First of all, I’m back! The hell that was the end of a busy semester is over, and now I actually have time to post about my tea instead of just drinking it quickly to keep me functioning through classes. Anyway, I got this tea in my very first purchase from Verdant Tea about 18 months ago, and the only other thing left from that sample is some Farmers Co-op ‘03 sheng. This was actually one of my favorite tea, which I saved since it was that good. Of course, I haven’t tried it in at least 6 months, so who knows how my preferences have developed.
I put the leaves in my Finum brew basket, and used near-boiling water to steep the leaves for 30 seconds. The aroma is a bit less bright, for lack of a better term, but still remarkably floral. The flavor is really remarkable, initially tasting like a normal floral Taiwanese Oolong, but then the sweetness starts to grow, and reaches an amazing level before slowly fading away over the next minute. The mouthfeel of the tea is extremely smooth, yet at the same time it is also a bit creamy. It actually makes me really sad that I only have enough of this left for two sessions if I stretch it, since I don’t know when I’ll have another orchid Oolong this good again.