Gopaldhara Spring White Teas

Not exactly timely, reviewing spring versions of white teas in January, but I wanted to keep on with trying spare samples, and passing on thoughts on those.  I never did get around to this range trying Gopaldhara versions from a set sent by them to try last year.  They'll be really good, of course, but maybe in some interesting way.  Or maybe I'll just keep writing about them being sweet, complex, fruity, refined, etc., just what I expect.

One is described as a Bai Mu Dan; that might be different.  It's a reference to a Chinese white tea style, of course.  The other referenced something about being an early harvest version, which only became clear later after talking to Rishi about what it was, since that didn't match up with a website marketing name version.  It was something they didn't sell by direct retail, a batch they only sold wholesale.

This review gets a little strange because that earlier guess, from the review notes, that their white teas just repeat in style was completely wrong.  The Bai Mu Dan was really unusual for being processed in a different way than was typical for them, which I've just heard about, but which I'm not really going to try to summarize here.  Processing details tend to go in one ear and out the other, so I wouldn't do that justice.  It was pretty much just left to dry, so it's a standard white tea, but there was a little more to it than that.

The other white tea version was relatively broken.  In these review notes--written while I tried the teas--I guessed that it probably wasn't like that as they sold it, that I probably got the last of a large bag for the sample, broken material that had settled out, and Rishi guessed that's probably what it was too.  To me that makes for an interesting test case, because I've wondered how similar their teas would be to more conventional and more broken leaf Darjeeling, and this will test that.  Of course I could just split a sample that's relatively whole leaf and crush half, and then brew both parts separately, but I never get around to that.  Intuitively astringency level would be higher, and flavors might change just a little, and that's kind of how it worked out.

I'm not changing the contents of these notes based on learning those extra details, but not that much changed in relation to the Bai Mu Dan version anyway.  I think Rishi said that it's from AV2 material, but that's already in the web page description anyway:

As is typical they keep a flavor description limited, which is probably for the best since different people would always interpret flavor aspects differently:

Instead of rolling and oxidizing, this tea is sun-dried in a controlled method that preserves its unforgettable smooth, creamy and fruity texture. The picturesque dry leaves are greenish-grey in appearance with lots of silvery tips which brew into a pale yellow-green coloured liquor. A hint of honey and notes of wildflowers can also be felt in this tea.

Review:

Gopaldhara Early Harvest White (2021):  I might've went with the more typical fast infusion time to adjust for this being more broken than usual, but instead I let it go longer to avoid writing about how I would know better next round.  This is too astringent to really evaluate.  In a sense that works to help identify flaws in the tea, what the rest of the character is really like, but it won't work to evaluate it against preference.  Except that nothing really stands out except the astringency.

This is oxidized more than I expected.  White teas vary a lot related to that; it just depends on how much air contact occurred during processing.  And using broken material would really ramp it up too. This is going to seem more like a black tea than their first flush versions typically do.  I'll try a fast infusion next round and can talk about how it is then.

from their website; I spaced taking dry leaf pictures, which never happens

Bai Mu Dan:  infusion time was just about perfect for this version (towards 20 seconds, quite long for a typical Gongfu first infusion).  This is really unique.  At first it seems like that novel flavor includes a lot of melon, but I might adjust that after considering it.  Yep, melon.  Probably like honeydew or something such; I kind of hate melon so those could be more familiar.  Oddly that really doesn't carry over to disliking teas that taste like melon, so this is nice.  

Beyond that it's hard to describe.  There's a warmth to it that's hard to place, and a depth of fullness to the feel.  Warmth might be a bit like really fresh croissant, with a warm and mild floral tone mixed in, like chrysanthemum.  It's really unlike anything else that comes to mind.  And this range isn't too far from how Bai Mu Dan can be too, which is odd.  I suppose for being this novel it would be atypical but still that's right somehow.

oxidation level difference is easy to see in the brewed liquid

Early Harvest, second infusion:  for normal Darjeeling this would be good; it has plenty of astringency edge, and lots of floral flavor, and it's clean, with good sweetness.  It's hard to even place that in relation to the other Gopaldhara teas I've been trying, for awhile.  It's that astringency bite, which brings with it green wood flavor, or at least seems connected to that to me.  At half this proportion it would be brewing better, even at the same flash infusion I just used.  

It's just not what I expected, the intense, fruity and floral, approachable, very sweet range.  I can't say that a tea that seems like a typical Darjeeling is a complete miss to me; that doesn't seem fair.  It just seems harsh in comparison to their other range.  Most likely if I try another white from what they sent (I think there might be two more in that set) those will be what I expected, and this just isn't.  

It can happen that you get a sample from towards the end of a larger package, that it being this broken isn't really typical of what it's sold as.  Tea reviewers, or customers in general, can end up feeling put out by that, but it is what it is, and results aren't always really negative in relation to that.  Last year a vendor sent me what had to be the end of a batch of Thai Oriental Beauty (an interpretation of that style, really) and that really worked, with the extra astringency and edge supporting the mild style of that tea nicely.  That was a tea I bought a normal amount of, not a sample, but since I liked the tea there was nothing to complain about related to that form.  Looking back at that post the tea in that bag near the top wasn't as broken, with the bottom half just fragments.  Either way, it was nice.

Bai Mu Dan:  warm tones pick up a bit, so that melon doesn't stand out as much.  It's still a bit bright and sweet, but offset from just that in tone.  The way some faint aspects come together is catchy, the general effect.  It wouldn't be completely off to interpret this as including mild citrus, it's just not exactly how I see it.  It's mainly floral tones, but a range of those.  That warm part I mentioned is similar to fresh baked bread of some type, or interpreted differently leaning a bit towards balsa wood.  It all works though.

Early Harvest, third infusion:  getting a lot more pleasant.  That floral range is really intense, and the astringency is really easing up.  Probably next round it will be in an even nicer balance.  "Intense floral" can mean a lot of things but most of those wouldn't be this intense.  A different reviewer might question whether or not this is a flavored tea, but it's absolutely not, since they wouldn't send that, and the difference in effect is clear enough.  

It's odd how this comes across as more oxidized than standard first flush Darjeeling.  Brewed color alone clearly indicates that, and of course warm toned flavor range and astringency.  The next round should indicate what this really is.

Bai Mu Dan:  it's strange how richness picked up a lot, even though the other general aspect range didn't change that much.  It's a little "cleaner," not that it was musty or murky in some sense before, but the flavor range is brighter and clearer now.  No set of words would capture that one "catchy" effect that I mentioned.  It's an emergent property of how the other aspects come across, not one thing, or even clearly tied to a set of a few aspects.  That said I think there might be one main thing causing it that I've not done justice to describing.  Maybe it's how that fruit tone, now harder to identify, mixes with the floral tone and warmer range, what I've described as like fresh baked bread.

Early harvest, fourth infusion:  it's interesting how this reminds me of most Darjeeling first flush versions I experienced in the past.  Heavy floral tone is offset by an astringency edge, which has moderated to a level that's pleasant.  That floral range is so intense that it carries over as a more pronounced aftertaste than most tea types provide.  

