I have no idea from whence this tea came nor exactly what kind of oolong it is. I’m guessing it’s at least from Anxi.
The dry leaf smells like baked fruits like cherry and cranberry, apple skins and woody cinnamon. Warming the leaf brings forth additions of a sugarcane-like sweetness and flowers. Once brewed, the aroma of the tea becomes very sweet with rich white florals and the woody cinnamon of the dry leaf transforms to a very soft, floral cinnamon. The taste is nonexistent with short gongfu steeps. Switching to longer steeps (starting at 1min) brings out a mild flavor with no distinctions beyond an impression of toasty-woody-vegetal apricot-straw. The aftertaste of unripe apricot is also mild. No astringency, bitterness in only late steeps, no sourness as in a tieguanyin. Slightly mouth-cooling. Surprisingly, the bottom of the cup retains a rich, sweet smell.
This oolong is reminiscent of pretty much any pot of oolong from a Chinese restaurant. In that way, it’s a very neutral tea. The tea’s mild qualities have made it a particularly enjoyable pick for this hot weather.
Flavors: Apple Skins, Apricot, Cherry, Cinnamon, Cranberry, Flowers, Menthol, Mineral, Straw, Sugarcane, Toasty, Vegetal, Wood
