Tsui Yu Oolong Taiwan (TTES #13) Floral Jade Oolong Tea

Okay! I’m starting with my Fong Mong samples today! I picked this one out as a variety I haven’t tried before. The little leaf nuggets are smaller than the green oolongs I’ve had before. And they smell so floral and good! Like sun dried grass and lilacs. Mostly lilacs. I think.

I see that the instructions say to steep for 6 minutes. Eep. That’s a long time isn’t it? Maybe it’s for western steeping. I’m doing my usual gong fu style so I think I’ll do it my own way for now.

First steep: mmm… lightly floral. There’s a bit of something like cooked summer squash. There’s a light fresh sweetness with a clean finish. This might be a winner as a cold brewed tea. This tea definitely tastes like summer harvest vegetables to me.

Second Steep: More floral and lightly vegetal. It’s delicate and sweet. Vaguely fruity. I can’t place that fruitiness. Maybe a subtropical fruit of some sort. This tea is really impressive so far. The smell and flavor makes me think of a garden of fragrant blooms and fresh summer squash.

Third & fourth Steep: I combined these two. It’s getting a bit more vegetal now, but the floral character is still very strong! This tea is well named! It’s still very light and refreshing. Hmm..I think I’m detecting something like apple skin. It doesn’t leave any lingering dryness or creaminess or thickness on the tongue like other teas do. It is, however, smooth and comforting going down. Very very good.

Steep five: I spilled some tea on my pants. Now I smell awesome. :) The veggie and floral flavors seem to reach an equilibrium in this infusion. Still tastes light, fresh and lovely. I’m beginning to tire of this tea though. Ah, my fickle tastebuds.
The leaves have also opened up quite a bit now. They smell fantastic! Like the best smelling blossoms ever grown. And this is why I will always love green oolongs.

I’m going to save these leaves for later. Judging from their appearance, I can probably get one more steep from them, at least.

Short review – Wow!

Long review for those who like more -

Today I finally got to slow down enough to give this tea time for a proper review. This sample was generously provided by Fong Mong Tea Shop. Again, I am impressed with the packaging. The pouch is heavy duty, the sample is vacuum packed, and inside is an oxygen absorber to help maintain freshness. There is 6 grams of tea inside. It all fit in one spoon. I was tempted to use all of it but just in case I mess up something I decided to save half for a later steep. Turns out, 3g is a lot of tea. The leaf is rolled into very tight tiny dark green balls that really expand. The dry leaf did not have much aroma to me.

I brought my water up to temperature and poured over the leaf. Immediately an amazing floral scent began to fill the room. Fong Mong recommends a six minute steep. I could not bring myself to steep it that long and went only three. The liquor is extremely clear and a pale yellow.

Since my reaction and following review are a bit different than the others, let me state up front that I added sweetener at this point. I usually wait until I have at least tasted the tea straight. Today I knew I was going to add it eventually so I just got it over with.

The first sip is electric, with a lot going on all at once. When I say electric I mean it literally. There was a numbness and a feeling of shock at the very beginning that I have never experienced before and it was not in later sips. The sip was very floral and sweet. At the same time it struck me as salty. Again this was only an initial reaction. The press and cup were both cleaned and well rinsed just prior to the tasting so it was not something left over from a previous brew. This has the lingering aftertaste typical of green oolongs. One Steepsterite describes this as a latex glove taste. I can make that connection but it is far more pleasant and green than it sounds. To me it is more like the taste of the white part of a watermelon rind.

As the cup cools I am getting a better sense of the flavors. It remains intensely floral at the front of the sip. Mid sip there is an underlying earthy quality. The floral notes pick back up towards the end and this dissolves into the lingering aftertaste. I am not sure this qualifies as milky but it does flow smoothly across the tongue. Another thing I am noticing is a dusty sensation on the throat and a tingling in the checks. I would normally associate this with astringency but it does taste astringent.

