On :
Today is something different. Floating Leaves Tea sent me a sampler of four High Mountain Oolong Teas, and Shiuwen is going to be blind tasting them this week online. I am sitting in front of four mugs and those four teas, waiting for water to boil.
Descriptions taken from site:
Alishan High Mountain
The aroma of the wet leaves is bright and floral. The broth is fragrant, sweet and well balanced. There is a buttery texture to the broth, and a sweetness that reminds us of milk candy. Aftertaste is long lasting, leaving a floral character behind in the mouth after swallowing.
Lishan High Mountain
This is an elegant tea. Broth is both soft and also rich. Very much a buttery high mountain oolong. The fragrance is complex, very well balanced with lots of exciting high notes. Fragrance is fruity and sweet off of the wet leaves. The broth already feels very balanced. It is still a little bit bound up, so we will update more tasting notes in the next few weeks. But overall, we feel really good about this tea.
Shan Lin Xi High Mountain
Fragrance of the wet leaves is BIG and bright! Prominent note is some kind of citrus, which really cuts through in a sparkly kind of way. Broth is well balanced and strong. Not heavy, because it's still a very lightly oxidized oolong, but it has a boldness in the way it lays in the mouth. Aftertaste is long and leaves behind a complex fragrance as well as a unique salivation that we associate with Shan Lin Xi. We both want to call it mineral.
Hehuan Shan High Mountain
This tea is calm and quiet, with a soft broth and a buttery texture. Really nice delicate citrus high notes.
I have the first two in my cupboard, the last two I haven't tried.
I am brewing these in four ceramic mugs, but I need to brew in bowls. I brewed with 8g of leaves, what a stupid amount to start with, there's so much here.
Tasting A + B together (8g)
B is fruitier scent than A, this comes through in the tasting as well. B is more astringent, but the differences between these two are pretty subtle. I might be in over my head here!
Brewing 8g of tea is stupid, don't do this so often when you're tasting like this.
added more water, "second infusion" after this i will switch to C+D
A has mellowed a bit on the second infusion, the sweetness comes through a bit more, a little bit of tartness too. not quite a citrus, but close. B reminds me a lot of one of the two teas that are already on my shelf. It's also opened up a lot more with water.
as the water cools, these teas start to behave very similarly, or my pallette is shot. I'm going to get some water and prep C+D (8g)
Tasting C + D together (8g)
C has a bit "wider" of a fruity palette than B, I think, and D is somewhere in between.
I have been half-assing this, talking with Jane. I can't, frankly, make heads or tails of these. I'm going to clean bowls and do 3g tastings.
I added more water instead; C really opened up even more. I think it might be the alishan, maybe shan lin xi? Let's read the descriptions of them all. D has definitely less of the fruitiness and brightness of C.
D is much more fruity and bright after sitting in the second infusion.
I can't really make heads or tails of the texture profile, I will clean my palette for the A+C (3g) infusion
Tasting A + C together (3g)
wow not brewing 8g actually allows the leaves to open and enjoy the full water, what a revelation! 😄
A is so brightly scented now; C is nearly unnoticeable in comparison, I almost feel bad for it.
As it cools, A mellows again. What a neat thing, seeing the tea change even as it cools.
A is a "sharper" broth; normally i'd attach this to tartness, but the flavor isn't there, just the feeling on the tongue.
These cross-comparisons are very different. Tomorrow during the livestream I'll brew A+B and C+D in 3g batches for a proper comparison. My tea senses are swamped.
Tasting B + D together (3g)
God, I'm overcaffeinated for sure now, this is difficult!
Aroma of D is very bright compared to B.
B is almost "spicy"