Eco-Cha
Ingredients: Oolong.
I was incredibly excited to receive three oolong teas from Eco-Cha in Taiwan! This gorgeous Intro to Oolong collection includes an unroasted, a lightly roasted, and a heavily roasted oolong.
This review covers the first in the series: the unroasted Jin Xuan Oolong.
I love the light, floral, lemony scent of the dry tea! It smells like a new summer day. The tasting notes on the card indicate that it is "Buttery and smooth, with notes of summer squash. Lingering creamy, fragrant finish" (see more here).
Eco-Cha includes brewing tips. They suggest using the tea loose in a mug for a single mug brew. I used the single mug brew today, since I've never tried that before.
Eco-Cha suggests leaving the leaves in the mug as you sip. This method works really well! The leaves tend to sink to the bottom of the cup, and there's no removal from the teapot to worry about. There is also a cold brew, which I need to try!
It smells amazing as it steeps: more of the fresh summer scent.
The first sip is revitalizing! It's a light but identifiable taste. The first taste is not grassy at all, which was a delightful surprise. I didn't rinse it before brewing, since the brewing instructions didn't say to. It steeps a light yellow color, continuing to make me think of lemon.
I didn't realize there were stems until it opened up!
As I drink while it continues to steep, I'm tasting more of the tea plant itself: the rich, green flavor of the leaves. I sense a bit of tannins coming out, but they're tempered by the buttery texture. The cup still releases the light summer scent, but a creaminess starts to intertwine. The last sip lingers.
The second steep is mellower on the summer squash taste, but bolder with the taste of the unroasted tea.
It's so delicious that... I'm floating.
This Jin Xuan tea has made me fall in love with oolong. Thank you, Eco-Cha!
This sample was provided by Eco-Cha.
Next I will review the second tea in the series: the lightly roasted High Mountain Concubine Oolong tea.
No comments:
Post a Comment