The can calls this "green tea", but it's clearly a jade oolong. It's much better quality than Starway's other oolong teas. It's mediocre compared to other Taiwanese high mountain oolongs, but they're usually much more expensive than this.

The dry tea smells fresh, mellow and pleasant. There's no hint of a roast. The dry leaves are dark green and tightly rolled, but there is a fair amount of twigs and detritus mixed in with the tea.

I brewed the tea western-style for four minutes in boiling water. As the leaves opened, a number of twigs floated to the surface of the pot. The appearance of the leaves indicates a low- to medium-quality oolong. The leaves are a mixture of medium and small leaves, but very few two or three leaf tips and no buds. The aroma of the brewing tea was much fruitier than I was expecting, like fresh apricots and plums.

The tea is mildly astringent and has the barest hint of green tea bitterness. The flavor has a sweet, warm quality that complements the fruit aromas. The finish is long and pleasant, but not particularly complex. Given the poor appearance of the leaves, I'm guessing that this is a lower-grade sorting from high-quality trees. It's pretty decent tea.

I paid $12.99 for the 300g (10.5 ounce) can. The tea's quite good for that price.

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