Country of Origin: China
Leaf Appearance: long, dark and somewhat twisted
Ingredients: oolong tea
Steep time: 5 seconds and longer on each subsequent steep
Water Temperature: 212 degrees
Preparation Method: porcelain gaiwan
Liquor: gold
Wild Tea Qi was kind enough to give me a sample of this tea when I visited their booth at World Tea East. I was a little perplexed that the directions stated that the first infusion should be three seconds. Thirty seconds has always been my go to number when using a gaiwan but I decided to take their word for it. Although light, the first infusion was surprisingly flavorful. There were notes of honeyed apricot and a pleasant toastiness with a lingering sweet finish. As I progressed through the infusions (of which I lost count) a more citrusy flavor come to the forefront. This was what I like to call an Energizer Bunny tea, the leaves just keep going and going…and going. Although I increased the steeping time, the tea remained smooth and had very little astringency. Wild Tea Qi recommended chewing the leaves. I tried it and they were mouth watering. That is quite fun to do around non-teaish folks because the reactions that you will get. Do you ever chew your tea leaves?
You can find out more about this tea here.