This would've been better made using half as much tea; I wasn't thinking that broken leaf effect through.  It's just not the page I'm typically on, and I've been preparing teas more or less on autopilot for awhile now.  Using the same proportion and modifying timing works really well for a broad range of teas, just not necessarily this example.  Or for broken leaf versions in general, really.  This would've been a more positive sounding review if I had dropped dry leaf amount to half this, even though I'm trying to describe how the input changes things.  Or Western brewing probably would've went better.

Bai Mu Dan:  this is going to come across much differently not just for being whole leaf, and a different character of tea, but also because I used less dry tea to make it.  It took up about one and a half times the gaiwan space as the other dry but double would've been more suitable (best achieved by cutting back the first, as described).  Of course I'm adjusting timing to longer for this version than the other to offset that, but I'm still drinking these at two completely different brewed intensity levels.

All that said the description from last round still works.  I'll probably not add any more notes on later rounds, even though these will shift some, because the basic story is already covered.  Some degree of brewing error is part of it in relation to the first, but it's also just broken leaf first flush Darjeeling, which is pleasant enough brewed as fast as I'm making it, just not the type I expected.

Conclusions:

That Bai Mu Dan version was interesting, and novel.  I'm not sure that I like it more than their typical first flush white tea versions, but it's in a similar range for positive aspect character, and sometimes just being different is better.

The other version was interesting for that broken leaf form experiment.  Tried as a whole leaf tea it would've brewed a lot slower, with much lower astringency, and less of a green wood / plant stem sort of flavor input.  Not that all that is so terrible; someone could actually prefer both those inputs, especially if they were acclimated to expect them.  To a limited extent we like what we expect to like.  Only to a limited extent though; people are generally also open to new experiences being positive.

It's drifting way off the subject but let's consider an example from my life; what kinds of things did I experience moving to Thailand that were novel at first, that I liked a lot right away or else needed time to adjust to?  Sticking to foods will keep it simple.  One of my favorite deserts, that I'm reminded that I could eat and enjoy every single day when I have it, is something I didn't like at first, a mix of  Chinese beans, dried fruits, ice, and longan juice.  That's a little different, about a set of flavors and overall food experience being novel.  

Food texture differences stand out a lot more here; lots of things are mushy.  Some mushy foods I absolutely love now, like congee (boiled rice soup), and others I'm still so-so on, like those gelatinous desert cubes they make from rice starch.  I think I loved mango and sticky rice the first time I tried it here, but to me it would seem odd for someone not to.   Those could hardly pair any better, with the sticky rice flavor and texture adjusted by adding coconut, and with an extra coconut sauce.  All of this isn't really supposed to tie back to how Darjeeling style expectations would work out, it's just a tangent.

Smoked Indian teas, Niroulla Darjeeling and Ketlee Manipur

Niroulla Darjeeling left, Ketlee Manipur black right

I won't add much intro about these; they're smoked Indian black teas, provided by the Lochans for tasting (the Niroulla) and also by Susmit of Ketlee.  Many thanks to them!  To me warm toned teas are a nice winter theme, so I guess this relates to observing winter, even though the weather here isn't on that page.  

It's been in the low 30s lately / low 90s F, so summer weather everywhere else, even though it's supposedly the end of our cool season, or maybe the start of the hot season now, not that it matters.  It feels cool to me anyway because it's breezy and not humid; I went to a water park with the kids yesterday and it felt a little cool out, at roughly that same temperature.

Niroulla's Smoky Wonder Black Tea (a Tea Swan outlet link, to a 2020 2nd flush version, with this 2021)

This hand-picked fresh leaves from the terrain of Darjeeling during the second flush is a wonder wrapped in your cup! The tea leaves are processed through the pine smoke chamber to get the smoky aroma and flavour. Having the air-filled around you with the aroma of delicate fruity notes, Niroula’s Smoky Wonder black tea tastes smoky and fresh! 

Orthodox Smoked Black Tea

Orthodox Village Style Smoked Black tea from Manipur. [I think it's that]

Processing : This tea is handpicked, withered, hand-rolled, oxidised, sundried and then smoked in forest firewood. The rolled leaf will not be fully sun dried and the complete drying will take place on top of the kitchen fireplace for several days until the desired smokiness level is achieved... 

Taste : Smoke, muscatel, raisins, peppermint...

Grade : Wild Gushu Spring Harvest 2019

I always take gushu (plant age) claims with a grain of salt, but if old plant forest based sources are used some would be older, or maybe all the material could be.  I suppose it's possible that this is a related version from a different harvest, or it could be something else, but it's probably close to that.  If it's a similar but different version the description probably wouldn't match.

Review:

Niroulla left; it came across as much lighter, matching the color difference

Niroulla Darjeeling:  not all that smoky; in general I expected the opposite concern, although the smoke scent is a lot weaker in this dry tea version than the other.  It would be possible to miss that this is even a smoked tea.  The overall experience is pleasant, and positive, just not overwhelmingly so related to complexity and balance of the tea.  Quality seems generally good; not much for flaws stands out either.  There is just a lack of distinctness to the experience, not much jumps out at you beyond a general earthiness.  

Sweetness level is ok, and flavors that are present are fine.  For a breakfast tea this would be fine, well above average.  I think sometimes a lot can get missed related to the range within which I'm evaluating teas.  Compared to a loose Twinings English Breakfast tea this is on another level, that much more positive, complex, and refined.  I suppose comparing it to a Twinings Lapsang Souchong might make sense, but it's not as if I have either profile in mind, so I can contrast or match up aspects.  I've not drank Twinings teas in a few years, and don't plan on resolving that to re-establish a baseline.

Some general fruitiness stands out beyond the very light smoke input.  It's not exactly clearly in any one range, a bit non-distinct, but towards citrus or maybe dried fruit, or maybe both.  For "dried fruit" maybe dried cherry and tamarind, so including some complexity.  Really that description as an aspect list sounds good, and the tea is pleasant, it's just limited in how it all comes together and comes across.  

For sounding a little negative about it I should clarify that I'd describing it using really exceptional Indian and Chinese black teas as a baseline threshold.  This is better than a generic Darjeeling tea bag tea, for sure, but really good versions of better Darjeeling (or Assam, or from elsewhere) are two full levels beyond that.  This doesn't quite make it to that highest level, the range where very positive aspects stand out, and overall complexity, and refinement is great, all experienced without notable flaws.  This lacks the flaws, and complexity isn't bad, a good start.  A touch more smoke really would've blotted out experiencing the rest, so that would be a significant trade-off, but it would match my expectations better.  Of course one infusion in is too early for a final judgment.

Ketlee Manipur:  there's that punch of smoke.  For people not into smoked teas it would be just awful, like leaning over a campfire, but for people on that page it's never clearly enough until it's too much, and this isn't there yet, not too much.  I think they nailed it for smoke input level.  It's not like I'm a smoke expert but at a guess this is pine smoke; it has that nice sharp edge to it.  I suppose other tree wood could also lend that.  My grandfather smoked a lot of food and he would never use pine, instead maple, cherry, or hickory, and those all provide really nice range for smoking foods, and would've worked well for tea.

It's going to be harder to identify what is going on beyond the smoke, which is fine for me, since it's kind of the part of the experience I'm signed on for.  My impression is that the tea base is good, that they didn't cut any corners on what they used, although to an extent they could've and it wouldn't change much.  No flaws stand out, no noteworthy astringency, or thinness of body, or off flavor aspect.  Richness and depth is good.  

