2018 Zhangshu Hu Ali Shan Oolong

Thank you for this one Leafhopper!

Session parameters: 15 sec rinse with 3 oz, 5 oz here on out or less, then 20 sec, 10, 25, 35, 45, and then I went into more western parameters in the minutes. Brews were super forgiving, and pushing the tea got more rounded flavor.

It’s pretty unique, and there were more Tie Guan Yin characteristics in it. Tasting it blind, earlier steeps were nutty, but very heavy in orchid and woody florals. Early steeps were extremely light leaning in a floral watercress profile with not bitterness, only slight lettucy profiles and maybe cucumber. There is also something subdued about it that almost makes me think mineral, as in mineral water that’s light. Sometimes, there is a little bit of pithiness. Otherwise, I couldn’t quite pin down the sweeter note. It leaned towards water chestnut personally on the surface, maybe grapefruit or apricot territory if I’d describe any fruit. Watercress and orchid for sure in the early steeps, more pronounced oolong floral soup in the later ones with a hint of fruitiness, definitely fresh lettuce or spinach and growing green bitterness sneaking in. Not prominent, however.

Reading the other notes from leafhopper and TheTea, I can kinda see some of the other qualities like the almond and blood orange, but it’s too vaguely citrusy rather than a full citrus fro me.

Either way, I liked this tea a lot because it was unique and a greener one. Apart of me wonders if there was a light roast to preserve it in some way. I liked what it could do anyway.

Inspired by a recommendation from Liquid Proust, I bought six teas from this company, which I’d never heard of, for Christmas. Even though I’ve tried only two of them, it’s safe to say I made a good decision. Following the instructions on the website, I steeped 6 g of leaf in a 120 ml teapot at 212F for 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 50, 60, 90, 120, and 240 seconds.

The dry leaf smells floral, nutty, grassy, and faintly citrusy. I was wary of steeping it in boiling water, but this tea can apparently take it. I get notes of grass and sweet citrus, followed by lighter notes of nuts, orchids, and cream. Even hitting it with boiling water, there’s no astringency. The citrus becomes kind of like a mandarin orange in the second steep and a slight bitterness emerges. The citrus morphs into grapefruit in the third steep, and I get vegetal hints that remind me of spinach. Swishing it around in the mouth reveals the roasted almond in the description. I can kind of see how the body can be described as oily, though I’m not very good at detecting such things.

I let the fourth steep cool and it’s vegetal and bitter with some nutty undertones; it’s probably best to drink this tea hot. As the session winds down through the next five steeps, the tea loses the citrus but retains the floral, creamy, vegetal, and grassy flavours.

I usually find Alishan oolongs to be all about the florals, but this one had refreshingly diverse flavours. (The citrus was a particularly nice touch.) The brewing method let me see how the flavours evolved, although I could have extended the steeps farther apart near the end of the session. It was well worth the $16 I paid for 50 grams.