It’s funny how things work out sometimes, isn’t it?

When we paid a visit to the Chaikhana Tea House in Stockholm at Easter, I sampled a Wen Shan Bao Zhong, a Taiwanese Oolong.

The tea made a good impression on me, and duly went onto the “drink this one again” list.

Fast forward to this week, and blow me down if I didn’t get a free sample of this very tea from House of Tea in Stockholm included in my recent purchase! Talk about Synchronici-tea.

The sample was 3g, perfect for steeping in one of my small, unglazed, 100ml capacity clay gaiwans.

This tea is a winter harvested tea, from 2015. Winter plucked leaves are generally quite flavour-packed, as the tea plant begins to conserve energy and nutrients prior to its growth burst in the spring.

This tea also has a combination of low oxidation, 10%, and heavy roasting, producing a flavour that is characteristically aromatic and sweet.

The first thing I noticed on opening the packet was the dry leaf’s flowery aroma. There was also a sweetness there, reminiscent of brown sugar, as well as a malty, nutty presence.

The water I used in steeping the tea was fresh off a roiling boil, and as per usual for black teas, Pu-erhs, and Oolongs I gave the tea a quick rinse, using the rinse water to wash, warm, and “prime” the tea pitcher and tea cup, before discarding it.

Infusions started at 10 seconds duration, getting 5 seconds longer with each new round.

The taste of the tea was very interesting – the fresh, vegetal astringency of the lightly oxidised leaves was present, but supplemented by the sweet, flowery, complexity of the roasting process.

I managed 6 infusions before the flavour started to noticeably tail off, so I called an end to the session there.

Still, it had performed well enough, certainly an Oolong to consider buying in the future.