Four Season Oolong

I’m continuing to mow down Taiwanese oolongs today. I’ve had a 10 gram sample of this tea for several months now and wanted to finish it. I found this to be a subtle and refined oolong that came off as a tad reserved.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a quick rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 195 F water for 10 seconds. This infusion was followed by 11 subsequent infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 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 gave off mild aromas of cream, butter, sweetgrass, and fresh flowers. After the rinse, distinct aromas of honeysuckle, lilac, orange blossom, gardenia, and hyacinth appeared. I also caught scents of vanilla, steamed milk, and cucumber. The first infusion produced a nearly identical bouquet with slightly stronger scents of steamed milk and vanilla. I detected restrained notes of cream, butter, steamed milk, vanilla, and sweetgrass balanced by distant floral impressions and a hint of cucumber in the mouth. Subsequent infusions emphasized vanilla, sweetgrass, steamed milk, cream, butter, and cucumber notes. The floral impressions remained faint, though when they were more noticeable, the lilac, gardenia, and orange blossom seemed to be the most prominent. I also began to note hints of minerals, sweet pea, and sugarcane towards the finish. Later infusions emphasized butter, minerals, steamed milk, sweetgrass, cucumber, and sugarcane with hints of orange blossom, sweet pea, vanilla, and gardenia lurking in the background at various points.

This tea had a lot to offer despite its restraint. While the description provided above may give the impression that this was a very busy tea, it really was not. It just happened to offer something a little different with pretty much every infusion. The character of the tea was primarily deep, complex, and savory. It had quite a bit of body and a smooth, buttery texture in the mouth. For a budget oolong, this was surprising. Its emphasis on savory aromas and flavors and its subtlety marked it as being different from virtually all other four seasons oolongs that I have tried. In the end, I would recommend this one, but I cannot help feeling that it would perhaps appeal most to those who are already fairly familiar with Taiwanese oolongs.

Milk and butter abound here, growing stronger as the flavors settle on the tongue. The aftertaste is faintly floral, and the tea liquor has a soft plushness to it. While mild overall, this was a pleasant surprise that holds its own against premium gaoshan.

2015 Spring
I woke up craving some greens, so I decided to brew this up. Its taken me a long time to figure out where this tea came from, for the packaging has no name only the company’s logo, but with some good detective work I figured it out. The tea consists of some very small tightly rolled green pebbles. This tea gives off a fragrant scent of flowers and dry grass. This is a very “springy” tea. I warmed my gaiwan up and dumped a decent amount inside. I shook the gaiwan up and took in the syrupy aroma. My senses were filled with a nice thick nectar and grassy scent. I was noting a little bit of watercress and hydrangea in the background. The taste is sweet, crisp, and smooth. The flavor is dominated by floral qualities and grass. The taste progresses to a slight astringency and drying sensations. The body is healthy and full with spring qualities. The pouch was vacuum sealed, but it still has faltered a lot in the past year. I enjoyed this tea, but it was far too floral for me.

Another stellar oolong from BTT. I am surprised at how good it is considering this is a budget tea.

Steeped grandpa style, it bears a resemblance to bao zhong – flowery, light bodied, and very fragrant. Gongfu style though is where it really shows off its flavor. First steep bursts with lilac and gardenia and an unexpected sugarcane like sweetness. Intense floral aroma and honeyed notes. As the steeps progress, the sweetness subsides, a subtle milkiness sets in and it develops a slightly thicker mouth feel. The florals continue to get stronger leaving behind a lingering orange blossom like aftertaste.

Really enjoyable and miles above the four seasons oolongs you’ll find elsewhere. A great daily drinker at this price point.

Andrew is continuing the tour de oolong, and brought me by a nice stop. Smelling and tasting this reminded me of a description on the Mountain Tea: " it is light yet buttery with lingering flowery finish of morning gardenias and warm milk." I know it’s another company, but those are the words that stick out in my head. Gardenias and warm milk rings, granting an instant visual of spring. This one took a little bit to steep with an approximate tea spoon, about 50 seconds to get the full profile. I got it up to three, and the third one soaked for about four to five minutes to get the exact same taste.

A lot of the reactions to Four Seasons Oolongs are underwhelming, and I may have had one other before, but just that one. The only other standard I can measure this to is the Tie Guan Yin’s I’ve had. This Four Seasons had the same floral character a certain Tie Guan Yin with a more prominent milky note and mouth feel. Now, I only prefer Tie Guan Yin regulars slightly if, and only if they have the Hawaiian plumeria taste and aroma I long for. And this one serves as something altogether different, distinct, and good in its own place.

Andrew, I knew that you would convert me to the Beautiful Taiwan Tea Company. You have, and few might compete.

Note to Mountain Tea Company- there’s still a lot of stuff I want to try from you guys…
the same goes for Beautiful Taiwan and several others.

This is very light in flavor but it has a great mouth feel. It’s lightly floral, lightly green, just nice and easy drinking. It is quite creamy feeling, for sure.

I’m enjoying this.

One of my cats is curled up with me. He has been going absolutely crazy for my tea lately.

https://www.flickr.com/gp/cheri0627/z1M67n

Yes, he is licking the bag.

He is a goofball.