Topsy Turvy Test-Teas Tuesday
6Today, one of our volunteer tea testers (@jknguyen) turned the tables on us and brought us a tea to test. So, keeping the spirit of the gift in mind, we threw out the volunteer reviews and will be coming to our own conclusions on today’s tea.
Today we sampled Milk Jin Xuan Oolong.
A bit about this tea from the description:
This is a special hand processed tea that comes from Jin Xuan Mountain in Taiwan. Jin Xuan oolongs are known for their natural rich creamy mouthfeel. Its production requires special attention to time, temperature, altitude and soil conditions. During production; to enhance the natural milky richness, the leaves are steamed with a combination of water and milk powder before heated and dried. This special growing region, and process is what gives this tea its natural creaminess, milk flavor and silky texture. Our Milk Jin Xuan Taiwanese oolong produces a pale yellow infusion, with the milky sweet fragrance and smooth, slightly sweet taste that lingers on and on, this is one tea you cannot forget.
They’re not wrong. Look at that beautiful pale yellow color.
Some quick research revealed:
The tea is also known as #12 or as “Milk Oolong” (Nai Xiang).
But enough with the history lesson, right? Let’s get down to numbers.
Smell: 8/10
I like oolong teas, and I didn’t smell much difference between this and the previous Oolong teas we’ve had.
Taste: 9/10
This was smoother than previous oolong teas we’ve tasted. More akin to green than black tea, in my opinion.
Looks: 10/10
Looks like an oolong. Dried (shriveled?) little nuggets of happiness, just waiting for water. This has pretty much become my go-to mental image for what tea should look like
What have you been drinking? Tell us in the comments!
To catch up, the last review can be found here.
I’d also like to tag @riskybryzness in for their thoughts at this point.
- 5 comments, 9 replies
- Comment
Me? Coffee mostly. I’ve been enjoying that pour-over machine meh sold a couple of weeks ago.
But I’ve been reading and enjoying the teas posts.
@therealjrn What’s your coffee brand of choice?
@Cythwulf I don’t have a “choice” yet because I’ve just started grinding my own beans. But I have tried Community Coffee and just opened up some Members Mark organic coffee. I like the Members Mark the best. I need to go by Costco and see what they might have.
@therealjrn
I’m trying to convince them to get Death Wish coffee here (I’m not trying that hard, I just casually mentioned it.)
@Cythwulf @therealjrn I can tell you Cosco’s Kirland dark roast is my home coffee, but it is ground. What I do is open the can, divide the coffee in 3-4 weeks worth, then vacuum seal the coffee. I then freeze all the bags but 1. This way I have a good fresh price to performance coffee. I also recommend switching brands every once and a while to get the “wow this is really good coffee” experience with your old favorite coffee.
I really dug this tea. I wasn’t sure I’d like it to be completely honest. It smells a little strange, I can’t figure out what it is. It’s a smooth tea that I really would like to try iced and maybe other brands just to see some variations of it. I’d drink a whole pot, not gonna lie.
Smell: 6/10, again just odd.
Look: 10/10, it’s very pretty.
Taste: 10/10, I’m the worst critic because I thoroughly enjoy all of these.
I bought a sample of milky oolong from Harneys. I just need to find a time to try it.
@sammydog01 Let us know when you do! I’d love to hear about it.
What a coincidence, I had some Simpson and Vail China Oolong tea tonight and I actually remembered not to “burn” the tea or let it steep too long.
I mostly drink black teas, but enjoy an Oolong or gunpowder green every now and then.
Simpson and Vail China Oolong Tea
@Cythwulf
It looks like dried up lil dog poo.
@nommynoms potato potato
@Cythwulf Are you saying the tea is dog poo?
@Cythwulf Also:
@nommynoms potato potato potato potato