Country of Origin: Japan
Leaf Appearance: dark, somewhat twiggy
Ingredients: oolong tea
Steep time: 3 minutes
Water Temperature: 190 degrees
Preparation Method: infuser basket and ceramic teacup
Liquor: reddish brown
Japanese oolong! I couldn’t resist picking up some of this tea when I ordered some sakura blossoms from +Yunomi.us earlier this year. There weren’t any steeping directions so I played it a bit on the conservative side. It brewed up fairly dark. If I didn’t know better, I would almost think that it was a black tea or Wuyi oolong. The leaves showed that they were indeed an oolong after steeping as there were green bits and visible oxidation. It started out with the woody and earthy notes that transitioned to a raisin-like sweetness. An interesting floral quality in the finish that lingered long after each sip. My second cup was just as tasty without losing any body. There was some astringency but it never came across as unpleasant. I do believe that this is the first tea that I have tried from Asamiyacha. As always, I appreciate the in depth information provided by Yunomi about the region and the vendor who produced the tea.
Yunomi Higuchi #3: Black Oolong sample purchased from Yunomi.