It has been a long time since I tasted tea from Haku Tea’s Discovery box. So, it was about time to revisit it and taste another oolong!
Description: “Gardenia, honeydew, smooth“
Instructions: 4g tea / 100ml | 95° C water | 25 seconds, 20 seconds + 10 seconds | reuse leaves 4 to 5 times
Review: I originally came across Haku Tea at the 2024 Toronto Tea Festival, where I purchased the Discovery box. The box had four random oolongs from Haku Tea collection, with 6 to 8 grams of tea each. As mentioned in my other Haku Tea review, I wanted to taste the oolongs from light to dark roast. So, this will be the second tea I taste!
Misty Mountain came with 8 grams of tea. Mimicking my last review, I used the tiny tea technique I learned from Sooz (Being Tea) during a monthly tasting box session. The intent of tiny tea is to brew a small amount of tea using less leaf and water. This is especially useful when you only have a small amount of tea! I have a small cup that holds 50 ml of water and a gaiwan lid that fits perfectly on top. I brewed this tea 3 times using 2, 4, and 2 grams of tea respectively.
The dry leaves were rolled tightly into small oolong balls and were shades of jade to forest green. The leaves smelled vegetal and of baked bread. While it was not mentioned in the recommendations, I warmed the small cup prior and added the dry leaves. The warmed leaves imparted a roasted, caramel, molasses, and floral smell.
Infusion 1 (25 seconds): The brewed liquor was almost colourless and had a hint of pale yellow. The taste was delicate and was lightly spinach and vegetal. There was a mild drying sensation at the back of the throat.
Infusion 2 (20 seconds): The leaves had started to unfurl and the liquor was a darker yellow colour. The taste was noticeably stronger as well. It had a roasted grassy taste which reminded me of Dragon Well and a floralness I associate with Taiwanese oolongs.
Infusion 3 (30 seconds): The darker yellow liquor started floral in taste and slowly transformed into a more steamed vegetal quality that lingered in the mouth.
Infusion 4 (40 seconds): The liquor smelled and tasted more roasted. The fully unfurled leaves brewed a woody, roasted, caramel, and mineral tasting tea. The end of the sip was more drying at the back of the throat.
Infusion 5 (50 seconds): The flavour started to wane and there was a gentle sweet and floral taste.
After 5 infusions, the wet leaves had a faint vegetal, grassy, and floral smell. The unfurled olive coloured tea were made of stems with small to medium sized leaves with some reddish edges.
This oolong had a nice range of notes from sweet, roasted, to vegetal. With the roasted quality, the tea wasn’t as “spring” tasting as Spring Ripple, which isn’t a bad thing. Overall, I liked both of the teas I have tasted so far! I would suggest this one to someone who prefers a more roasted and vegetal oolong. I can’t wait to try the next one (3.5/5 rating)!
- Type: Oolong tea
- Origin: Taiwan
- Caffeine: Unknown
- Ingredients: Oolong tea
- Company: Haku Tea
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