Formosa Pouchong Imperial (Wulong/Oolong)

This is my first order from Upton Tea imports, and definitely left a good impression. Upton describes this as a classic style Pouchong (Bao Zhong) that is lightly oxidized. The leaves are lightly twisted, but you wouldn't know it from the taste. The leaves are a dark green, and when seen in the tin almost look black, but after being steeped take on a more obvious forest green color. The liquor is a light amber, much like a light colored honey.

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The first cup I made of this tea didn't strike me much. It was somewhat bland and slightly astringent, just overall unremarkable.

But...

For the second cup I used just a little more leaf (about 1.5 tea scoops, which are approximately equivalant to a heaping teaspoon), and wow! I've since found a full 2 scoops (approx 2 heaping tsp) to be the best.

The first thing that struck me was that it tasted a lot like the jade high-mountain Tung Ting style Taiwan oolongs that are rolled (like a Tie Guan Yin), but mixed with a Lu An Gua Pian green tea. Those are what I'm more used to, and what I tend to compare others against. The first thing you notice is the aroma, which is lightly but noticiably floral with a slight nutty/woody and vegetal quality. The vegetal aspect is very subtle, and does more to prop up the floral notes and combine them with the nutty/woody aspects than anything else. The floral aspects are the most notable.

The taste is very well rounded. It has a very smooth texture with a lot of mouth feel that is well balanced and sweet, and finishes off with a slight astringency that is felt more than really tasted. While it does have that very smooth and sweet body and mouth feel, it doesn't have so much that it leaves your mouth feeling coated - a well balanced smooth characteristic that leaves your tongue feeling slightly soft. It drinks almost like a very smooth green tea, but with more of an oolong feel and character. There is a vegetal quality to the taste, that starts with a slight bitterness and quickly evaporates into a dry grassiness that cleans the palate and fades into the slight astringency of the aftertaste. As in the aroma, it does more to prop up the floral aspects than anything else. The taste is definitely floral, and reminiscent of honey as well.

The aftertaste is aromatic in a way that is almost effervescent. The smooth mouth feel combined with the light astringency remains on the palate, and the steam can be felt in the nose leaving you to continue to smell the lightly floral aftertaste almost more than tasting it. Note that it does so more than other teas normally do, as this tea does have a slight viscosity that can actually be seen in the liquor. This leaves you breathing easier, and smelling the world with sweet and clean undertones.

What grabs my attention the most about this tea is how animated the taste is. Some teas do similar, but not quite to this extent. It is the difference between looking at pictures, even animated pictures, and watching a short video. It's definitely an experience, and each sip is slightly different. This is definitely one to taste with your whole mouth, and not just part of the tongue. It's great for when you are able to contemplate life, but also encourages you to relax while you go about your day. In my opinion, it's a great tea for any time of day. This tea reminds me of sitting next to a lightly rushing creek in spring.

This has very quickly made one of my favorite teas. It takes everything I like in a wulong and brings them together into a lively and animated portrait that makes me forget about everything else. Overall it is just very well balanced, lively, and clean.