Wen Shan Pouchong Oolong Tea

Backlog:

Deliciously delicate and yet so full of flavor. I love teas like this, that have so much complexity … so many layers to explore.

Silky and creamy texture, slightly vegetative and sweet.

Here’s my full-length review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2013/10/03/wen-shan-pouchong-oolong-tea-yezi-tea/

Took advantage of Yezi’s three free samples, and got the package in the mail yesterday with a surprise pouchong sample.

Very fresh and sweet with mild spinach and honeysuckle flavors. Just a small sip fills the mouth with its buttery flavor and aroma. Really nice, and one of their more affordable teas to boot!

I made a little pot of this Pouchong one afternoon along with another Yezi tea, their Dong Ding Winter Peak. It was fun to taste the two side-by-side. I am just becoming better acquainted with oolongs and figured that doing an “oolong tasting” of different kinds would be a good way for me to pick up on the nuances of flavor between them.

I steeped this Pouchong in a ceramic teapot for 4 minutes. The color of the liquor, like the Dong Ding, was a lovely golden hue. The aroma and taste was of sweet cream, honey and lemon, with hints of vanilla and pine; and it was also slightly vegetal like green tea. Oh gosh it was splendid. I think I was in heaven.

Needless to say, I am really, really enjoying these oolongs that share similarities with green tea. I like green tea, but sometimes it can be a little sharp, a little too vegetal, so I have to be in the right mood for it. Oolongs, or at least the few I’ve tried so far, seem to contain the best of what I like about green tea yet with flavors entirely their own, and they are just oh so mellow and sweet and delicious! How have I not tried these before? Wow, have I been living in a bubble or what?! I am SO pleased with this tea and wish I could make a million pots of it and drink it all day long, morning, noon, and night. Food? Don’t need it. All the flavor I could want is already here, contained in this cup.

Another day when I have time I would like to do shorter and more frequent steeps to separate out and pinpoint the flavors. That should enable me to provide a more thorough analysis. For instance, I think I detect some floral notes, but which flowers?

Very nice Yezi. Dry leaf notes of dried cherry and wisps of flowery bouquets. I brewed according to guidelines a 5g sample in 150ml gaiwan. The wet leaf aromas where like opening my brain to Proust. Dried cherry aromas are now forefront with yellow cake and sequoia. The flavor is indeed delicate but certainly not understated. These farmers should be kings for growing such a nice tea. Its even keel, and the perfumes do not over power you nose or palate. I had 6 steeps with number three exhibiting all the beauty this tea has. Thanks for the samples Yezi Teas.

Smells like a buttery TGY, but has a delightfully understated flavor all its own. The initial flavor is not exceptional, like a typical green oolong, but it’s very smooth and develops well.

From a Yezi sample. Yezi’s color coding system suggests this is a higher oxidation oolong, but the leaves are quite green in appearance. This is a good tea. After the first 15 second steep, I got notes of peach, apricot and butter. On the second 40 second steep, I picked up on the slight vegetal and grassy flavors that others mentioned, though it really is very subtle. That’s good because I dislike highly vegetal tea. It smells slightly floral, and it’s not roasted. In terms of taste, it is more similar in flavor to a darker Oriental Beauty style oolong than a green tea, which is good. I guess that probably suggests they’re telling the truth about the oxidation level. I like it a lot, but I find Yezi generally to be a bit overpriced for everyday drinkers.

Lasted for 3 gongfu steeps, but I pushed it to 4 with disappointing results.

I have a conundrum, I am very hungry and need to get out of my chair to do some things, but there is a sleeping cat in my lap. When I try to move she makes this pitiful mew and starts whapping me with her tail, for such a tiny cat her tail is ridiculously strong…so here I sit with my leg and backside falling more asleep because I don’t want to wake my cat up. I am hoping that me typing (and therefore making the arm her head is on move) will wake her up and send her to find a more comfy spot, but consider she is drooling and super content, I think I am stuck for a while.

