Daylon generously sent me a humongous box of tea a while ago, and I couldn’t resist cheating on my green tea marathon with some oolong. I steeped 6 g of leaf in 120 ml of 195F water for 25, 20, 25, 30, 30, 30, 45, 60, 90, 120, and 240 seconds.
The dry aroma is of orchid, spiced cookies, grass, and faint fruit. The first steep has notes of apple, orchid, narcissus, spiced cookies, butter, and grass. The next steep has a bit of stonefruit along with the apple, nutmeg, and spring flowers. Steeps three and four add custard and some melon. By steep five, the tea starts getting fairly grassy, though there’s still a lot of tangy apple and florals. The final steeps have notes of grass, spinach, and florals.
This tea has an unusual profile for a Da Yu Ling. Maybe my rating is a bit harsh, but I found it to become quite grassy after just a few steeps. I suspect this DYL might be past its prime, but it was still pleasant after all that green tea. Thanks again to Daylon for the box!
Flavors: Apple, Butter, Cookie, Custard, Floral, Grass, Melon, Narcissus, Nutmeg, Orchid, Spices, Spinach, Stonefruit, Tangy, Vegetal