Flavor range seems to add more of a warm mineral and toffee note than for the other, which is lighter and more into fruit.  Feel is definitely fuller, but it might give up a bit of sharp feel edge, a light astringency dryness in the other.  The other is so soft and balanced it's wrong to say that without adding context; I'm still talking about the range of very good tea, not how chopped leaf versions come across, and that astringency level and version is positive.  It doesn't cross my mind to see if a splash of milk will counter that aspect in the other, because it lends a fullness and structure to the tea, not a harsh edge.

Kind of a strange idea I've been encountering these days, mixing these two teas they might be better than either alone.  Ordinarily I love the distinctness of narrow aspect types of teas, for better and worse for balancing a broad range of aspect inputs, but the smoke and richness in the second version and light edge and fruit in the first might work together.  Oddly the second is just as sweet, not a direct match to other descriptions, but it's easy to miss that for how the heavier savory smoke input shifts interpretation.

I just did try mixing them; in terms of balance and complexity it's better, but it does come across as muddled for blending too much range together.  In a sense that failure to be better is comforting, reassuring a general perspective about teas I most typically only hold as an assumption, even though I've been discussing it a lot lately, about blends versus narrower origin and aspect versions.  I suppose them mixed together is more like what any tin of smoked black tea would be like.

Niroulla left

Niroulla, second round:  the smoke is essentially gone, not that it was so clear that it was present initially.  This tea is better this round; the fruit really shines through.  Citrus might have picked up a bit in the balance of the fruit.  Astringency edge is just different, not more or less, and a touch of woodiness enters in, but the overall balance is nice.  Judged as a smoked tea it's just not like that this round, but it's quite good.  This would be especially good as a tea type to have with food, the way that fruit and sweetness could link up with a food input, or counter it, with the light astringency edge just perfect to clear your palate.  

Tea and food pairing isn't necessarily one of my things but I just tried an orange cake (like plain cake with marmalade on it; kind of odd but nice) along with a Shui Xian, an inexpensive version from that one local Chinatown shop I always go to, Jip Eu, and both were fantastic together, much better than either alone.  I think that worked much better for the tea containing no citrus trace, just countering it well, with the overlap between this Darjeeling and that marmalade probably not working out as well.  With this being so sweet it might pair well with something that's not quite as sweet.

Ketlee Manipur:  it's cool how the smoke effect shifted in this, but it didn't really diminish.  If anything it's slightly stronger, reminding me of the scent of coal or charcoal.  The balance is still ok, with a lighter, twangier smoke edge replaced by this deeper smoke range, just with less coming through from the tea.  Back to the pairing idea, this would be perfect with something sweet, for adding contrast, maybe something like a chocolate cake with a creamy frosting, or a raisin danish.  I think the connection between that wuyi yancha oolong and the orange flavored cake related to the inky mineral tone pairing really well with citrus sweetness, and that this probably wouldn't offset that orange cake in a comparable way.

Conclusions:

Both nice, both very different.  I'm wondering where these stand in relation to a smoked Gopaldhara Darjeeling I tried half a year ago, but of course I don't have the memory to place that.  At a guess that was closer to this Darjeeling version but with slightly heavier smoke.  I never did get much of a read on the tea input for the Ketlee Manipur version, but again for liking smoked teas with smoke a bit heavy that seemed fine.  That's what they're about.  If it's too strong aftertaste gets to be a bit too much, and this Manipur version didn't go that far.

Judged as a fruity, balanced Darjeeling version the Niroulla works better, versus representing a typical smoked tea.  It may be that they intentionally backed off the smoke level to allow that tea quality and character to shine through, which makes sense, given how good the tea was, and for it being a bit on the delicate side (or refined, to add a more positive framing).  It balanced.

Ketlee 2020 Manipur (Indian) Spring Wild White Tea

 

Reviewing the last of a set of samples of interesting and novel Indian teas, provided by Susmit of Ketlee for review (many thanks!).  Earlier posts covered trying Indian sheng (a variation of Yunnan pu'er), Sikkim and Manipur origin Indian oolongs, with this a wild origin white.  We met Susmit in a meetup discussion described here, talking about changing Indian tea styles, and shifts in awareness and demand.  I'll add his description before posting this, and get right to the tasting part.

2020 Spring Wild White Tea (the Ketlee site listing)  ($7 per 25 grams)

Grown in the wilderness of Manipur, this tea from very old plants are mother nature's gift to us. It has been one of our most awaited teas yet, after the last years harvest sold out way earlier than expected!

The tea starts floral and fruity with hints of fresh coriander leaves and spearmint. The spice notes are soothing and present just on the finish. The fruit notes are reminiscent of litchi, green apples and kiwi. The flowery notes are dominant in yellow flowers with a hint of honeysuckle. There is a hint of sandalwood in the later steeps which blends seamlessly with the flowery character. The liquor coats your mouth and is extremely silky.

It's cool the way that the general impression and flavor categories are almost a complete match with the review that follows, and not one single individual description is common to both.  That's how that goes.  I don't necessarily see that as a problem with tasting skill or a critical limitation of tasting description, it's just that any impression isn't as specific as the descriptions and associations tend to sound.  It's an interpretation, and those would always vary.  Every part of what I wrote matches in general, about complex fruit and floral range, limited spice range, freshness, transition in character across infusions, warm tones, balanced and integrated individual aspects, and thick feel.

Related to accounting for real change in tasting experience, trying a tea a year later (letting it settle due to aging), brewed with different water, using a slightly different brewing process (proportion and timing) would shift results a little.

Related to value / pricing, $14 per 50 grams is getting up there, but for tea that there is only one version of available that's hard to peg in terms of a market rate.  Related to quality level and positive experience this is probably still a good value; it's that pleasant and unique.

It goes without saying, but for people not so familiar with this scope buying "wild" origin teas is a way to ensure they are not grown using chemicals.  There is no way that a producer is out spraying down the forest to protect tea plants already thriving within a balanced ecosystem.  You have to be careful that teas aren't misrepresented, that they're not really plantation grown tea that sounds better described differently, but I'm pretty sure there is no significant risk of that from this source.  If a vendor is buying and reselling something they didn't work closely with producers to have created they might just be passing on a story they heard, not necessarily making that up themselves.  

Evaluating tea origin stories can be tricky.  Hatvala of Vietnam, Kinnari of Laos (which doesn't necessarily serve as a direct retail outlet, but are out there), and Monsoon of Thailand are other examples of vendors who work closely with local producers.  They could all be relied upon to tell accurate stories about origins, because they all played a role in both sourcing and in initiating specific forms of tea production, working directly with local residents who actually harvest and make the teas.

Review:

First infusion:  there's a touch of smoke in this; that's different.  It's so faint that I don't expect it to hang around long as infusions pass, but it does affect this first infusion quite a bit.  It's relatively positive; in the right form and balance smoke can be nice.  The tea probably came in contact with smoke, versus that being a natural taste.  Beyond that it's sweet, rich, and complex, even for the first infusion often being lighter in flavor.  

