Can I be honest for a minute? I feel a bit silly writing a review of this tea. I'm still so new to the tea world that I feel like there isn't anything I can say about this one that more knowledgeable experts haven't already said.
But that being said, I love this tea so much I have to tell you about it! Here's what I know.
This oolong comes from the Glenburn Estate in Darjeeling. It is an autumnal flush and dried in the sun. There's a neat little video of their processing technique here.
This is a 2013 harvest that I picked up at a local independent tea shop: Souvia. The 2014 harvest won 2nd place (dark oolong category) in this years tea tasting championship.
I love the look of this tea, all curly blacks, browns, and greens. It's got a rich woodsy sweet smell. Brewed up the sweet smell comes through even more and the floral notes really start to stand out. The liquor is a bright orange and smells complex, combining the wet and dried leaf smells.
So how did it taste? Heavenly. It started off with a bit of tartness due, I think, to slight overstepping. However it wasn't unpleasant. I got some hints of malt and dried fruit sweetness.
This tea really started to captivate me during its subsequent steepings, shortened to two minutes. That's when the floral notes bloomed and turned into an absolutely amazing experience. I almost can't describe it. It was floral but not like the jasmines that I'm used to, it was much sweeter and I flew through the next three or four infusions.
I can definitely see why this tea won its spot in the championship; and make me really want to try the first place winner.
Have you had a chance to try this tea, or anything from Glenburn? Know any other neat tidbits about this tea? Let me know in the comments! I'm gonna go steep this since more, but before I go here's my stats:
Temp: 195° F
Time: 3 minutes for the first infusion but then 2 min for the subsequent ones
Tea: 2.5g
Vessel: Gaiwan (≈100mL)
Steepings: 5+
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