stone fruit, very sweet, like fresh, warm peach juice combined with the taste you get when getting the last bits off of the pit.

Juicy, slightly syrupy flavor with taste of sunshine and warm summer days eating fresh peaches straight off the tree. The taste of this Dan Cong oolong shines through wonderfully, with its distinctive flavor and bright personality.

No bitterness and very very light astringency, wonderful sweet soft aroma. Over all a very nice oolong that would be good for summer mornings or as a replacement for peach flavored tea from teabags.

Unexpected – the first taste immediately reminded me of the sweet milkyness of milk leftover after eating a bowl of cereal. Specifically after some cinnamon flavored cereal.

Loosened pretty quickly to a nice full gaiwan of beautiful green leaf, and brews up to a bright clear yellow/green.
Retains a clear bright flavor throughout multiple steeps, transitioning more towards floral and away from milky light spice flavor of earlier steeps, and some light astringency.
Very nostalgic flavor for me at least, and considering I don’t eat cereal anymore I’ll probably keep coming back to this one.

Brief note: Everything about this tea which I had previously mentioned was nearly the exact same thing this time around—-honeydew, floral undertones, etc.

The one thing I had noticed during these two sessions with the sample was that this tea has a thick mouthfeel. Maybe I hadn’t had too many teas at the time of my last review, but it was definitely something I had picked up on this time around. Overall, it was a very pleasant tea and I regrettably have no more of it. Tis the life of good teas being had too often. Ha-ha.

A perfect cup of tea is held within my palm,
When you drink a cup or two,
the tea will sing a song….

Alishan is something I’ve been wanting to try for a while now. I’ve heard about it several times; however, I was too into puerh at the time to give it any thought. I must say this would’ve been the tea that’d’ve turned me into the oolong-head moreso than the pu-head that I am…..And it has done almost that.

I’ve decided that 2017 is to increase my palate on oolong. I want to discover the right or wrong types of oolong and really know what’s out there. Alishan is highly rated thus far on the spectrum. I’ve always had good oolong in the past; although I’ve also had really bad oolong as well…..So now it’s time to allow myself to see the better half of the oolong world.

Notes: A sweet floral honeydew combo is dancing around on the tongue. It’s fresh, refreshing, sweet, smooth, etc. I want to keep drinking it. I can’t stop drinking it. I want more….

I received a 4 gram mini sample of this tea as a freebie with my first, and to this point, only order from Unytea. I could not find a listing for this tea in their online store, but I was able to find a blog post about it and a few photos. Sadly, I was not able to glean much information about the tea itself.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After the rinse, I steeped all 4 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 195 F water for 10 seconds. This infusion was followed by 12 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 10 seconds, 15 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, and 3 minutes. Clearly, I had no idea how to proceed with this one and just went with my gut.

Prior to the rinse, I was able to pick up interesting aromas of osmanthus, stone fruits, butter, cream, and malt. After the rinse, I picked up additional aromas of brown sugar and magnolia. The first infusion produced a similar, though somewhat smoother, more integrated aroma. In the mouth, I detected gentle notes of cream, butter, malt, cocoa, brown sugar, dates, osmanthus, nectar, honey, peach, nectarine, and magnolia. Subsequent infusions saw the additions of baked bread, mango, and papaya on the nose and in the mouth, though the tea mellowed fairly quickly. The later infusions were heavy on cream, malt, and bread notes underscored by extremely distant, barely perceptible impressions of dates, mango, osmanthus, honey, and peach.

Overall, this was a nice oolong. It was very approachable and displayed admirable complexity and depth. I found it to be very difficult to accurately describe. It was almost like a cross between a Gui Fei and a roasted Jin Xuan, though that comparison is not exact. One aspect of the tea that I would like to highlight is the texture. It started out syrupy, progressed to being creamy, and then finished slightly on the dry side. It was extremely interesting to experience and would have been worth the price of admission alone. While I do wish it had a little more staying power, this was still a nice tea to experience. I am glad I got the opportunity to try it.

I admit, I often sweeten my teas depending on the tea and my mood. I usually use a light honey, but prefer Agave Necter as it’s more neutral, rarely sugar, but sometimes natural plant sweeteners like the Chinese Blackberry Leaf, or in this case Amacha which is made of the fermented hydrangea plants. Both of these natural plants are indeed VERY sweet and only a few leaves needed to the pot to sweeten the soup. That being said, it does impart a flavor sensation that is not neutral like Agave necter or Sugar. I would use these natural sweeteners in a strong tea like a black, or a Puerh, but not greens or oolongs.