As the cup reaches near room temperature I get a mineral taste. I hear that description used often but this is the first time I have felt compelled to use the term myself. Interesting.

With the second cup the leaf is still not completely unfurled, yet it hangs in the press making it look full of leaf. It looses the earthy note and the dusty feel on this cup, and settles in at smooth and lingering. By the third cup, the leaf has completely unfurled. It makes for a lot of leaf. I stopped with the fourth steep, making 48oz and it could have gone more. Still a lot of sweet flavor. I am glad I had the time to spend with this one. It is quite complex. It is also quite tasty. This is a very good tea.

This is my last sample fron Fong Mong Tea and I would like to say Thank You for the generous samples. :))

The steeping wet leaves really let me know this was a greener, more floral tea. The wet leaves had a lightly roasted aroma, but what struck me more was the immediate floral sweetness. My nose led my mind and I couldn’t escape thoughts of honeysuckle and then orchids. There was also fruity notes present. Cup color was a very light yellow, with a light creamy, sweet, and floral nose. The flavors were light, with a very pleasant and balanced smoothness of florals and fruits.

The wet leaf aromas intensified somewhat in the second cup, while still remaining mild. Light, roasty, & milky, with a peach-like fruitiness, cooling to reveal sweet honeysuckle/orchid florals. Surprisingly, the cup color and aroma is still quite mild, with only slightly deeper creamy sweetness and florality. The flavors mimicked the aromas, with the creamy smootness and peaches clinging to my palate, whispering a gentle “Hello”. [1:45 at 195F].

My last cup was even more gentle all around, from the leaf, to aromas, to the flavors on my tongue. Subtle fruit and floral qualities made this cup sweet, smooth and relaxing. [5 minutes at 212F].

This cup was the most mild of all the Fong Mong samples, and that’s not a distraction from this Blue Jade, and its serene, fruity, & floral goodness. Great for when I need a tea for relaxation, and when I’m in a contemplative mood. This Oolong is like a relative that doesn’t necessarily demand respect, but teaches it, if one is only willing to listen and learn. :))

Cupped & Reviewed: Tuesday, July 10, 2012.

Backlog from earlier today when Steepster was down. I logged on to find steeping suggestions for this tea and there was no Steepster! So glad it’s back up. I took a few notes with this one, which I am also glad to have gotten a sample of from Fong Mong Tea. Thanks!

It’s been a while since I’ve had a really floral oolong, and I was looking forward to it. I used the entire sample in my 12oz mug because it was close to what I usually use for oolongs. The recommended steep time was 6 minutes which seems really long! I just couldn’t bring myself to do it, and I went with 3 minutes instead. The dry leaf smelled lightly floral and green, and when steeped it smelled really fantastic, very floral, with nice saffron buttery notes. Definitely an aroma I like in an oolong.

The taste was surprisingly light… light enough that I wonder if I should have gone the full 6 minutes! But what was there was very pleasant, nice and floral and a bit green. It was just asking for a hint of sweetness there, but it didn’t come out this time. Or maybe a thicker, butterier background to the florals. I bet you could play around with steeping parameters on this one and make it really sing. Glad I got a chance to try it!

This is quite lovely! It has a lovely Orchid note to it, which reminds me of my oldest daughter who presented me with a gorgeous orchid plant for Mother’s Day. A purple orchid, of course, as purple is my favorite color (and her name is Amethyst!)

The first two infusions produced a cup that is sweet and floral. Overall, it’s quite delicate in flavor, but, in its softness it is smooth and quite indulgent. Luxurious. I notice that as it cools, the flavors mute a bit, so it’s best to drink this one while it’s hot.

Subsequent infusions produced a stronger flavor, not quite so delicate and soft. Very floral – very orchid-like in taste. It is sweet, with hints of vegetation, and even a soft buttery note in the background. Very pleasant.

I have no idea where my big long review for this went! My browser collapsed! Eeeek!