I'll do better with a flavor list next round but for now a bit of warm depth compliments lighter and sweeter fruit range nicely.  This might taste a bit like peach and vanilla, with the depth relating to mild mineral tone and aromatic wood, which is towards spice.  Feel is rich, not so unusual for white teas.  It's great how warmth, sweetness and depth all indicate some degree of oxidation and freshness and brightness show that to be limited.  A great start!

Second infusion:  I didn't try to use a longer infusion time to bump up intensity, brewing this for no longer than 10 seconds, including the pours.  Again it's interesting how this covers so much aspect scope.  I suppose going from the appearance slight inconsistency in degrees of oxidation might have led to that (more apparent in wet leaves), probably more an accident than something intentional, which worked out well in this case.  

The smoke isn't noticeable at all, replaced by heavy and complex floral tones; it would probably take at least two flowers to describe that range.  Fruit is also present but less forward and intense, now maybe more towards dried apricot.  The warmer range is pleasant, still a light warm mineral with cedar.  As if that wasn't enough there is a vegetal range of aspects that seems to extend across both, as warm, sweet dried autumn leaf tied to the warm part, and towards an actual vegetable matching the lighter tones, or let's say a lot like holy basil (tulsi, to some).

This seems a good place to guess where this is headed; I'd expect transitions to level off this round and then stay stable for most of the rest.  Even minor difference in timing would change brewed tea effect so that could seem like transitions, but not really represent that, if I shift timing a little to longer or shorter.

Third infusion:  warmth picked up; that range increased.  It's interesting how there's so much going on in this that lots of interpretations would make sense [interesting that I wrote that in notes before reading Susmit's description].  This fruit tone could be regarded as any number of things, like dried mango instead, maybe part of that heading towards pumpkin, including citrus peel (a warm version; maybe even grapefruit).  Same for the warmer range.  To me it's quite close to cedar but it's not that far from dried tamarind, or "on the other side" not completely unlike metallic range.  

The floral range is a bigger part of the story I'll probably not do justice to.  One part is rich and heavy, like lavender.  It's more complex than that though, so a hint of sweet depth might seem like rose, or the brighter range like jasmine, just a subdued and integrated version of jasmine.  On the lighter and sweeter side it's more like orchid.  That's a lot of flowers; the range really does seem to cover a lot of scope.  Still it all makes perfect sense together; it integrates.

This is interesting for being one of the more flavor complex teas I've tried in awhile.  The great versions of Darjeeling I've been trying (most from Gopaldhara) were like that but they seemed to often hit 3 or 4 notes hard, with a couple of supporting aspects, and this seems broader, maybe even to represent a range of processing outcomes.  It's not like a blend though, since they probably "got there" by mixing plant versions that may be slightly different genetically (the plants shift in genetic profile as they grow in the wild, as people change in related background over time).  The leaves could've oxidized just a bit differently, as I mentioned, but were all grown and processed together.  Those Darjeeling got the most out of one type of material processed in one way, accentuating novel, positive aspects through consistent processing, which just happened to include enough diverse supporting aspect range to give those good balance. 

Fourth infusion:  this isn't so different than last round, but it did shift a little.  The fruit picked up, evening up with the floral, or maybe moving past it.  It tastes a little like juicyfruit gum, unusually bright and sweet.  I probably did accidentally brew this a few seconds faster, causing warmer range to drop back, and it probably would've shifted a little without that.  

This is the exact opposite of white teas that suffer from either being too subtle, not tasting like much, or not spanning much range, just covering some warm cinnamon with a touch of floral (for shou mei character), or bai mu dan that's floral and sweet with a good bit of melon, and that's it.  The only way that someone wouldn't like this tea is if they are really into other aspect range and aren't flexible about that.  That's wouldn't be as negative as it might seem; someone could get really hooked on sheng pu'er and only make exceptions for some oolong or black tea range, and that would still be plenty to experience.  And I suppose not everyone loves fruit range in teas like I do.

Oddly a Thai Oriental Beauty variation I tried this year isn't so far off this.  It always had reminded me of a white tea more than an oolong, and was heavy on cinnamon and floral tones, maybe with a touch of citrus or light fruit mixed in, but not covering quite as much range as this.  You would think it would've been much more oxidized, matching that typical style, but it really wasn't.  For being moderate cost tea I thought that was great for quality level and novelty, it just didn't land in the typical OB style range.  Then this part is crazy; I liked that tea even better mixed with another white tea to stretch out the range and give it a bit more depth of feel.

Fifth infusion:  I'll leave off here; it's enough to say about one tea, and later transitions won't change an overall impression by much.  Of course this tea will have good durability and will make another 5 very pleasant rounds, using limited timing and high proportion to prepare it.  Balance is just great, and it's still evolving.  The warmth now reminds me of cinnamon, with fruit on to more like cooked peach.  The earlier floral range gave way to that fruit, and the earlier cedar aromatic aspect faded to become that spice, but hints of both give it great depth (in the sense of complexity).

I've said that the feel is rich but I can add to that; in addition to feeling full there is just a hint of dryness that gives it a pleasant edge.  Aftertaste experience is nice, with parts trailing over to make the experience seem longer, for including an extra dimension.  This probably is one of the better white teas I've ever tried.  I expected it to be novel and pleasant but not this complex and refined.  They really nailed it, which had to start with high quality material suited to this plant type.  The best version of a wild source white Monsoon Thai white tea included some similarities, just not quite the same positive result across so much scope.  I thought that was really good even for that; white tea doesn't usually compete with good Darjeeling and fruity oolong for complexity and intensity.

I've not really said where the level of sweetness stands, but explaining a lot about floral and fruit range implied it was above average in level, as I experienced it.  That makes a lot of difference in final effect.  It's hard to imagine a tea including too much natural sweetness, although I suppose that's possible, but if the level is lower that causes tea aspects to not tie together as well.  For a tea like this it could swap out some sweetness for some savory range, like sundried tomato, and that would still work, it would balance.  In saying that this kind of resembles sundried tomato a little too, but to me this last round is closer to dried persimmon, which is related but different.  In between plum and prune works to approximate that, if dried persimmon isn't familiar.

All in all really nice tea.  I expected it to be pleasant but not like this.

Sikkim and Manipur Indian oolong

Sikkim left, Manipur right, in all photos

Susmit of Ketlee sent a number of interesting and novel Indian teas to try and so far I've only reviewed an Indian (Manipur) version of sheng (which as I see it is a description that doesn't invoke a GI conflict until you also call it "pu'er," which not a convention everyone else would agree on).  These are two Indian oolongs.

Indian oolong is a strange concept, since most often that's used to describe a moderately oxidized version of black tea, not something processed similar to Chinese or Taiwanese oolong, or similar in outcome.  Which is fine, to me; I tend to not get hung up on concept specifics.  That same kind of concern can make it hard to identify Darjeeling first flush versions, which tend to be called black teas sometimes, when they're not really that oxidized, or those might not be assigned any main category designation.  

I don't see it as important where I personally stand on calling any medium level oxidized tea oolong; people can use or reject concept use in any ways they like.  For vendor branding it's a little different because that has to be both descriptive, giving potential customers an idea of what to expect, and positive, related to hopefully leading towards sales.  

