Gui Fei Oolong

I really really disliked this one last time I tried it. Per Stacy’s suggestion, I steeped at a lower temp this time around.

I made this gongfu style, 2.5 tsp for 5 oz with a 5 second initial rinse. I ended up drinking this tea over the course of three days, ultimately getting somewhere between 15 and 20 steeps. I never did grow to like it. I just wanted to see how many steeps I could get out of it. I took notes on the first four steeps, but after that the cups were so similar that it seemed redundant to take detailed notes.

first steep – 180f, 30 seconds
It’s hard to find the right word for the smell. Mineral, maybe. It tastes of dirt and that mineral(?) note. There’s almost a saltiness to it. The mouthfeel is heavy.

second steep – 180f, 40 seconds
While the first steep was very pale, this one is a deep orange. It has the same earthy mineral scent as the first steep. Just like the color, the scent is deeper in this steep. The flavor is about the same.

third steep – 185f, 60 seconds
This steep is actually slightly paler than the second one, almost a honey color. The smell is earthy now. That mineral/rock note has scurried off from the scent. Aaand apparently it ran right into the flavor. Ugh. Somebody recently asked on the message board what a mineral note tastes like and the first response was “go lick a rock”. Yup, this tastes like licking a rock. Or, more accurately, what I imagine a rock would taste like. With the exception of thoroughly washed fruits, veggies, tubers, and legumes, I make it a general rule not to lick things that come off the ground. So there’s that.

fourth steep – 180f, 30 seconds
This steep is SO much better! More earthy than rocky, with a hint of sweetness at the end. It’s actually better when it cools to room temperature. It takes on a more toasty character with a smooth mouthfeel and pleasantly fresh aftertaste.

I found that the brew consistently came out best at a 30 second steep between 180-190f. The flavor was always earthy and rocky, but it got smoother over time. It did grow on me but never quite got to “delicious”. I am very impressed by the high number of good steeps that I got out of it. No rating because I’m not sure how to split the difference between blegh taste and impressive steepability. Also because I think someone who enjoys dirt & rock notes would totally enjoy this tea.

I love cupboard surprises! This little one was lurking in the back of the kitchen cupboard.

And it is good.

Maybe not blow me away good, but seriously solid.

Sweet honey, a bit of sweet and fruity lychee essence, and a very mellow toastiness — in a toasted nut kind of way — all wrapped inside this mildly thick, syrupy-like liquor.

Mmm.

This is one of my favorites from Butiki; I don’t know why I’ve never logged it before. It’s nice and lightly roasty—usually I like my oolongs to be super roasty, but for some reason this one ticks all my boxes even though it’s not. It’s light and sweet, with a wonderfully fruity aftertaste—maybe apple, I guess. And that leafy oolong floral note that ruins so many teas for me is happily absent. I’ve been hoarding what’s left of the ounce I got in my first Butiki order (which was over a year ago at this point), but I’m trying to stop doing that—hence this cup. This is definitely something I’ll reorder in the future.

Jenier order arrived today. I’d forgotten they did that, but when the very first thing I see when I open the box is a small envelope with my name on it and containing a little hand-written ‘hope you enjoy, thanks for your order’ card, I get a happy! Also, I bought another 50g pouch of their golden monkey, but the actual pouch weighs 120g. They did the same thing last time when I also bought a supposedly 50g pouch of golden monkey. I’m definitely not complaining, but… they must have really poor scales in Scotland.

This is an older one I found in my Haven’t Yet Posted About Box (which needs a better name) and it was Sil who shared it with me.

I don’t know anything at all about this oolong, so I had to look it up. Apparently it’s had leafhoppers. Isn’t that the same thing that happens to Oriental Beauty? I’m not too keen on OB these days, actually, but there can be several other factors involved with that. It would be silly to expect immediate dislike just because they have leafhoppers in common. It could be loads of other things that make OB not really appeal to me.

This one looks darker than OB. Has it been roasted a little bit? It smells like it has. It also smells extraordinarily like peaches! And a little nutty as well, but mostly peach or some similar stone fruit.

Okay, this is already seeming much better than OB! Isn’t it strange how the more conscious you are to NOT compare with a specific other kind of tea, the more you find it impossible to avoid it?

At first when I sip I get a borderline sharp bitterness. Perhaps I oversteeped it just a little bit? This note turns into a sort of coal-y thing on the aftertaste, like burnt toast where it has been attempted to scrape the worst of the burn away. This, for me, is the top note.

Underneath that it’s gone all fruity. Again I’m reminded mostly of peaches or similar, but I’m not really getting this honey note that the description mentions. Perhaps that’s the note that is coming out as peaches for me.

The bottom note is very fleeting. It’s only sort of there if you squint, but if I really pay attention I can find a whiff of something nutty there. Just for a moment before the other notes completely takes over. I can’t find it on every sip no matter how closely I pay attention, but every once in a while, there it is. I’m thinking of a relatively sweet-flavoured nut like almond or hazelnut. I associate those with a modicum of sweetness. (Walnut is more sort of tree-like for me and not sweet at all. I’m not sufficiently familiar with other types of nuts to be able to categorise them. I’m not much of a nut-eater really. I’m merely a nut. :p )

This is rather nice, and not like OB at all. That just goes to prove that it’s not the leafhopper effect that makes OB less interesting for me.

Thank you so much Courtney for sending me that one.
I love it, this is typically the teas I appreciate : creamy, buttery and with touches of honey and herbal hints.
I prefer it as it cools because the buttery note and the mellowness of the tea is renforced.

Thanks again Courtney

Sadly this is the last of this tea., at least for now. I have not yet written about this one. I really shouldn’t have been allowed to try this one as early on in my oolong exploration, but I am glad I circled back to it tonight. I started tasting oolongs with a milk oolong and then this was my second one. I have since fallen in love with roasty oolongs, and I am beginning to appreciate the more green oolongs and now I am drinking this again. This is so interesting. It has the toastyness that I like, but there is this sweet, fruity tangy taste as you drink this tea that seems a bit out of character for an oolong. I also get a very strong spice, although I can’t put my finger on the flavor. It wasn’t in the first infusion, but it came out strong in later infusions. coriander? cinnamon? I think I will have to have some more of this tea eventually. I have so many Butiki Teas to explore I am not sure this one will make the cut for the next order, but I hope we will meet again some day Gui Fei!