Today’s is Thursday, so that means it is time to plunge into the depths of my notebook piles to have a Throw Back Thursday review, specifically Yezi Tea’s Wen Shan Pouchong Oolong Tea. This #TBT reminds me of three things: 1. I need to drink more tea from Yezi, 2. I need to drink more Pouchong (or Boa Zhong, dialect depending) and 3. I need to dedicate a Yixing to Pouchong because having a Yixing teapot dedicated to each kind of Oolong is a fantastic idea. So, this Pouchong is from the Wen Shan district of Taiwan, which explains the name. The aroma of the curly green leaves is like a spring themed explosion in my nose, there are intense notes of orchid, honeysuckle and lilac accompanied by fresh vegetation, mown hay, and a hint of sweet chestnut at the finish. It is powerful and heady, like being in a humid conservatory where everything is floral and intense.

Into the gaiwan it goes, this was back when all I had was one gaiwan, before my crazed addiction to gaiwans really took off. Once giving it a steeping I can say that the entire room smells like flowers, my notebook is very clear that it was intense, and also the letters list off the page a little, I remember this tea having an affect on me, it was my first Pouchong! There are notes of orchid, honeysuckle, wildflower honey, and a hint of orange blossoms, it is so sweet and heady. The liquid is unsurprisingly very floral, the expected notes of honeysuckle and orchid are present, but there is still the hint of orange blossoms and chestnut, blending the wet and dry leave’s notes.

First steeping, the taste is sweet and floral, I would even go as far as to say this tea is sublime…even if saying that feels a little silly. The mouthfeel is smooth, not as creamy as some oolongs can be, but more like the smoothness of a green tea, the taste while being intensely floral is also delicate, that is probably my favorite things about Pouchongs, how they balance the heady and delicate so elegantly. There are notes of orchid and honey suckle, along with orange blossoms and fresh vegetation.

The aroma of the second steep is much headier, the orchid note is the most prominent followed by honeysuckle and lilac. It smells pretty, a very evocative tea that fills my mind with flowers. The taste takes its cues from the aroma and steps its floral game up, along with its sweetness, and its vegetation. Come to think on it all the flavors from the first steep are presents, just all of them are more intense.

Third time’s the charm! The aroma of this steep is no where near as intense as the previous, it is still very floral but it is in the same intensity level as the first steep. The notes are a blend of orchid and orange blossom, with just a touch of honey. The taste is quite mild and surprisingly buttery this time around, the initial buttery and slightly vegetal notes fade to honey sweetness and a lingering orchid taste. Gotta love teas that have a floral note that sticks around after you are done sipping it!

For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2015/02/yezi-tea-wen-shan-pouchong-oolong-tea.html

I got this sample from someone, but I don’t remember whom. Sorry. All of my samples got all mixed up by my well meaning spouse. He was just trying to help. Unfortunately, I don’t know who sent what anymore.

On to the tea.

Sweet and floral, light, kinda buttery. Delicious. Very delicious.

Free Yezi tea sample.

Aroma is light and green; vegetal is too strong a descriptor, this is far more delicate… it’s also mildly sweet.

Taste is where this oolong shines, not only does it withstand a good few infusions, 4 before I found the taste to be too far removed from the first steep, but it also stays right with the aroma; something not enough teas manage. I’ll definitely be buying more of this

Sipdown and backlog from last night:

I’m having a really tough week right now. I’m still sick (ear infection), on medicine that’s making me jittery, and working on a group project in one of my classes. Unfortunately, it’s one of those that only gets more complicated as you get further into it. My mother was nice enough to offer to make me dinner and tea last night, and when I asked for some kind of plain oolong she brought me a pot of this.

At first this seemed lighter than I usually like my oolongs: slightly earthy, some hay notes, and a touch of greenness. Then as it started to cool the sweet, almost melon-y aftertaste asserted itself and completely changed my mind. This is a very enjoyable tea, and a nice companion for a rough night. I would gladly drink it again (but sadly, it’s all gone).