Years back Indian oolong was a more novel concept, and now people are just living with it, or else avoiding it.  Kind of off the subject but Halmari (a main Assam producer) does a really nice Indian oolong that seems a lot like second flush Darjeeling, so really more in the range of black tea oxidation, or at least they did a few years ago.  That's a complete miss for style but to me positive outcome more than makes up for that.  It's hard to compare across years and levels of background experience but these are probably the next level up for tea quality, really better than I expected them to be.

before buying a phone with a slightly better camera, 4 years ago (that Halmari oolong post)

Review:

Sikkim:  it's closer to Darjeeling than I expected, that orange / muscatel range.  It's not really a close match for a first or second flush version, kind of in between related to oxidation level (as I suppose it should be, given the oolong theme). It's interesting how the bright, fresh, floral and intense range of first flush Darjeeling comes across, and also the deeper, warmer, citrus (and perhaps touch of grape) black-tea of second flush Darjeeling is also included.  It's a lot of scope.  Flavors are really clean, and feel is nice, with a touch of "greener" range astringency and the warmer base (I mean the flavors that usually connect to feel ranges, and also those feel ranges). 

Setting aside comparison to Darjeeling it's just floral and fruit intensive. Indian oolong can be open to criticism for not seeming like Chinese versions, and this doesn't, but it's pleasant on its own.  

Manipur:  a lot of points go to this for novelty; you don't drink it and think of how it's just like some other tea range.  An aromatic spice note stands out a lot, towards root beer or sassafras. The feel is cool too, in a way that matches, really creamy.  It's like how vanilla is creamy in feel, just not quite that thick. Flavors are pretty clean, and complexity is good, with a nice aftertaste carrying over from that novel spice range.  

There's some woodiness beyond the spice; someone might see that as a flaw but I don't. It connects well with the spice, and it's a novel form of wood, like a creamy and light version of tree sap.  Some of these kinds of comments are probably more accessible to people who spent childhoods splitting wood for heating a home in temperate climates.  I can picture the bark type this smells like, or like the sap inside that tree, but I've lost track of most tree types long ago.  A warm edge is nice, or rather the way it covers range that's light, fresh, and sweet and then also a warmer range.  It could be interpreted as a mineral base, or just as a tree bark flavor. To me that spice tone is really catchy.

To me this also doesn't seem like a Chinese oolong (or Taiwanese, etc.), but I'm fine with that, it's what I expected.

Sikkim, second infusion: this is really nice, it just might seem too much like a Darjeeling to someone.  I don't remember that I've ever tried any Sikkim area tea before; it would seem odd if that close match is normal. There's one distinctive dry, edgy feel and sweet floral and citrus range flavor of first flush Darjeeling and this includes it.  I suppose some of that citrus might apply more to second flush, but it's not a broad variation of theme, tying to a later harvest season and related processing style instead.  

Sweetness, balance, complexity, feel, intensity:  it's all good.  That one flower stem tasting (and dry feel) aspect might not appeal to everyone, but for people into Darjeeling it would.

Manipur:  again for novelty this is way beyond the other; the earlier round's complexity filled in some, along with some depth, but it wasn't thin or lacking range or intensity that first round.  I think floral tone picks up a little in relation to that spice.  It's a sweet, creamy floral range, not so far off plumeria, maybe just slightly warmer.  It's possible a touch of dryness ramps up too, or a little more body.  To me all that works well with the spice range; it makes perfect sense together.  It's a little hard to place in relation to any conventional oolong; it's just not like standard types and versions.  The other version seems more like an Indian tea just set to medium for oxidation level, but again like Darjeeling.  This is novel.

Sikkim, third infusion:  evolving a bit; the citrus picks up, and tone warms.  The dry edge is dropping back a bit, moving to richer feel. It's the best it has been, but that earlier mix worked for me too.  It makes it seem a bit more distinctive.  This would probably work well brewed fast and quite light; I've been infusing these for a bit over 10 seconds, and a very light round would be different, shifting what comes across.  Flavor intensity is nice in this; it would seem normal for a tea version with this much flavor intensity, across this particular range, to be a lot stronger in dry astringency feel than this is.

Manipur:  this doesn't increase in intensity, or shift in character much.  There is an intensity and depth to this sweetness and spice range that's a little like star anise, the way that's so strong, and so sweet, with that much aftertaste range.  

To me that spice is hard to dial in to a right level, so I usually don't use it in masala chai, or haven't added it to one for many years.  I skipped making masala chai last year; strange, given how much time I spent at home.  We were traveling a lot in the last half of the year within Thailand, and I tend to pretend that weather has cooled in the temperate Northern climate fall and winter, even though it's really always hot here.  It's 31 C now, tasting this outside at noon, 88 F, not so hot for us but not cool.  "Real Feel" is 38 in the shade and 41 in the sun (100 or 105), and I'm in the sun but under cloud cover.  They go too far with that correction; high humidity is normal here.  I noticed there was plenty of light to give the pictures a slightly washed out look; so it goes.

This tastes more like star anise, to be clear; it's not just the effect matching that a bit.  I suppose to some extent it did earlier too, but it's impossible to miss in this round.

Sikkim, fourth infusion:  thinned a little for trying this lighter, but it does still work like that.  If there was more astringency to work around dropping intensity like that would make more sense, but it wasn't too strong at an infusion strength more typical for me.  Sweetness is still really nice, and flavor intensity is ok, just thinner in comparison.

Manipur:  kind of the same as the other; it's interesting trying both light, but it doesn't necessarily work better.  It's funny how sweetness level is pronounced in both, and flavor strength is still fine, just seeming quite light and a little thin in comparison.  If I hadn't been blasting my senses with sheng pu'er for the last few years there's a good chance this is how I would always drink tea now, at a lighter intensity than I typically do.  

For dabbling in tisanes again a bit now it's interesting how this complexity, intensity, and feel edge is impossible to mimic in a tisane, no matter what you drink or how those are blended, even with these brewed light.  I can still appreciate tisanes but it's hard to not see that as a gap, like one or more parts are missing.  It's strange saying that mixing herbs with tea can work to cover both concerns, adding new flavor range and also keeping some of that feel and range.  I don't try that often now, but some.

Sikkim, fifth infusion:  I'll close with some final thoughts this round; it's enough. I'll brew this back up at what is a normal infusion strength for me, more like 20 seconds of time this round.  It's similar to before, nicely balancing the same range in a similar way.  It's nice how that dry edge easing up fell into a really nice balance.  This is still dead-center between first and second flush Darjeeling character.  I doubt they were going for that, but if so they nailed it.  This flavor cleanness, intensity, complexity, etc. is pleasant, or impressive even.  This more than holds its own with most Darjeeling I've tried.

Manipur:  thinning just a bit; some of the body is pulling back.  Flavor is still just as intense, maybe coming across stronger for part of the range thinning.  If someone hated star anise this really wouldn't work for them, but it's better than star anise for moderating that flavor, and that cloying sweet edge.  It's still definitely pronounced in both the flavor while you drink it and the aftertaste.

Conclusions:

Good teas!  I'm not so sure about the "oolong" part but these match what I've experienced of Indian oolong in the past, novel and pleasant backed-off oxidation level teas.  Quality stands out as exceptional for both; there is no trace of any flaws in either, and a broad range of positive aspects.  

