Gaoshan Qingxiang Lishan High Mt. Oolong Tea

I used 3g – half the sample – 12oz water at about 85C for 6 minutes. The smell of the wet leaf is vegetal like steamed broccoli. The liquor in the cup is orange yellow in color. The taste is a bit sweet and floral. As I understand it this tea is grown along with pear trees so it will absorb the sweet fragrance of the fruit. This is a lightly oxidized tea with no hint of smoke or roastiness. It is slightly astringent but not bitter. I notice it is leaving my lips feeling numb and tingly. The aftertaste is very fresh and green. As I continue to sip, I notice the mouth feel has a light milky quality and the taste is mildly buttery.

I got three steeps. This is pretty tasty. I wish I had done my homework before tasting this as realizing the scarcity and difficult conditions in which it is grown would have enhanced the experience.

The first tea to go into my yixing pot! I’d been saving my samples from Fong Mong Tea until I got one. Here it is! https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/315454_3587175127038_22846941_n.jpg It’s not even the one I ordered but that’s okay, I like this one better than that one!

I put the entire sample in, aiming for 1g of tea to 1 oz of water. Steeped it for about 40 seconds. This first steep is light but so sweet. It almost reminds me of a milk oolong. Very creamy, and just really really sweet.

Second steep! Now that the leaves are opening up a lot the volume is right where I want it. I’m pouring into a 6 oz cup and now it’s perfect. The liquor looks like I’m steeping a green tea rather than an oolong.

The second steep is very floral and also very green. I’m getting pepper, really reminiscent of pink peppercorns. The third steep is very similar, with a bit less of the pepper. It makes for a really intriguing combination with the floral flavors, that’s for sure.

More to come, it’s time to stop procrastinating on a paper for at least 20 minutes!

This smells like a fresh summer meadow!

It’s a greener tasting Lishan-Oolong – that’s for sure! I’m totally ok with that, too, btw!

Mostly green-oolong-tasting…slightly vegetal, slightly floral, a speck of pepper taste! Energizing! YAY! Feels like Freedom in a Cup!

Backlog:

A really lovely LiShan. Silky, sweet, creamy, and luxurious to sip. I feel as though I’m indulging when I’m drinking a tea like this. It’s so good.

Please read my full-length review for details on each cup (I managed 10 infusions from one measurement of leaves!): http://sororiteasisters.com/2014/06/26/lishan-high-mountain-oolong-tea-from-fong-mong-tea/

A really remarkable tea.

I tried this tea both using flash steeping and long steeps. With flash steeping, I used 3g of tea and 60ml of water, gradually increasing as the leaves opened up. I rinsed the leaves before infusing, with a first infusion time of 15 seconds, adding 15 seconds with each infusion.

The liquor started out very pale during the first few infusions, gradually taking a more golden yellow hue as the leaves unfurled. The dry leaf didn’t let me know what I was in store for when I drank this tea. The flavour was distinctly sweet and fruity, like pears or peaches, and of course, as this is a green oolong it had those familiar vegetal notes. It was also super smooth and had a milky mouthfeel.

I carried on for seven infusions using this method and was surprised again at how consistent the flavour was – something readily found with Fong Mong’s excellent teas. It almost seemed like you could keep reusing these leaves forever, but at the seventh the flavour was beginning to fade a little. I chose to make the eighth infusion a marathon and allowed it to steep for 10 whole minutes. The result was even more flavourful than I expected! I thoroughly enjoyed this tasting.

Lishan is among my favourite oolongs, and if it weren’t so darn expensive, I’d drink it a lot more often. Thanks to Fong Mong for the sample. I steeped 6 g of leaf in a 120 ml teapot at 190F for 25, 20, 25, 30, 30, 45, 60, 90, 120, and 240 seconds.

The dry leaf smells promisingly of heady flowers and stonefruit. The first steep is mild, with notes of brown sugar, orchid, herbs, grass, and butter. A soft fuzzy peach emerges in the second steep, along with stronger grassy and balsam notes. There are also hints of spice. The next couple steeps have a great balance of peach, apricot, spices, balsam, and veggies. As the tea fades, the vegetal and balsam notes take over, though it doesn’t become overly astringent.

This is a lovely fruity Lishan with decent longevity. I particularly enjoy those peach/apricot flavours, which, along with tropical fruit notes, are the Holy Grail of my oolong quest. Given its price point, this tea provides amazing value.

It cupped out light green liquor with great clarity. The taste is quite floral and light which is quite expected of any nice quality High Mountain Oolongs. It’s quite sweet and has a mellow mouthfeel. The aftertaste was long enough to leave a nice refreshing floral touch in the mouth.

The liquid has a bright, light yellow color. The aroma has scents of stewed apples and pears, orchids, brown sugar, and touches of Ceylon cinnamon and floral honey. The body is light-medium, with a honey-like texture. There is no trace of bitterness, and just a touch of astringency. The taste has notes of stewed apples and pears, floral honey, orchids, and lighter notes of brown sugar and Ceylon cinnamon. The aftertaste is incredible, carrying the fruit and honey notes, then evolving into an excellent orchid essence left on the breath.

Thanks to Fong Mong for the sample.

I started by brewing this in my yixing. Starting with a quick rinse I got a clear pale yellow liquor that had a strong aroma of nutmeg, apricots and peaches. I was actually a little surprised how intense the aroma was, much stronger than other Lishan’s, especially the spice. I know the yixing brings out the spice notes more intently.. but wow..

First infusion I got a slightly darker liqour with an even more intense spice aroma, nutmeg and cinnamon and maybe a teeny bit of allspice. Still getting that stonefruit aroma as well, and the flavor is floral, and stonefruits, which is what you would expect from high mountain Taiwan oolong.

Second infusion was much the same, though the apricot is coming out more strongly now including a very slightly tangy note. That spicey sweet soft flavor is just incredible… I really love the way yixing’s make high mountain oolongs really pop.

Third infusion and the color is staying consistent, a pale golden yellow color with that sweet spicy peach aroma. Its so smooth and just leaves the slightest tingle on your tongue. Its getting sweeter now and that tang is fading, but there is still a hint of it there. The tea is definitely getting sweeter as the infusions progress.

Fourth infusion and its getting harder to describe the flavor and aroma, I wish you all could taste this. Im just going to say, this is the best Lishan Ive had yet. IM going to brew this out at least 6 or so more times, its seems a very strong steeper.

Highly recommended for fans of high mountain tea.