Being still new to tea, this reminded me of a Formosa of sorts but that’s just me. It’s more according to the site a cross between a anxi tieguanyin and a green baozhong, which explains why I loved it. The leaves are full and large. The soup is light, getting deeper with each infusion and this tea is a long hauler for a light Oolong. It’s very floral and fresh, smooth on the creamy side, yet dry, if that makes any sense. Slight astringency but steeps long (like when I forgot I was steeping it for 5 minutes) with no bitterness. There are notes of flowers along with a greeny veg flavor as well. It’s balanced, refreshing. I’d drink this all day iced on a summer day. I started the steeps at around 30 seconds, increasing time with subsequent steeps. Aside from all this, I have enjoyed all the teas I’ve tried from Jeffery at UNYtea, a very new, young on line tea shop that I hope you will head over to and try his teas. I like supporting small business ventures.

Thank you so much Jeff!

Well, this was one woody herbal that tasted a lot like an oolong. Honey, floral, and anise are damn right. Hyacinth and honeysuckle popped in my brain, but I could be wrong. Still, this was a mega sweet herbal that so much like a green oolong. The sweetness did remind me of stevia a little bit, but not too much. This is especially nice for a type one diabetic who has some cravings.

Thank you for the sample Jeff!

I’ve been wanting to try some Unytea again, and their oolong selection was especially good this year. There was another pre-sale of the Qi Lai Shan that I had to participate in since I’ve always wanted to try that tea-a gaoshan off the bucket list in other words. The Qi Lai was actually cheaper compared to other vendors, and though it was expensive, I decided to get a decent amount to enjoy in case I want more later…like I always do with the tea I am writing about now.

Again, I was very tempted to get a few ounces of this one because it is one of the better Alishans I’ve had so far, especially in how it gets sweeter and fruitier in the later steeps. I’ve seen a lot of writers talk about that for this kind of oolong, but I’ve experienced it seldomly. This particular batch has the development in folds. The first steep was typical floral creaminess undertoned by thick grassiness at 20 seconds, then the second 35 sec. brew yielded something that almost resembled the texture of bubblegum. Think fruit tree flower flavored bubblegum. The next few steeps get sweeter and more honeydew melon like, and sometimes, there were sweater notes that reminded me of a sweet kiwi. Does anyone else get that?

Anyway, this is a fabulous tea that I wish I could afford more of. I think everyone should try it at least once, and though experienced drinkers will definitely like it, there are a few that might be pickier when it comes to this tea.

Crap! The profile of this tea was basically what I was looking for. Flower creamer sweetened with honey is how I’d describe it. The tea actually opened really quickly compared to other Alishans I’ve had, yet the sweet honey notes developed slower. I brewed this for longer steeping parameters at first, with 35 being my first, 20 my second, and 40 my third, a minute and a half, then three minutes. Despite my overly playful parameters, I got the notes I wanted.

I really enjoyed this tea, and a part of me wishes that I purchased an ounce of this instead of the Chou Shi because it is so much closer to want I wanted. However, I still need to play around with that green oolong. My only complaint with this one might be its longevity. That is not too much of a problem for me, however. It definitely appeals to the tea snob and might not be a bad tea to introduce someone to oolong.

Backlog:

This tea is so much better suited to a gaiwan. It was still green, but a fresh, crisp green and an overall pleasant experience. Creamy and floral too. I am going to savor this. I hope that hawband1 is going to enjoy the amount I sent her.

Used the right amount of leaves for the right time. Again, florals you would associate with luxury soaps, but this time, the florals were light and balanced with the snap pea green vegetal taste. I finally got a little bit more creaminess later on. I am glad to have some for today and some for later. Oddly, I can see this tea being just as good for the summer as it is right now in the winter. That’s what a good oolong can do anyway :) I do wonder how the Yu Lan Xiang compares.

I used less leaf and got better results, but much of what I said is the same. It is a nice floral approximate green tea that has such a strong orchid green taste that it reminds me of a high end soap. I am still very glad to have tried it, but I will stick to the Gaoshans and Dong Ding for healthy sweet teas without the guilt. Chou shi will make nice company for the mornings I don’t want to get up nevertheless.

Thank you so much Jeff! My Unytea order was very aesthetic and very considerate. I smelled through the bags of course and I am oddly really excited for one of the blends.

This particular was recommended for a non-stomach upsetting nuclear green oolong, and I’ve been really curious to try this varietal. The large nuclear emerald leaves smell green and clean. Tasting it, this tea is the embodiment of orchid floral from Tie Guan Yin and Bao Zhong. I was surprised that the florals were a little too strong for me. it had the World Market organic luxury soap thing going on.

So I did a five second rinse for my wopping 6 grams for 6 fluid ounces, then I brewed up the first steep at twelve seconds. I think that steep was too short because I got ORCHID and STEM. I’m not getting creamy so much. The later steeps were more enjoyable with a good balance between the green flower stem taste and some fruitier, more lemon and pineapple qualities. It also has some staying power ‘cause I’m still drinking it after steep seven. I used short steeps, however.

I have to play with this one more, and luckily, I have the amount to do so. It does not quite have the balance I’m looking for, but it is still a great quality tea and I am excited to see what else I can do with these lovely leaves. I am looking forward to other goodies I have. I also need to write so many more reviews…