I’m finding this tea is like no other, to me. Due to its leaf size and production style/timing- I feel they almost pick this tea from the bottom up; this tea is in a class all its own. I immediately fell in love with this tea when I tried my first cup at the Yuren Tang shop in Taipei.
This variety of Fo Shou- Buddha’s Hand, is semi oxidized, unroasted, and rolled like an oolong. It, however doesn’t show any characteristics of any oolongs found in Taiwan.
The dry leaves aren’t as bright green as a lot of the rolled oolongs I have seen, but have a darker deeper green. Has a nice vegetal, ala artichoke heart or steamed green bean smell.
Like the smell, the artichoke and green beans come through in the taste. It starts out like, but gradually gets heavier, leaving a pleasant rich vegetal flavor that finishes on the tart side. Not the most intricate tea, but incredibly far from straight forward.