Vietnam 'Ta' Oolong Tea

A Vietnamese green oolong nearly 7 years old, sent my way from Leafhopper. What does this session hold?

The dry leaf smells like… flowers, honey-cooked sweet potato, grass, halva. The warmed and rinsed leaf produce aromas of bitter grass, narcissus edging perfume, butter, halva.

The aroma is mild and floral and smells only of narcissus to me. That leads into the sip, where the tea becomes medium-bodied with a grassy-lettuce-stale herbs note that quickly turns tangy and full of butter. There’s a strong interplay in the aftertaste of narcissus, lemon and butter with the halva-like bitterness that morphs sweeter into the honey-cooked sweet potato of the dry leaf; throw in a dash of cinnamon. Later I notice jackfruit in the aftertaste.

The tea at times has a tendency to be rather drying and unpleasantly catching in the throat. It makes my body feel heavy, rather than the lightness that Taiwanese green oolong can bring.

For being a green oolong of such age, I think it’s held up okay, though to me it’s a stale tea. The tastes and aromas are nice but disjointed. Thank you, Leafhopper, for the opportunity to try!

I’m surprised not to see an entry for this tea on Steepster, although it could be the same as the Vietnam Flowery Oolong. Nonetheless, I’m making a separate entry just in case.

This tea was harvested in 2014 and was best before 2017. (Note to self: Go through your sample drawer more often.) I steeped 6 g of leaf in a 120 ml pot at the recommended 176F for 25, 20, 25, 30, 30, 45, 60, 90, 120, and 240 seconds.

The dry aroma is of orchids, lilacs, honey, toasted sesame seeds, grass, and sugarcane. The first steep has notes of orchid, lilac, lilies, other flowers, toasted sesame seeds, brown rice, sugarcane, and grass. The second steep is sweeter, with sugarcane, cream, lettuce, and those lovely florals predominating. The next couple steeps are still floral and toasty, like a cross between a green Dong Ding and a genmaicha. The next rounds have notes of butter, nuts, toasted sesame seeds, coriander, grass, and heady flowers. The session ends with nuts, grass, and veggies, with floral hints in the background.

I don’t know if this tea has changed with age, but even three years past its best before date, it’s held up surprisingly well. It’s too much like a green tea to be something I wholeheartedly enjoyed, but I’m glad to have finally tried it.