Last month, I started a 4-part series regarding the teas from Doke Tea Estate in India. As I’ve tasted mostly black teas from Indias, I wanted to try the different types of teas that this estate produces!
Description: “This rare Oolong from the Doke Tea Garden in Bihar India brews up a wonderful sweet honey, with a hint of roasted nut.”
Instructions: 1 ½ tsp | 1 cup | 85°C | 3-5 minutes
Review: I recall watching a video of wine critic James Suckling where he was doing a blind tasting and it was amazing to see how accurate he was with his guesses. One area I feel that I’m still learning about is how to identify teas from specific regions. Over the years, I’ve developed broad-stroke knowledge and can guess which countries, but not specific regions or producers. Therefore, whenever I get an opportunity to taste one region or a producer, I go for it.
Much like the green tea from last month, I also haven’t had that many oolongs from India, so I was very curious to see how this would taste. The dry leaves were fragmented with a range of colours from greens, tans, browns, and black, with rich earthy, malt, baked bread characteristics, and an underlying vegetal note.
The liquor brewed into a clear dark amber molasses colour with a sweet and woody smell. After 4 minutes, the tea had a roasted, barley, toasted nuts, and stone fruit taste. The sip ended off with a saline vegetal note and a hint of astringency. The tea was overall on the delicate side.
The wet reddish-brown and green leaves are broken and imparted a damp, undergrowth, and vegetal smell.
Overall, it was nice to experience an oolong from India! It has been some time since I’ve had one. I found I liked it best when I was sipping it on its own because when I paired it with something else, its delicate nature would get lost. The taste was quite familiar to me and it took me some time to finally realize that it reminded me of a 1st Flush Darjeeling with its mixture of sweet fruity notes contrasted with the savoury grass ones. Since oolongs are not common in India, I would suggest trying it, just to try something new (3.5/5 rating)!
- Type: Oolong tea
- Origin: India, Bihar
- Caffeine: Unknown
- Ingredients: Oolong tea
- Company: World Tea House
The question of the post: Have you had an Indian oolong before? If so, what did it taste like to you?
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