Mt. Ali Taiwan Oolong - 6290

Tea: Mt. Ali Taiwan Oolong -6290
Vendor: Lupicia USA
Price: $26.50 / 50g
Source: Jiayi, Taiwan
Vendor Description: A flowery flavor diffuses throughout your mouth the moment you taste this winter-picked Taiwanese alpine tea.

About This Tea: This is one of the winter harvest oolongs that was sampled at the Lupicia Tasting event.

Leaf: The leaf for this tea comes in the form of large rather uniformly sized balls. They have a clean and clear, yet strong aroma. The aroma exudes a sense of green freshness and floral notes. The balls have a light glossiness to their green hues.

1st Infusion Parameters: 5g, 5 oz, 208F, 45s

1st Infusion: This tea has a brilliant floral aroma to it. It is very clear and singly refined. The tea itself is clear with an almost radiant light green color to it. The flavor matches the aroma with a sense of freshness and alight clean flavor. Tucked in the folds of the crispness of this tea there are light floral notes.

2nd Infusion Parameters: 208F, 1:30

2nd Infusion: The aroma of this tea intensified with this infusion. The hue shifted a bit toward the yellow side of things. The flavor matched the intensification of the aroma and showed itself as a rich, clear and singular flavor. The aroma feels very well tied to the flavor, both feel crisp and clear.

3rd Infusion Parameters: 2:15, 208F

3rd Infusion: This infusion has an even deeper green hue. It has the same rich and intense taste to it, there is a little bit of an astringency on the back end of this infusion though.

4th Infusion Parameters: 3:00, 208F

4th Infusion: The aroma in this infusion is starting to lighten up. The hue is a lighter clear green color. The flavor is still very singular and refined. The astringency is built up a bit more to a medium astringnecy.

5th Infusion Parameters: 4:00, 208F

5th Infusion: This infusion has a noticeably yellower colro to it. The aroma is a bit hard to detect at this point. The flavor feels a bit on the light side, and it's not as deep of a flavor as it was before.

Rating: 10/10

Conclusion: This tea is quite a fantastic Taiwanese oolong. The flavor is clear and refined, it held up without significant change for 5 solid infusions. It is rather pricey though at around 50c/g. All in all quite a remarkable tea.