Taiwan Li Shan oolong tea from What-Cha is a great daily gao shan tea with amazing flowery scent and flavor and green soul.
Last week has been quite busy, too many things to do and so little time. I did find a great joy in writing reviews and enjoying all those wonderful teas, and then, as I was writing the last review of the week to publish it first thing on Monday morning, I deleted most of the photos by accident before even transferring them from my camera. So now, photo of dry leaves is missing, which is quite a shame. I had only a sample of this tea. The good thing is that I enjoyed it very much.
Name: Taiwan Li Shan Oolong Tea
Tea Vendor: What-Cha (UK)
Type: Taiwanese oolong tea
I don’t like to write reviews of gao shan oolongs because I believe you cannot really measure time or truly describe each and every one of them. It’s better to follow the intuition and fully enjoy your tea. I love gao shan teas. I could drink them forever and ever and I still wouldn’t be bored. Is it possible to fully describe each and every one of them? I think it isn’t. Each mountain has its own characteristics, and what we can talk about when talking about gao shans is do they fit into a category of quality teas or don’t. This one does. What-Cha offers amazing fresh teas in the UK, and I really like their whole selection and quality. I’ve learned about them some 2 years ago when it wasn’t so easy to find good teas in Europe.
Going up the mountain
Taiwan Li Shan oolong tea comes from Li Shan mountain and grows at the altitude of 2000 meters. It’s a lightly oxidized semiball-rolled style oolong tea with amazing floral scent and taste. I like teas made from qing xin varietal. I always feel like their green hearth can be felt with every sip. Leaves are matte green with pale yellow stalks, medium heavy. They have a deep floral and a bit creamy scent which gets extremely full after washing. Almost like being in a flower shop in early spring with cool gentle breeze blowing through the door. Spring harvest, 50 grams costs 10 GBP, which is around 13 USD.
Turning Teacup Into a Vase With Taiwan Li Shan Oolong Tea
I even deleted the brewing notes. I used quite a lot of leaves, 150 ml of water, 90 degrees Celsius, 1 minutes for the first steeping, and very short steeping time after. These leaves can give at least seven amazing brews. Each and every one of them is full, very smooth and very very floral and lightly sweet. Color is citrine yellow, light. Mouthful of flowers, but with very nice light texture. Flavor gets light after the sixth steeping, but the aftertaste is very consistent. This tea is a great daily gao shan tea. It is light, but full of flavor, easy to brew and without any bitterness at all. I feel it could be a good choice for gao shan beginners.