I suppose the Sikkim seeming like Darjeeling seemed to detract from the novelty factor for me, but it's not as if I'm drinking Darjeeling every week.  For those familiar with Gopaldhara Darjeelings I don't mean like those, the blast of fruit they tend to include.  This one included more of that distinctive floral range and flower stem taste, along with the citrus, which may or may not overlap with muscatel flavor (which is not how I interpreted it, but maybe).

They are better teas than I expected.  Experimental versions just don't get to this level, and it takes established producers years of hard work to achieve the same.  Maybe starting with great plant material gave them an edge, or maybe these are far from early trial rounds.  It's a little late to get to it but I can also include Ketlee's description of these for completeness:

Sikkim Spring Oolong Tea (2021 version)

[Editing note:  the first posted draft included the wrong link and version description, amended here]

Harvested during early spring, this is the fourth batch of the 2021 harvest. Of course, this tea is made at one of our favourite estates, the Bermiok Tea Estate... 

The leaves were shade withered for 24 hours after which it was bruised by hand for oxidation. They are then hand roasted and rolled before the final drying... 

...The liquor has a hint of flowery notes, particularly sweet yellow flower notes. As you sip the tea and it cools down, the fruity notes come to the foreground and there is an abundance of cantaloupe, Indian pear and ripe peach notes. There is also a hint of malt during the initial infusions but the fruity part dominates the profile. The astringency is minimal, just present to greet you at the finish...

Not really much match to this post description, but that's how review interpretations go.  Floral and fruit range interpretations can parallel but it's normal for people to cite different range of flower types or fruits. It seems a good value, listing for $20 for 100 grams.

Manipur Young Tree Oolong

After more than two years of offering exclusively old tree teas from Manipur, we are very excited to bring something new from the region, wild teas from young bushes! Processed exactly like our old tree oolong(2020 Ball Rolled Wild Oolong)...

...The first infusion brings an interesting sweetness resembling the aftertaste of fennel seed along with a spice note dominant in cloves. The second infusion is another interesting one, with notes of lemongrass, vanilla and caramel. The third infusion is rich in sweetness with honey and black raisin notes, there is also a woody undertone to it. There is a mild astringency as well which makes this complex liquor even more refreshing. To us, this astringency along with wood and citrus notes make it seem a lot more closer to assamica teas from various parts of India. While the old tree teas are also of the assamica variety, it clearly has a taste of its own and does not taste like any other assamica we find here. The fourth infusion has even more sweetness with notes of muscat grapes, honey, damp wood and caramel...

Per usual actual tasting notes vary, but we are in agreement that there's an interesting, novel, and primary spice note being expressed in this, along with pleasant sweetness and complexity, and a supporting woody undertone.  I'm not so sure about the citrus part but I bet if I kept tasting this I would unpack some of what they identified as dried fruit range, versus seeing that as a warm floral tone.  That spice stood out as so novel it made it hard to kind of "get past" experiencing and explaining it.

They sell this for more than double the other version, $28 for 100 grams, and it really is that much more novel.  Although the Sikkim version is unique too, so there wouldn't be a market price that's easy to identify, this version is really different.  This doesn't claim to be organic but it wouldn't make sense to spray pesticides on tea plants growing naturally in the forest; it doesn't work like that. 

out running errands, nice to pick up those donuts again

the view from my office building, not quite as iconic from that angle

Ketlee Indian wild plant source sheng

Those friends I keep mentioning and I met with Susmit Pratik online not so long ago, hearing about how new tea types and region developments go.  I've received a really interesting looking set of samples since, and this is the first review of those, of an Indian version of sheng.  That's right, sheng, but from wild growing Assamica plants in India.  

before the others joined that session

It's going to be that much further from Yunnan sheng (which is really pu'er) for terroir differences, and especially related to the two versions of Assamica not being at all the same.  Or so hearsay consensus goes.  Genetics studies are something else; it's hard to place how the differences they cite would relate to processed and brewed tea.

I'll just say that it looks dark in the dry form, and get on with tasting.

Review:

first infusion:  a little light, the standard approach, but enough to start on description.  Even light it's clear this is different.  It's not bitter, not really astringent, but a warm dried fruit aspect stands out, which I think might be closest to fig.  Earthiness and warm tones fill in beyond that, including a good bit of mineral.  There's enough bitterness to it that it seems in the general range of sheng but the flavors seem much different.  

Terroir differences often seem to work out like that, that flavor range is what shifts across a tea type made in different places, and then base character beyond that can stay more common.  Bitterness varies by a lot of factors, with tea plant type a main one of those.  I should probably say more along with the impression of the next round. I could unpack the flavor that does come across more, which seems to include some cocoa, but that tends to shift over the first three rounds anyway, and what the tea expresses across a main infusion cycle seems more relevant.

second infusion:  I let this brew for around 15 seconds to get through the early part of the transitions, even though it would've been more optimum to go with 10, at the typical high proportion I tend to use.  Astringency and warm base mineral really come out in this; those will taper back brewed a little lighter.  Bitterness is present but hardly at all in comparison with the level of those other aspects.  

It's hard to describe what I mean by "astringency and warm base mineral."  This tastes a little like water coming out of a rusty iron pipe, but in a good sense.  I think there is more of that pleasant dried fruit and cocoa range beyond that, but the mineral really stands out.  This mouthfeel is really in between what is typical of sheng and some kinds of black tea, along with the flavor tones mapping back to that just as well.  I'm not saying that this is highly oxidized sheng, but I will add more about that.

When you first see this tea you wonder how it can be so dark.  Black tea isn't always that dark, or shu typically isn't, and aged sheng might not get that black after 20 years.  It's almost impossible for a typical sheng version to turn that color in 3 or 4 years time, regardless of storage conditions or starting point.  So what caused it?  I don't know.  It almost can't be high oxidation level; it's too dark even for that, and they must have processed this in a way somewhat similar to sheng.  If the leaves started out a dark purple that could be part of it.  I really don't know; I'll try to ask Susmit.

Then I'm not saying it's not like sheng, or that it's right in between sheng and black tea.  It seems mostly like sheng, but unique.  I wouldn't expect oxidation as an input to lead to this result, or at least not that alone, so I'm not intending to even imply that was it.  More oxidized sheng should lose most bitterness, and pick up sweetness, and maybe warm in tone a little, but not shift into black tea character range at all.  It would have to almost be shai hong to get to that point, really in between sheng and lightly oxidized black tea.  I think the next infusion, brewed lightly, will tell more of the story of where this is headed.  I haven't really filled in how much I like it yet, and I'm still placing it, but that should work then too.

brewing to be intense in short infusions (and dark, for young sheng)

third infusion:  the balance comes together brewed properly, and through an early opening up phase.  That fig range fruit is present, and it leans a little towards cocoa.  Warm mineral is really pronounced but in a nicer balance with the rest, not dominant.  Bitterness is essentially as strong a factor as the mineral in this, not how sheng usually goes, with mineral more of a supporting base tone.  And that's pretty much it.  The astringency / feel is novel, a little heavy and structured, seemingly tied to the warm mineral tone.  Something about the way it covers your whole mouth, towards the front as much as anything, feels like a black tea effect as much as sheng, but maybe I'm stretching interpretation a bit in saying that.

