This was the other tea I received in my Longfengxia sampler tin last year. Like the winter oolong from that set, I finished my sample of this tea back around the start of May. Oddly, I reviewed that one first on Steepster, but I actually tried this tea and wrote a rough draft of a review for it prior to the winter oolong. Even though this was not the last tea I tried from that sampler, it is the last of the trio to get a review here on Steepster. Like the other two, I found a lot to love about this tea, and that is really saying something considering I normally prefer the high mountain oolongs produced from the winter picking to those produced from the spring picking.
I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a brief rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 195 F water for 10 seconds. This infusion was chased by 12 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 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 sugarcane, cream, butter, and vanilla with some vague floral hints in the background. After the rinse, I found emerging aromas of custard, violet, and lilac. The first infusion introduced some umami character and stronger, fuller floral aromas to the nose. In the mouth, the tea liquor presented notes of cream, butter, and sugarcane chased by grass, spinach, coriander, kale, umami, and vanilla impressions. Subsequent infusions saw the nose turn more vegetal, as the vegetal notes I found in the mouth at the tail end of the initial steep made themselves known on the nose. Violet, lilac, and custard belatedly emerged in the mouth alongside new impressions of lychee, Asian pear, pineapple, green apple, minerals, orange zest, steamed rice, and seaweed. The last infusions offered lingering notes of minerals, cream, and butter backed by hints of umami, sugarcane, steamed rice, and spinach.
Of the three Taiwan Tea Crafts Longfengxia offerings I sampled, this was by far the quirkiest, liveliest, and most fascinating overall. It was not my favorite of the three (I still have a huge soft spot for the winter oolongs), but it was the most memorable since it stuck with me longer than the others. I know I expressed this viewpoint in my review for this tea’s winter sibling, but make a point of checking out some of Taiwan Tea Crafts’ Longfengxia offerings. The few I have tried have all been more or less exceptional.
Flavors: Butter, Coriander, Cream, Custard, Floral, Grass, Green Apple, Kale, Lychee, Mineral, Orange Zest, Pear, Pineapple, Rice, Seaweed, Spinach, Sugarcane, Umami, Vanilla, Violet
