Golden Tea Leaf’s Iris Orchid Oolong

Iris Orchid Oolong by Golden Tea Leaf
Oolong Tea / Straight
$15.00 for 50g

20171211-goldentealeafirisorchi

Golden Tea Leaf has provided me with Iris Orchid Oolong for the purposes of providing an honest review.

First Impressions

20171211-goldentealeafirisorchi1

Iris Orchid Oolong came to me from Golden Tea Leaf in a black sample packet. The tea leaves are dark, almost a purple-black with a light twist. The aroma that wafts up from the tea leaves is primarily floral that reminds me a lot of orchids, although I don’t really smell anything that reminds me of irises.

According to Golden Tea Leaf, Iris Orchid Oolong is a oolong from the Guangdong Province in China. This is a straight oolong tea. There was some tiny tea leaf fragments in the sample packet.

20171211-goldentealeafirisorchi2

Preparation

There were no preparation recommends on the packet of Iris Orchid Oolong, or on the product page. However, Golden Tea Leaf has a page all about their teas (Everything About Oolong Tea).

Golden Tea Leaf recommends steeping oolongs at 95°C (203°F) water for a first steep for 2 minutes or less, a second and third  steep for 2 to 5 minutes, and for any steeps beyond that for 2 to 5 minutes. My initial steep was for 2 minutes.

First Taste

Iris Orchid Oolong steeps to a beautiful pale yellow after a two minute steep. The aroma that comes up from the steeped oolong, and the fragrance is so deeply floral. This oolong is smooth, with a touch of floral creaminess. I found the tea to have a slight sweetness. Iris Orchid Oolong does taste a lot like the way it smells – very floral and enjoyable. I found that the flavour to be enticing because the floral notes are so inviting.

20171211-goldentealeafirisorchi3

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Iris Orchid Oolong according to Golden Tea Leaf’s recommended steeping instructions. I opted to add an additional 30 seconds per subsequent resteep. I found that Iris Orchid Oolong became a darker yellow with each steep until it became a bright golden yellow. The flavour became creamier, with a hint of butter, all the while retaining the bright floral flavours and fragrance. I resteeped Iris Orchid Oolong a total of eight times before it started to lose too much of the flavour.

20171211-goldentealeafirisorchi4

My Overall Impression

rating4

I loved Golden Tea Leaf’s Iris Orchid Oolong. I found that the tea was perfectly floral, with a really nice creaminess to the steeped tea that got better with each steep. The floral notes were sweet, and not overwhelming to the senses while being inviting. I found that the tea was smooth and tasty. Iris Orchid Oolong resteeps so well, I would definitely recommend having this one over and over again. The floral sweetness is enough that this tea doesn’t need anything added to it at all. I quite appreciated Golden Tea Leaf’s recommended steeping times for each steep and enjoyed the tea that I got out of these oolong tea leaves.

Curious about the cup rating system? Click here to learn more.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.