Evergreen Oolong, Spring 2018

Daylon generously sent me an entire vacuum-sealed ounce of this 2023 Long Feng Xia, which has been sitting in a box for just under a year. However, when I drink gaoshan samples, I drink them fast, so this tea was gone in just under a week. I steeped 6 g of leaf in 120 ml of 195F water for 25, 20, 25, 30, 30, 30, 45, 60, 90, 120, 180, and 240 seconds, plus some long, uncounted steeps.

The dry aroma is of orchid, lilac, sweet pea, and mild spices. The first steep has notes of orchid, lilac, sweet pea, cream, milk, sweet corn, grass, cookies, and hints of spice. Along with the cream and delicate florals, the second steep is a bit greener, though not bitter. The next couple steeps have headier orchid and honeysuckle notes, with some greenness in the background. With steeps five and six, the tea acquires notes of pine, spinach, and grass, though there’s still some sweetness and florality. The last few steeps are quite sappy and vegetal, with pine, spinach, grass, faint florals, and some sweetness.

Even though I usually don’t go for more vegetal oolongs, this one is highly drinkable and complex. The spicy florality in the first few steeps is lovely, and the sappy, piney note is reminiscent of other Shan Lin Xi oolongs. Thanks, Daylon, for sending me this tea!

I confess that I order this one to see what it was. My bets were on the obvious Ali Shan or Shan Lin Xi, though I leaned towards Shan Lin Xi since they tend to have more of an alpine finish than their Ali counterparts do. Sipping this, however, made me lean a little more towards Alishan at first because of the honey and cream notes, but the evergreen character made me think otherwise. Then I put the picture on the page, and saw the Long Feng label…that makes so much more sense.

Anyway, I have greatly enjoyed it so far because it’s got some great complexity. Brenden’s notes does this one the most justice; it’s scent and taste have the evergreen feel to it like fresh air in the woods, but the aftertaste is far from woodsy and is instead sweet. Sometimes, the tea was smooth and creamy, sometimes it was pure sweet, and other times, it was sweet with a hint of spice. Either way, the tea was green, viscous, and just in part, vegetal.

It was the same price as the Li Shan, and I continue to prefer this one right now. I do think this is worth a try, and I actually think that the price for this one is reasonable given how outrageous a Long Feng can be in expense. With notes to come, I will note that I highly recommend it.