Nonpareil Taiwan Li Shan Oolong Tea
57
Percentile
5 ratings |
|
Commercial Description
..By this token, growing of the tea trees, picking the fresh tea leaves, as well as processing of the tea all reply on the environment condition. The climate in Lishan Mountain makes Gao Leng Tea in a limited output. It is a remarkable tea...
Ratings & Reviews
Page 1 of 1 page with 5 reviews
90 Aroma: 9/10 Flavor: 5/5 Value: 4/5Amanda (338 reviews) on Nov. 29th, 2014
The aroma, well, often I find myself going ga-ga over the roasted oolongs, but wow, when I have a dance with a Gao Shan I wonder, why did I ever get seduced by roasted tea? It is so sweet and so very floral, like a bouquet of honeysuckles, hyacinth, orchids, and lilies, it is intensely floral and at the same time very delicate, no worry of being blasted in the face by a perfume shop. There are also notes of chestnut and cream with a very sweet nectar finish.
First steeping sipping time! First steeps always excite me, they are liking starting a story or journey, you get an idea of how things are going to go, but there is room to grow and evolve. The mouthfeel is quite smooth, it coats the mouth and fills it with floral, sweet, happiness. This steep is pretty mellow, a nice sweet nectar start that blooms into hyacinth, orchids, and honeysuckles. The finish is a delicate honey sweetness with a lingering floral note. I was able to get multiple steepings from this lovely tea
50 Aroma: 5/10 Flavor: 3/5 Value: 2/5geologyguy (108 reviews) on Jul. 12th, 2014
2 minute steep at a boil...flavor is vegetal like spinach...especially on the finish...smell is similar...slight mustiness...doesn't impress me much...but way more unique than black tea!
83 Aroma: 8/10 Flavor: 5/5 Value: 4/5SarsyPie (119 reviews) on Jun. 3rd, 2014
The dry tea smells lightly roasty and floral. While brewing, I can pick up some fruity aromas, like grape.
The flavor of the brewed tea is smooth and roasty. It has a subtle spinach flavor. I don't really taste any of the floral or fruity notes from the aroma, but that's ok, because I still really like this one!
I brewed this for 2 minutes using 208 degree water, but I wonder if I might like it more if it was steeped a little longer. I have enough for one more cup, so I think I'll try it to see.
Thanks to Alex for the sample!
90 Aroma: 9/10 Flavor: 5/5 Value: 4/5Kelsey (142 reviews) on Dec. 11th, 2013
I thought this tea was great. I could rave about it, but will settle for saying I loved the hint of flowers in the smell and the hearty vegetable soup taste it left in my mouth... practically a meal in itself. Now I just need to know, where can I buy some? Sign me up, I'm there!
PS I agree with Alex, definitely not an "everyday" tea for me... but I would definitely keep it for those days I feel like spoiling myself (or my friends!)
97 Aroma: 10/10 Flavor: 5/5 Value: 4/5Alex Zorach (1448 reviews) on Nov. 19th, 2013
This tea was top-notch and was definitely the strongest of the Taiwanese oolongs I've tried yet from TeaVivre, both in aroma and flavor. Very bold flavor, yet while having a clear liquor, smooth mouthfeel, and refined floral fragrance, without any off qualities.
Dry leaf is tightly rolled and looks dark green with an almost greenish cast, and is intensely aromatic. After brewing, the used leaves are interesting--many come with four leaves and a bud attached, but the individual leaves are smaller than I'm used to with oolongs. The leaves were all completely intact and unbroken.
Upon brewing, gives off an intense honey and flower fragrance, with light toasty tones. Has a clear and light liquor but is very strong tasting. There is a complete absence of the soapy qualities in the aroma, that I find plague even some relatively high grade oolongs.
Brewing as recommended, using 1 teaspoon of leaf and brewing for 2 minutes, it was almost too strong (in contrast to some of the other oolongs I've been sampling from TeaVivre, which came out almost too weak when brewed this way). I'd recommend going easy on the first infusion, only 1 minute or so, even if using Western-style brewing.
The second infusion, which I also brewed 2 minutes, seemed more balanced to me, and the aroma slightly more complex: more herbaceous and slightly less floral, although still very much like flowers and honey, and still somewhat toasty.
I was able to produce a total of four infusions, using Western-style brewing, which I thought remarkable. The leaves are very slow to unfurl, although there is so much flavor in the leaf that, except for the last steep, I used relatively shorter steeping times than I normally would. Interestingly, I found the later infusions did not exhibit the pungent, herbaceous quality that greener oolongs usually do...rather the aroma stayed the same, floral and slightly toasty, and petered out gradually.
Very expensive (almost $30 for as little as 50 grams and just under $50 for 100 grams). Is it worth it? This is definitely one of the best oolongs I've ever sampled. A small amount of leaf also stretches very far...but not exactly twice as far as lower grades, so you're still paying more for it. Perhaps this one would be good for a special treat...it definitely has the nuance and quality to back up the price, but it's certainly no everyday tea. It's like a special luxury good!
Page 1 of 1 page with 5 reviews
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