Dry – A ‘dark’ / roasted sweetness, mineral oolong notes, some wood-spice (Cinnamon? not getting clear Cinnamon notes), Caramel.
Wet – Oolong mineral/rock notes, very floral, wood-spice notes, sweetness that comes from a roasted/dark source not so much line honey.
Liquor – Copper — very aromatic of Wood-spice(Cinnamon), Honey, mineral, floral and roasted sweetness.
This tea is very aromatic, it has very apparent floral-bitter/tart notes that emanate from the cup, sweet mesquite honey notes and finally get an apparent Cinnamon/wood-spice scent followed by the hallmark mineral/rock/hay Oolong notes.
The liquor is fairly smooth but pieces are not uncommon, filter if you don’t want residual astringency, however I feel like this is very pleasant. It wears all of its floral notes well, the Cinnamon character is lacking in my opinion; mostly caramel sweetness with floral and mineral. As it goes down some more of the wood-spice notes come forward and after a while the Cinnamon is more clear. This is definitely a tea to keep at work, I’ve done very short steeps and some a bit longer and the taste barely changes. It doesn’t endure much in western cup style, I’d stick to using portable Gong Fu methods, and enjoy 3-5 good cups.
Nothing too special. A great cup of work, the aroma is VERY enjoyable, definitely its best trait.
Flavors: Caramel, Floral, Mineral, Wood
Preparation
Comments
Thank you for reviewing this tea. i bought it but wasnt able to sample it. Im at my summer house now. But i tried Jing Tea shop version. it was very good but i dont think it was rich enough. JTS is medium roasted. Is YS heavy roasted?
I think this one is medium roasted, but think in the higher range of what you consider medium roast. There’s still some dark green color in the leaves, but not much cinnamon taste, it is mostly in the aftertaste. I bought a bag of this and Scott sent me sample of another Oolong which in my opinion knocks this one out of the table. I’ll update once I get home and let you know the name of that one in case you want to sample it. :)
Pls do. BTW have you tried that Ya Shi Xiang Dan Cong (duck shit). name is just gross. i wonder if its good.
LOL! I haven’t. I want to try it, but I have to wait until my next tea order. I find the name funny, and wonder if it does indeed smell like Duck shit. I used to visit a farming family as a little kid and I know the scent.
I’m in Pocono,PA now. We have ducks in the lake and everywhere. and in a pool which is annoying. I wouldn’t want my kids to swim in duck poop. I don’t mind looking at them from a distance.
The other Oolong Scott sent me was 2013 Spring AA Grade “Hua Xiang Shui Xian”. I feel like this one is a step up to the Classic Rou Gui.
Thank you for reviewing this tea. i bought it but wasnt able to sample it. Im at my summer house now. But i tried Jing Tea shop version. it was very good but i dont think it was rich enough. JTS is medium roasted. Is YS heavy roasted?
I think this one is medium roasted, but think in the higher range of what you consider medium roast. There’s still some dark green color in the leaves, but not much cinnamon taste, it is mostly in the aftertaste. I bought a bag of this and Scott sent me sample of another Oolong which in my opinion knocks this one out of the table. I’ll update once I get home and let you know the name of that one in case you want to sample it. :)
Pls do. BTW have you tried that Ya Shi Xiang Dan Cong (duck shit). name is just gross. i wonder if its good.
LOL! I haven’t. I want to try it, but I have to wait until my next tea order. I find the name funny, and wonder if it does indeed smell like Duck shit. I used to visit a farming family as a little kid and I know the scent.
I’m in Pocono,PA now. We have ducks in the lake and everywhere. and in a pool which is annoying. I wouldn’t want my kids to swim in duck poop. I don’t mind looking at them from a distance.
The other Oolong Scott sent me was 2013 Spring AA Grade “Hua Xiang Shui Xian”. I feel like this one is a step up to the Classic Rou Gui.
thanks, will put it on wishlist ;)