Tag: Oollo Tea

Cuiruan High Mountain Oolong by Oollo Tea
Oolong Tea / Straight
$12.00 for 25g

This is my 150th tea review on One More Steep! Cuiruan High Mountain Oolong is also called Pear Mountain High Mountain Oolong on Oollo Tea’s website.

First Impressions

I bought Cuiruan High Mountain Oolong from Oollo Tea’s booth at the 2016 Vancouver Tea Festival based off of the recommendation from one of the lovely ladies there. I just love the classy look of the white and silver packaging, it’s just very nice to look at. Cuiruan High Mountain Oolong is described as have “peony and lily” notes, while having a “refreshing long aftertaste”. This tea is grown at 2000m elevation in Cuiruan, located on Pear Mountain.

The dry leaf of Cuiruan High Mountain Oolong has a very light floral aroma to it, the tightly rolled pearls of tea are beautiful to look at.  This specific type of oolong is called qingxing oolong (or green heart oolong).

Preparation

Oollo Tea recommends steeping this oolong tea for 2-5 minutes in 95°C (203°F) water. My initial steep was for 2 minutes.

First Taste

Cuiruan High Mountain Oolong steeps to a pale yellow for the initial. The tea itself has a great floral aroma to it that wafts up to you when you pour it into a tea cup. On first sip, I found that there was a light sweetness to that mingles well with the floral flavours. The taste of the tea does linger for a while in the mouth after it’s gone. It’s a very smooth tea, there’s zero bitterness, no astringency, and has a great mouthfeel to it because the tea just coats the entire mouth with the beautiful floral flavours.

A Second Cup?

I always resteep my oolongs, and Oollo Tea suggests that the tea can be steeped up to 5 times so I had to give it a go. The first resteep, I noted that the liquor of the tea was a more golden, darker yellow than the first steep. There was a mix of floral with some nutty notes to it. There’s still the light sweetness, and the long lingering aftertaste. I continued to resteep Cuiruan High Mountain Oolong until I reached seven resteeps (eight steeps total with the same leaves). I found that the flavour profile of the tea reached a nice balance of floral and nutty by steep three, and the intensity was fairly well retained until the sixth overall steep. The seventh and eighth steep were lacking in flavour intensity, but the flavours were still there. For each sequential steep, I add an extra 30 seconds to the steeping time.

My Overall Impression

I loved Oollo Tea’s Cuiruan High Mountain Oolong. The flavour profile is complex, and I love how the tea tastes and changes with increasing steeps. This tea holds up well with an amazing number of resteeps, and I could have continued past the eighth steep since the flavour was still there, albeit not as strong. I think this tea could easily be paired with a savoury meal with the nutty flavours or with sweets, since it has those floral notes. It’s a delicious tea and I would definitely recommend resteeping this one throughout the day to experience all the changes with each steep.

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Maliba High Mountain Oolong by Oollo Tea
Oolong Tea / Straight
$10.00 for 25g

Oollo Tea has provided me with Maliba High Mountain Oolong for the purposes of providing an honest review. I received this product at no charge to me and received no other compensation.

First Impressions

Oollo Tea’s Maliba High Mountain Oolong is a 2015 spring harvest, and from the Maliba area of Nantou, Taiwan. I quite like the fact that they provide information of various teas. I ripped open the package of Maliba High Mountain Oolong and it kind of slipped out onto the table – graceful, I was not. Maliba High Mountain Oolong has this very light floral fragrance, mixed with something that reminds me of the ocean – just the salt water smell that you can experience when you’re by the ocean.

Maliba High Mountain Oolong is dark, tightly rolled, and I’m very curious about how it will unfurl when steeped. This is a straight oolong tea from Taiwan that was grown at an elevation of 2000m.

Preparation

Oollo Tea recommends steeping Maliba High Mountain Oolong at 90-95°C (194-203°F) for 1.5-5 minutes. I steeped 2.5g of Maliba High Mountain Oolong in 195°F water for 2 minutes.

First Taste

Maliba High Mountain Oolong steeps incredibly pale in the first steep, a very pale yellow. There aroma of the tea has strong floral notes. When I sipped the oolong for the first time, Maliba High Mountain Oolong has a nice sweet floral note, with just a touch of saltiness. The salty notes of the tea adds a bit of umami quality to the tea, the savoury notes mingles well with the sweet floral notes. The complexity of the flavour profile in Maliba High Mountain Oolong is a delight on the tongue.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Maliba High Mountain Oolong a grand total of seven times, adding an additional 30 seconds per steep. The floral becomes a bit more subdued throughout the steepings, and the savoury notes become more prominent. I found that the flavour was most intense for the first resteep, and it remained fairly strong until the very end.

Maliba High Mountain Oolong unfurls and opens up an amazing amount. The unsteeped tea is 2.5g and the steeped side is also 2.5g – look at how much it opens up! I’m always amazed at how much the tea leaves will open up when it’s steeped.

My Overall Impression

I loved Oollo Tea’s Maliba High Mountain Oolong. I love the sweet-savoury aspect of the initial steep of this oolong, and also how the tea gets more savoury with each additional steep. The oolong has a great flavour, and I love the fact that it can be resteeped so much. The umami flavour is great, and I love that it’s affordably priced, especially considering how well it resteeps.

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