Beautiful Taiwan Tea - Misty Mountain

8:45 AM , , , 0 Comments

(Edit: I've been told the ideal starting time is forty-five seconds.)


I decided to look at Beautiful Taiwan Tea’s Misty Mountain before I ran out! I decided on having a mini gongfu session today, but first let’s talk a little about this tea. It was grown at a whopping 1800 meters above sea level; while not the highest grown tea at Beautiful Taiwan Tea it is certainly higher than those philistine teas grown at or below sea level.  For those who don’t know teas grown at higher elevations, generally take longer to grow and are very different from tea grown at a lower elevation. 
 Misty Mountain is a tightly rolled tea whose shape is somewhere between pearl and pellets, when unfurled become small leafs, generally two or three per stem. Misty Mountain has a mild floral scent and a stronger damp earth smell, not surprising for a tea named Misty Mountain


I started with a quick ten second rinse using boiling water to open up the leaves, although I probably should have done a twenty second rinse since the leaves were about 40% unfurled. For my first infusion I brewed at 190°F for thirty seconds (every subsequent infusions I add five degrees and fifteen seconds). The liquor was very clear, and the aroma was a little weak, somewhat floral. There were some very light sweet notes and a little fruity as well as being buttery. It had a thin (for a high mountain oolong) mouthfeel, but still thicker than a normal tea mouthfeel.
For my second infusion I found it to be more enjoyable. It had a strong floral aroma, something like fresh gardenia crossed with dried chrysanthemums.  This time the liquor became a light greenish-yellow and had a crisp floral taste that contrasts with a very general earthiness and a nice pear taste, although it is does not linger, but the liquor coats your throat nicely. 

For my third infusion it developed a nice wet stone aroma and the floral notes are still there. I’ve found the liquor to be very creamy and although the liquor looks nearly identical to my previous infusions. It still has a pear taste and a little earthy, but there is a nice honeyed finish. The liquor is still getting thicker. 


I got eleven infusions out of this, and as I went on it became nuttier and becomes thicker every time, it only starts to wane around the ninth infusion.  The floral aroma doesn't become overwhelming like some oolongs have a tendency to do, but it lost its earthiness around my fifth infusion. I think I prefer not having a gongfu session with this tea, I feel that it really benefits from  longer brewing times (starting around three minutes or so) although doing so loses some of the nuances of this tea. If you are a fan of very crisp and pure teas, I’d recommend this to you.

I had a little trouble with this tea, it has a very general Taiwanese High Mountain Oolong feel, but there was always something on the tip of my tongue that I could never identify. My previous attempts at brewing this tea have led to sweeter more honeyed notes, and considerably thicker then what I had today. Interestingly enough I feel that this tea brews up well in unfiltered water. I’ve accidently used my very hard tap water once while brewing this tea and found it to produce a very thick mouthfeel.


In case you didn't notice, look how insolently I used a JianShui instead of a yixing. I am going to look into my water filter situation, right now I am using a Zero Water filter, but I’ve noticed my teas have had lighter than normal liquor. 

Rah

Just a guy who likes tea.

0 comments:

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)