Wulong two-fer

I started to feel like I was reviewing too many of the higher grade teas, so today I'm going to do a high grade and a surprise I found at an Asian grocer.



Joy Luck - High-Mountain Oolong

I was suspicious of this one at first, but decided to give it a try. I found this at the Fubonn shopping center, at the Fubonn supermarket that is just across from Serenity Art. They have a whole aisle of pre-packaged teas, some look better than others. They even have a few things I've seen sold on some of my favorite sites.

This one is by a brand called "Joy Luck" (which I cannot, unfortunately, find anywhere on the internet), and is just labeled "High Mountain Oolong". It comes in a large dark brownish-red box with a line drawing of a dragon in the mountains, gold lettering and gold edges, and a yellow/gold string handle on the top. Inside is a large (approx 12"x 4") cardboard canister with tin ends. It's coated with plastic on the inside, and the top is difficult to get off. It's definitely airtight as it sucks in the tin ends, causing them to pop, every time you open the canister. Inside is a 10.5 oz vacuum sealed pack of high-mountain goodness. All this for a measly $15!

I was still a little apprehensive after getting it, but it turned out to be surprisingly good. It isn't exactly an exceptional high-mountain oolong, but it is what I consider the base of a good high-mountain oolong. It has an aroma and taste that is slightly honey-like and somewhere in between the floral jade oolongs and a toasty amber oolong. Something like a lightly toasted honeysuckle. It's light, sweet, with a good mouth feel. It lacks a lot of the nuances and complexities of the better teas, but for a basic everyday tea, this is definitely a winner.

So if you've got a good local Asian supermarket, you might check it out. This may not be the best, but it does a great job for everyday drinking, like, say, when you're working. This would also be a relatively low-risk way to try a Taiwan(?) high-mountain wulong if you want to get an idea of what they're like without shelling out more for less. It may also be a good one to give those friends that you want to impress, but know that a more expensive tea would be wasted on them ;)

Next up..

Organic BaoZhong from Mr Wang Yiu-Li (Spring harvest, 2007)
From Hou De.



Click each pic for hi-res


This came as a sample from Hou De with another order I made. I was considering it, but wasn't sure I was ready to pay the asking price for it. It turned out to be one that I like very very much, and have already placed an order for more.
This is actually somewhat typical of pouchongs. To me it's like a jade wulong that is better defined than any of the actual jade wulongs. This one has a better balance of all aspects than what I've had before. The aroma is nice and sweet, mildly floral with nutty nuances and an almost woody character that is more of a texture than a defining character. The taste does not disappoint. It's sweet, but with a nicely rounded point and a woody texture. You can definitely taste the "green", but it's very smooth and melts quickly into a very nice mouth feel. The "green" is almost a bit sour, but it is more sweet and floral than anything, and has a nice warmth to it. It finishes off with a cleansing effect that I can't quite qualify as an astringency, it just dries the mouth a little. This lasts for some time, and actually started to make my tongue tingle after several minutes! This is not a quality that I've encountered before, but it is very pleasant.

Overall this is a great tea with a lot of character. Hou De does not have very much of it, so I would grab some soon!