Here ya go. Here is another tea review from way, way back. This was another of the May sipdowns. If I am motivated, I may be able to get through the rest of the May backlog and perhaps the first half of the June backlog by the end of the month. I’ll even try to throw in some more recent reviews as I go. That being said, all I can do at this point to wrap up this introductory paragraph is state that I loved this tea. I can still be rather hard on Dancong oolongs, but this one really did it for me.
I prepared this tea gongfu style. Oddly, I did not push this one all that hard. After a brief rinse, I steeped 6 grams of tea leaves in 4 ounces of 203 F water for 8 seconds. This infusion was chased by 13 subsequent infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 10 seconds, 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 nectarine, orchid, pomegranate, and candied pomelo. After the rinse, I noted a more intense orchid aroma and hints of lotus, honey, and osmanthus. The first infusion offered a much subtler nose, though new scents of baked bread and butter emerged. In the mouth, the tea liquor presented lovely fruity, floral, and pungent qualities with subtler savoriness. Notes of nectarine, orchid, osmanthus, pomegranate, and candied pomelo swirled all around the mouth in utterly dominating fashion until notes of honey, butter, and baked bread made themselves known. The following infusions saw the nose remain more or less intensely floral and fruity. Hints of lotus came out in the mouth while new impressions of wood, pear, lychee, rose, violet, minerals, and mandarin orange also emerged. The final infusions offered lingering impressions of minerals, wood, and pear that were balanced by hints of mandarin orange and orchid.
This tea, like so many other Dancong oolongs, demonstrated the tendency to fade pretty quickly in the mouth, but I was able to get several very satisfying sessions out of it despite the fact that my brewing method is not always kind to teas of this type. As many of you know, I have completely come around on Dancong oolongs over the course of the past year, and I found this one to be both excellent and resilient. I will definitely be checking out some of Yunnan Sourcing’s more recent Bai Ye offerings in the near future.
Flavors: Bread, Butter, Citrus, Floral, Fruity, Honey, Lychee, Mineral, Orange, Orchid, Osmanthus, Pear, Rose, Stonefruit, Violet, Wood