I like it.  Novelty as an input is hard to place.  I like novelty, so that makes this experience positive for me, but for others it could be off-putting.  If it was supposed to be identical to Yunnan sheng it didn't work.  Given plenty of allowance for terroir and plant type input difference, which I think one should expect to make the tea different, it's just as it should be, still sheng, but a unique version of it.  Not "sheng pu'er" for the OCD purist language users out there, since it's not from Yunnan, but to me it's still sheng, "raw [something-similar]."

fourth infusion:  more of the same, maybe evolving to a slightly smoother range, or the flavor could be picking up some depth.  It's interesting considering what else what I've described as warm mineral might seem like to someone.  It could be interpreted as a towards-inky spice range, or just ink, I guess.  It's not completely unlike fruit, just way into a deep and rich dried fruit range.  Fig is close enough, but it's heavier, warmer, and sharper.  It's like that one warm catchy flavor in apple cider, but then many times over more intense, until it comes across differently.  

It's hard to notice but sweetness is making this unusual balance work.  Since it's not pronounced it's easy to miss, but drop that out and it wouldn't be the same.  Adding just a little sourness might make it much harder to relate to as well; it's not sour.  I suppose it could be interpreted as quite sour, but I don't parse interpreted flavor experience that way.  I've stopped including cocoa / cacao in the description here because it's heavier into mineral flavor, or as I've been going on about something at least related, like a very warm bark spice.

fifth infusion:  I see it as still improving.  Bitterness has eased up, and astringency and the heavy mineral, leaving space for the other pleasant range to shine through.  I think bitterness, astringency, and warm mineral had worked in this before in earlier infusions, but balanced more evenly with fruit it's even better.  The fruit is close enough to dried Chinese date, jujube, which--unless I'm getting those wrong, which is possible--come in different varieties, with this more like the sweet version that's close to date than a more sour version.

Feel and aftertaste balance a little better too.  It's coating more of my mouth than seeming sharper in limited range, and warm and pleasant aftertaste persists better.  It's nothing like that bitterness turning to sweetness, or focus on the rear of the throat, so judged against a standard sheng pu'er expectation it might not seem a close match.

sixth infusion:  catchier yet; this might have a few nice rounds of change ahead.  I'll describe it more at 7 and probably not list out 5 or 6 more rounds of notes.

seventh infusion:  this seems to be leveling off; it's still pleasant but the catchiest range might be thinning a little.  Some of the mineral and astringency form seems to be drifting towards normal sheng range, towards a green wood flavor and feel, versus that very heavier mineral.  Since I'm not really one for explaining late round infusions in the same detail, and tasting for over an hour isn't in my schedule, I'll probably leave it at that.

Conclusions:

Definitely different!  I really liked it, but it was hard to place if that related mostly to novelty or if it would seem even better once I adjusted to it more (or both, I guess).  I think results could be even better with brewing adjusted to try it even lighter.  I do adjust infusion time and strength round to round but I suspect that this particular tea might be good brewed very lightly.

I talked to Susmit, the vendor, about why this tea is so dark, and he thought it had to be mostly related to the novel plant type.  That's really the only interpretation that makes sense, since this could be a bit more oxidized than typical sheng, but it still shouldn't be this dark, and the level of oxidation that would account for color and character difference should've dropped out the bitterness that still was present.  It's just something different, related to plant type, terroir, and whatever else.

To reference Ketlee's description, I'm not sure which sheng version this was, and they have a few.  I originally guessed it was their 2019 autumn version but it turned out to be their spring 2020 version, so this is revised:

2020 spring cake:  

The dry leaf smells sweet with notes of honey and almond desserts dominating it. The wet leaves after the wash have aroma of red berries and Indian gooseberry. The first infusion is of pale yellow colour and has notes of black grapes and walnuts. From the second infusion you start getting notes of ripe red berries, black raisin and a woody dryness on the finish. The woody character is more apparent in the third infusion with a stark cedarwood note which is minty as well as woody. The fourth infusion has a bit of spice, specifically cloves. These spice notes are present in all our wild teas and there is no doubt about the fact that they present themselves wildly different in different teas. The fourth infusion is also thicker in texture and you can notice that the leaves have opened themselves for a complete infusion. 

As you go further into your gongfu session, you are greeted with various sweet and fruity notes like ripe plum, honeysuckle, raisins and honey. The woody notes are also better explored in later steeps with interesting woody notes such as sandalwood, cedarwood and even agarwood which develops into a lot more intense version of itself with an year of age!

That's about as close as vendor descriptions tend to ever get to what I write, which would always vary some related to varying interpretations of aspects.  Brewing it a little lighter might make it easy to pick up fruit aspects, and would moderate astringency, which was at a good level as I experienced it.  

Readers here would be familiar with how to relate to brewing instructions, but I should mention how I interpret their brewing guidance (which I didn't even check prior to preparing it; I just don't):

Steeping Time : 3 minutes western style, 20 seconds gongfu style adding 10 seconds every subsequent steep

Leaf Quantity: Treat it as a classic Indian tea, 3 gms per 120 ml for gongfu and 5 grams for 400 ml western style

Recommended Steeping Temperature : 90-95°C

Recommended Steeping Method : Gongfu style

Those last two lines work; I wouldn't expect this to give as good results brewed Western style, and using water a bit off boiling point temperature is probably fine (which a lot of tea drinkers have almost have philosophical differences in opinion about).  It goes without saying but brewing this for one infusion only Western style would be madness; this is a really durable tea, as any variation of sheng always is.  

Using 3 grams for 120 ml for a Gongfu approach is probably on the order of half the proportion I use, but I take it that the difference can be adjusted back out in changing infusion time.  I tend to use around 10 second infusion times, adjusted in relation to how the prior round went, in some cases shorter.

I can never relate to those staggered progressions (add 10 seconds a steep), since the tea won't change intensity that fast.  A 20, 30, and 40 second cycle of three rounds wouldn't be so different than brewing double that tea to water proportion for 6 infusions, but doubling infusion time over the first 5 and 6 rounds isn't how that normally works, even for teas that are less durable than this one, that "brew out" faster.  Anyway, it's easy to adjust timing based on the last round, regardless of whether you are trying to follow a vendor's guidelines or just winging it.

Related to price this works out to 32 cents a gram (at full cake price; the 2019 version had been 25 cents a gram in the first write-up version).  Since there are no other examples of this kind of tea there is also no market price.  That seems fair, for as novel and pleasant as this tea is, and in relation to that not being atypical of Yunnan sheng pricing range, maybe just high in relation to the range of most Indian teas.  That would work out to over $115 or so a cake (a standard 357 gram version).  That would've come as a shock to me a few years ago, but that's in the general range of what vendors charge for good quality sheng pu'er versions now [a statement that worked better for the $90 range for the other 2019 version; over $100 is a bit high for upper medium quality Yunnan sheng].  

That general pricing shift for sheng seems more fair if you consider that the range of "good quality" probably is different than teas offered a half dozen years ago.  The range of versions offered shifts over time, and demand increasing pushes that pricing up too, so in the end it just is what it is.  

