Milk oolongs was one of the first Taiwanese oolongs I ever tried, after Tieguanyin. So, it has a fond place in my heart and I am always excited to try a new one!
Description: “Produced by flavouring Jin Xuan Oolong with milk flavouring, which results in an incredible milk fragrance and taste which lasts for multiple infusions”
Instructions: 85°C/185°F | 1 teaspoon per cup | Brew for 1-2 minutes
Review: I received this in an Intro to Tea set from What-Cha, along with the Vietnam ‘Wild Boar’ Black Tea (with more reviews in the future!). While I always love to try new teas from around the world, I always am happy to drink a milk oolong!
The dry leaves were a dark emerald forest green and had a strong creamy milk smell. Once the water hit the dry leaves, there was a sweet grassy smell, along with a faint milky smell. The recommendations mentioned that the milk oolong could undergo various infusions. Therefore, I upped the temperature and time for an additional second and third infusion.
Infusion 1: I steeped the tea for various times between 1 to 1 1/2 minutes at 85°C. The leaves were not fully unfurled and the liquor was a light tan-yellow. The liquor had a lovely milky, buttery and roasted smell. Letting the liquor cool slightly allowed some of the flavours to come out more – it was rather light with a subtle grassy and creamy taste.
Infusion 2: The parameters for Infusion 2 and 3 were what I thought were fair. I upped this one by 10 to 95°C and 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. The liquor came out slightly darker and had a stronger milky aroma.
The flavours melded together better after the liquor cooled. It was much more grassy onwards with the grassy notes becoming much more predominant and the milky notes lingering during the tail end of the sip.
Infusion 3: For the last infusion, I steeped for 2.5 minutes at 100°C water. The flavour was rather faint, with mostly a hint of grassy, nutty and creamy milk at the back of the mouth. The aroma was much lighter and the leaves had mostly unfurled.
I enjoyed Infusion 1 and 2 the best because of the subtle shifts between the grassy and milky notes. This one would do well with gong fu style brewing and shorter infusions to bring out the subtle differences. However, I went with the longer times because of the original steeping recommendations from the company. Overall, I have to say, this is another milk oolong I enjoyed (3.5/5 rating).
- Type: Oolong tea
- Origin: Taiwan( Bamboo Mt., Nantou)
- Caffeine: Unknown
- Ingredients: Oolong tea, milk flavouring
- Company: What-Cha
The Question of the Post: Do you enjoy Milk Oolong?
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