Review of Lu Ming Organic Oolong Competition Excellence Grade

AromaFlavorValueTotal
9 of 105 of 55 of 595 of 100
SuperbExcellentOutstanding

I brewed a cup of this tea and set it down to go do something in the other room, and when I came back, the whole room was full of a wonderful aroma.

Brews a very clear cup with a golden or light amber color. Flavor is very smooth, with no detectable bitterness or astringency. This seems a lot like what I've seen sold as an "Amber Oolong"; it is presented as greener style but it seems slightly more oxidized than most traditional greener oolongs.

Very aromatic, but the aroma is gentle and nuanced: it is not overtly floral, but there are floral undertones...aroma is honeylike, with a bit of woody and herbaceous qualities.

Remains remarkably strong through many infusions. Brewing western-style, I was able to produce four very flavorful infusions, which impressed me, as few oolongs last this long with long steeping times. The infusions changed character quite a lot, with the first starting out more warming and gentle, the second similar, and the third becoming more herbaceous, fresh, and crisp. There was little bitterness until the third infusion. The herbaceous qualities persisted, but the tea then became weaker.

Definitely a top notch tea. Price seems high, but seems quite reasonable to me for a competition-winning tea of this quality. $8 an ounce seems like a lot, but this tea is packed with so much flavor that I think an ounce would be easily enough to brew up about 30-40 western-style cups, when considering how well this tea works for multiple infusions.

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