A third iteration of this pomelo flower scented oolong and the best of the three years!
Previous harvests were unbalanced in retrospect — more drying, bitter and/or yeasty. The March 2022 harvest is more delicate and well balanced without a trace of bitterness unless left to stew in shallow waters grandpa style.
The oolong strikes me as a Cui Yu jade oolong rather than a Jin Xuan milk oolong. I get not a hint of milky mouthfeel or taste. The mouthfeel is glassy, oily and crisp with a papery drying quality after swallowing. Overall character is much like a Sauvignon Blanc wine. The main body is a mix of citrusy tangy-sweet pomelo with black grapes and white grape juice, green plums, pear and sweetgrass. Top notes of faintly yeasty pomelo blossom with fruity jasmine; light bottom notes of sweet lettuce, bitter greens, parsley, tarragon, lavender, warm celery root and buttermilk biscuit. The aftertaste doesn’t last long but it’s fruity like the main body of the tea. Steeps out after many infusions with a balanced astringency and juicy swallow. Light bitterness creeps in, a cool spearmint mouthfeel is noticed.
I like this better with short steeps gongfu than grandpa style – but not by much – and leafed a little more than my usual.
This is the first harvest I can recommend!
Flavors: Bread, Buffalo Grass, Celery, Citrusy, Drying, Floral, Fruity, Grapefruit, Grapes, Grassy, Herbs, Kale, Lavender, Lettuce, Lime, Mineral, Oily, Orange Blossom, Paper, Parsley, Pear, Plum, Spearmint, Sweet, Tangy, Thick, White Grapes, White Wine, Yeast