Anyhow…this is very nice! It’s Clean, Crisp, Smooth, Sweet, a little fruity – almost like a Jackfruit/BubbleYum type flavor, florally-sweet, a bit on the greener side of the oolongs, and oh-so-yummy!

The cooler it gets – the sweeter and juicier it seems to be!

I like this very much!

This is a sample from Fong Mong Tea provided free for review. Thank you!

I appreciate that Fong Mong Tea has respect for their product and considers it worth protecting. The tea arrives in a small, vacuum sealed pouch with an oxygen absorber to keep the tea fresh.

I steeped this one for the full six minutes as suggested by the company. Even with the long steep time, the tea was not bitter or astringent. It is not strongly floral or fruity, though there are hints of both, and it certainly isn’t a roasty oolong. I think that a lightly sweet, vegetal broth flavor is the best way I can describe this.

This is so light that I am sorry I didn’t wait until I had time to do multiple gong fu steepings. Instead, I made this Western style, using the 6 grams of tea in about 12 ounces of water and resteeping once so far. I plan to resteep once more.

For my personal tastes, I definitely prefer the Taiwan Pou Chong I tried yesterday.

Thank you, Fong Mong, for the opportunity to try your teas!

Thanks to Fong Mong for the sample. I steeped it for a little less than the time suggested as it seemed like a long time for an oolong. There was a slight vegetal smell to the dry and steeping leaves as well as something flowery too. The taste as others have noted was slightly sweet and floral. I enjoyed it. It was also very smooth (I had it iced since we are “enjoying” quite the heatwave in Upstate, NY! I have enough left (I hope) for a hot cup of this that I will need to enjoy in my basement!

Thanks again to Fong Mong Tea for this sample!

I tried brewing this one Western style. Didn’t feel like going online to check brewing instructions, so I used the whole six-gram sample, water somewhere around 180-190, steeped for 4ish minutes. Sort of my general oolong parameters.

It’s good! Online I see that Fong Mong recommends a 6-minute steep, and I might push it up there for a second steep. It’s a bit weak. But then again, I don’t mind pale teas.

The scent is creamy and almost like fresh-baked bread. It’s not butter so much as it is wheat. There’s a floral taste at the tip of the flavor, and a light vegetal aftertaste. I’ll probably update after a second or third steep, but for now – delicious!

Free sample from Fong Mong Tea.

Upon opening the packet the first thing I noticed was the oxygen absorber pad. That’s an interesting bit of attention to detail that I have not encountered before. Then I looked at the little green nuggets of tea. Smaller than I am used to, but the smell is lovely and grassy with a heady undertone of flower meadow that bodes well for the flavour of the tea.

As others have noted, the steeping guidelines indicate a 6 minute steep! I echoed their “Eeps” at that, so I started with 3g of tea in my 140ml gaiwan and an initial steep of 2 minutes. As I poured the hot water onto the tea, I was hit with a beautiful tropical garden aroma that built up as the tea steeped.

1st steep: the flavour was delicate, light and floral. It lacked a little depth, probably because of my short steeping time, but it was still lovely. The nuggets had not fully unfurled by the end of this steep, which may have been part of the problem with the lack of depth.

2nd steep: I increased the steep time to 4 minutes and suddenly the tea was right there. Orchid notes combined with lychee flavours to give a beautiful tea that made my tongue very happy. The sweetness lingered on my tongue for ages and I also noted a calming feeling in my body.

3rd steep: Up to 6 minutes now. The tea tasted lighter than the previous steep but still very pleasant and the sweetness still lingered on my tongue.

4th steep: 6 minutes again. Definitely past the strongest flavours now but the tea still reminds me of a walk in a tropical garden. The leaves have filled my gaiwan and smell lovely and the tea is light and Summery. The sweet aftertaste still lingers. I stopped here for now, but I shall return to the gaiwan later for more to see how long the tea will go on for.

Overall, I really enjoyed this tea and I am pleased that I have enough left over in the sample for another good session. I reckon I shall take the plunge and try steeping it for the recommended 6 minutes next time to see how that works out.