Tea: Huang Jin Gui - 7005Vendor: Lupicia USA
Price: $7.00 / 50g
Source: Fujian, China
Vendor Description: Famous oolong tea from Fujian Province. It is very popular with its light refreshing taste. A tea with golden water color and elegant aroma like Osmanthus flowers.
Leaf: The leaf for this tea ranges in color from a light to dark green leaf. It is rolled, but not quite like some tightly rolled Taiwanese oolongs. It's loosely rolled. It has a light dry aroma to it.
1st Infusion Parameters: 5g, 5oz, 208F, 5s rinse, 45s
1st Infusion: This tea has a very flowery aroma to it. It is very crisp and uplifting. The color is a clear pale yellow hue. The flavor is very crisp, pairing well with the aroma. There are floral notes in the aftertaste. There is no bitterness to astringency, simply a smooth light floral flavor.2nd Infusion Parameters: 208F, 45s
2nd Infusion: This infusion was a darker yellow-green hue. The flowery aroma still remained, but it hinted almost to the sweetness of a dan cong aroma. The flavor was overall stronger with a mouth watering feel to it and left with a light clean aftertaste.
3rd Infusion Parameters: 1:15, 208F
3rd Infusion: This infusion was a yellower hue than before, but retained hints of green. There was effectively no aroma to this infusion. The flavor was bold and up front this time. There was an empty feeling in the central flavor. It then finished off with a light sense of astringency on the back end.
4th Infusion Parameters: 208F, 2:00
4th Infusion: This infusion was a lighter hue than before. There was no astringency this time around, and overall the flavor was very unassuming and conservative.
Rating: 5/10
Conclusion: This was overall a very unassuming and mundane oolong. While there were no significant faults to it there were no major selling points either. It's an average green oolong with a somewhat average price to it. It's a bit high, but within acceptable tolerances. It would be a good tea to introduce someone to a general green oolong.
2 comments:
I have only been drinking one Huang Jin Gui, but it gave me the same impression as you seem to have got. Compared to Dong Ding or a good Tie Guan Yin, Huang Jin Gui just doesn't seem to have any point. And it's so called Gui Hua/Osmanthus taste is just nothing compared to oolong scented with Gui Hua, or a Dan Cong Gui Hua.
Nice detailed review, but I actually happen to like Huang Jin Gui as one of everyday teas... especially while working in my studio.
I usually use 190F or slightly cooler water for the first infusion, and let it steep a bit longer. This way, I get much more complex flavor out of this tea, which is the quality I am generally after.
When I make 2nd and 3rd infusion, I use 205F water, and then add a pinch of dry leaf...
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