My supplies of Bai Mu Dan, my morning leaf of choice, were rapidly dwindling, so I had to either make an order sharpish, or risk going without.

To avoid such a horrible experience I logged onto House of Tea, and placed an order for two 70 gram packets. As I’ve come to expect the parcel was delivered to my mailbox the very next day, and tucked in between the two lots of white tea I found this free, 3 gram sample of the famous Taiwanese Oolong.

House of Tea’s notes state that this tea is indeed the real deal, namely one originating from Dung Ding mountain, Lugu Township, Nantou County, Taiwan. They go on to say that the raw material was of the Chin Shin cultivar, and grew at an elevation of 800 metres. The leaves were harvested in the Spring of 2020. Both the oxidation and roasting levels are described as “light“.

As I tend to do these days with small, 3 gram samples I opted for a Western style approach…

After a few seconds in the warmed up pot the leaves smelled of cookies with a wee hint of smoke. After the first infusion the wet leaf was all about sweet peas with a distant touch of freshly trimmed privet hedge – a 1970s flashback to my Dad’s garden in the summertime. The liquor from that initial steeping had green apple crisp tartness and a tickle of roastiness. In my notes I described the mouth-feel as nice, oily, and “slurpsome“.

The second round saw the body upgrade to a bona fide lip-sticker, and that sweet, high floral note begin to hog the spotlight.

The third, four minute long infusion saw only a tiny drop-off in intensity, but a five minute long fourth round although pleasant enough and quite drinkable was nevertheless a clear session delimiter.

Conclusion

This small sample showed a lot of potential, and I get the feeling that 6 or 7 grams could dole out a long and flavoursome gong-fu session if given some gaiwan based action.

When I’ve drunk up all the other tasty Oolongs in my stash, I might just get some in.

Watch this space, etc…