Longfengxia High Mountain Winter Oolong Tea, Lot 471

Alright, here is the final review of the day. I’m clearly still working my way through all of these high mountain oolong samples from Taiwan Tea Crafts. Hopefully I can finish them within the next month. I have to say that the quality of Taiwan Tea Crafts’ offerings has greatly impressed me thus far. Like the vast majority of the other teas I have tried from them, this one was both excellent and unique.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a quick rinse, I steeped 6 grams of rolled tea leaves in 4 ounces of 195 F water for 8 seconds. This infusion was chased by 13 subsequent infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 10 seconds, 12 seconds, 16 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 emitted aromas of butter, cream, violet, and sugarcane. After the rinse, I found new aromas of custard, vanilla, and honey. The first infusion then revealed aromas of puff pastry and lemon zest. In the mouth, the tea liquor offered notes of cream, butter, custard, and sugarcane that were chased by touches of violet and puff pastry. The honey and lemon zest had yet to reveal themselves on the palate at this point. The following infusions then revealed honey and lemon zest in the mouth while new impressions of grass, spinach, coconut milk, minerals, coriander, almond, lychee, tangerine, seaweed, osmanthus, magnolia, pear, honeysuckle, and green apple emerged. The longer infusions at the tail end of the session offered lingering notes of minerals, cream, butter, and sugarcane underscored by hints of coriander, spinach, pear, seaweed, and green apple.

I’m beginning to get into Longfengxia oolongs and teas like this remind me of why that is. This was an extremely aromatic and flavorful tea with a ton of complexity and great body and texture in the mouth. I’m willing to bet that fans of high mountain oolongs would find a ton to enjoy in this tea. Here’s hoping that the remaining teas in my Longfengxia sampler will rival this one.

So this Longfengxia High Mountain Winter Oolong Lot 471 from 2015 was the first sample I opened up and enjoyed for many infusions. I really missed such great teas. The scent of the leaves is literally watering your mouth with such an intense green, fresh sweet and floral aromatic bouquet – it is just amazing how complex the world of tea could be. Taste-wise there is so much to praise about starting with steamed fresh Japanese softbread, almond cookies, a hint of coconut melting together with such a vanilla creaminess but with a subtle sour end to it. Everything develops such a fresh and clean environment like if you could actually taste the fresh air – the morning dew dripping from those juice intense green leaves. Within his profile there is also some green salad sharing his place with steaming edamame but also a slightly nutty flavor like almond with a hint of walnut to it. Sweet, Green, Fresh – next step Floral and Fruitiness. Here you can definitely taste the fine notes of lychee followed by a floral bouquet of osmanthus and a subtle touch of roses. Far in the last corner of the aftertaste you could possible taste a fine nuance of milk chocolate. This whole aroma stays persistent and long within your mouth while a warming tingling on your palatal and throat his teasing those regions of your tasting experience. Instead of losing some of the fragrance from one steeping to the next this fellow gets even stronger and stronger. This was definitely a warming tea which suits the winter season perfectly. Sharing this tea with friends and loved ones in front of a crackling fireplace would be the nicest scenery for such a wonderful oolong I could imagine.

The initial scent of these big green rolled leaves in a warm gaiwan reminds me of buttered freshly baked bread, magnolia flowers, and evergreens.

After the first infusion, the leaves have a much more intensely floral aroma with notes of strawberry jam and warm cream. The taste of this infusion was not at all what I was expecting, a metallic leafy green taste… think iron-dense greens like spinach. The finish is distinctly peachy and lingers on the tongue.

On the second infusion, the flavor is more intensely floral with notes of jasmine, cream, and even a bit of grapefruit.There’s an evergreen freshness that lays the undertones throughout the sip and the peach flavor lingers again.

The third infusion is even more evergreen and buttery. I’m enjoying this infusion the most so far. It’s rather sweet and flavorful, with just a hint of astringency and a floral finish. Overall, a fresh tasting vibrant oolong.