Halmari Hand-rolled Assam Oolong

a bit tippy as oolongs tend to go

Halmari, one main producer of Assam teas, sent an oolong version along with two orthodox versions of Assam black tea, one of which I've already reviewed.  And an Earl Grey; that should be interesting.  Indian oolong isn't a brand new concept but I've not tried many examples, and no specific versions come to mind (not a great sign).  As I only vaguely recall the versions I tried seemed a lot like a black tea, just backed off in oxidation level a little, not all that different than how that works out for Darjeeling first flush teas.  That wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing given how nice those can be.

Their description of this tea doesn't add that much to that but I'll cite it, since Assam oolong does seem atypical:

Halmari’s handcrafted tea follows the five basic steps of tea-making, however, it is carefully hand-rolled and oxidized repeatedly over the course of days. This unique method enables us to create beautiful complex layers of aromas and flavours from this tea. 

one minimum-requirement version of a processing chart (credit World of Tea)

Per World of Tea's processing chart the only minimum-requirement difference in types between oolong and black tea is that oolong is fixed at one step (heated to stop oxidation at one level).  Of course a lot of oolong is actually roasted too, and processing steps can vary, but I'm not going to develop all of that in this post.

Review

The dry tea smells a little like a Darjeeling,  with orange citrus or maybe even bergamot scent. But it's slightly earthier, an interesting combination.

I brewed the tea Gongfu style (odd mentioning what that is, but just in case:  using a high proportion of tea to water, and multiple infusions versus only two or three).  These instructions recommend Western style brewing, and I did also try that method later, which I'll describe at the end.  The first infusion was more a rinse, but not discarded, a normal approach for me. 

The taste is sweet with a good bit of fruit and complexity, but prepared light enough that I'll start the detailed review on the second infusion.  It's already clear that this really will be a type of tea that's new to me, not just black tea eased off a little on oxidation level, a bit different in character.

The tea is interesting.  The tie to Assam black tea related to the aspects is clear enough but that only seems to represent half of what is going on, and it's not based on a dominant malt aspect as Assam black tea tends to be.  It also shares a lot in common with Darjeeling, more so than any Assam I've ever tried.  I'd say second flush style since the astringency level isn't as light as in first flush, and since citrus / bergamot is so pronounced in this.  It's not exactly that, with a lot of the flavor in this tea expressed in a different citrus range.  It's still related to a type of orange, I'm just not going to venture which orange (blood orange, juice orange?; definitely not navel orange).

There is malt too, it just shares the space, only one part of what is going on.  From there the citrus range is next, then a black - tea related effect of oxidation, a specific kind of earthiness.  It's something I've been referring to as a resinous feel, which seems to relate to taste range that's a little towards pine.  There's a good but of mineral complexity under all that.

It's definitely novel, and doesn't remind me much of any other oolongs.  I'm guessing that this wasn't roasted at all, although not all oolongs are, and I'm not sure it would improve it anyway.  The oxidation level must be backed off that of their black teas but it's hard to notice that as a single cause input.  Oriental Beauty style oolongs are typically prepared at a relatively high oxidation level, up near the border of what would be considered black tea, and I guess this does share some commonality with that type, it's just not exactly the same.  It contains more bud material than oolongs typically tend to, or at least it seems to, so it ends up looking a little like some Oriental Beauty teas.  The fruitiness isn't far off some OB versions range (pronounced citrus is typical for those), and like those this tea has great sweetness, it just has a black tea-type earthiness underlying that which isn't common to those, maybe except in more oxidized versions nearer to the boundary for black tea.

My description so far hasn't done it justice but there is a sweetness and lightness to the tea, offset by the complexity and bolder flavor range.  It's true that I'm expressing a contradiction, but there is a complexity to the experience beyond individual aspect input that is hard to pin down.  It's definitely not as light as lighter / "greener" oolongs always are, or even as roasted oolongs go, but it's not as heavy, earthy, or astringent as black teas.

For the last infusion I went over 30 seconds and it was just a little intense;  I'll back off that.  Prepared on the light side this tea really shines, bright with lots of fruit, lots going on.  The feel isn't even thin, and brewed strong--what would be normal strength for other teas, at least related to brewing time--that feel might be too much, along with the flavor not being as positive.  Using the same parameters as this for the Dian Hong (Yunnan / Chinese black teas I tasted yesterday, at least related to when I made these notes) those black teas wouldn't taste like much, especially the two leaf-type versions (versus the one bud / gold tips version).

Part of the taste range is back at cedar / redwood, matching the orthodox black version I tried earlier, but it's layered along with the rest in this.  There isn't that much common ground with light rolled oolongs to talk about,  or with Wuyi Yancha or Dan Cong styles.  It's closest to Oriental Beauty, as I'd mentioned, but it seems just as close to Darjeeling second flush tea as well, sort of in between the two.

The malt aspect is different than in Assam black teas.  It's still in a malt range but beyond being only one flavor contribution among others instead of dominant the effect is lighter, and the aspect itself different.  I tend to describe malt as spanning a range of earthier and heavier flavor,  like aged rusty iron pipe, to being much softer, lighter, and sweeter, more like ovaltine, closer to cocoa, or more like the original sense of a fermented grain.  This might be closer to the middle now, still a bit towards the heavier side, but less so than as expressed in Assam black teas.

The fruit effect transitions some along later infusions, but still in a similar range.  It's becoming lighter in character and perhaps more complex rather than less.  It's at a place where interpretation of individual elements could vary quite a bit, but then to some extent that would have been true of the fruit and earthier aspects in earlier infusions too.  It's slightly wood-like, but it's also picking up a touch of root spice complexity.

On the next infusion I went a good bit longer, over a minute.  The tea is brewing out, fading after a good number of infusions, but the aspects range is staying consistent, and it's still possible to brew with that more intense,  heavy-earth, thick feel.  It comes across as slightly dry made that way.  I'll stretch the tea to brew another infusion or two, or it would work to try and get the last out of it by trying cold-brewing (putting it in the refrigerator with slightly warm--but not hot--water, overnight or for at least 8 hours).

A second try, Western brewed

Whenever I'm brewing teas Gongfu style (using that tea proportion and timing) for types that would either typically be prepared Western style, or I think might do better that way, I try to check results making them using both processes.  And I did that for this tea.

The results did seem similar.  Again this tea reminded me a lot of a second flush Darjeeling, not that far off a black tea style related to oxidation level, but a good bit fruitier than most tea types tend to be.  The muscatel was swapped out for other orange citrus range to some extent, and the oxidation level and subsequent malt / earthiness / astringency was subdued, but it was definitely still along the same line.  It did well related to using that approach; it was easy to make, and provided plenty of flavor, even though I really did use a light infusion proportion compared to how I generally make teas. 

This tea is soft enough that it would work well across a range of infusion strengths.  There is no notable astringency to brew around, and just enough earthiness and structure to give it a bit of feel, perhaps a bit softer than it might seem it would be given the flavor range balance.  Related to overall balance and the "clean" nature of this tea, there is a subtle way that teas come across that shows them to fit somewhere on a range.  Let's express that as ranging from flawed, to decent tea, to instead really good, and at the highest end of that spectrum something exceptional.  This tea is pretty far towards the more positive end of that scale.  Some teas can come across as very subtle and sophisticated, and also intense at the same time, as better Dan Cong can, and this tea is a bit more along the lines of a conventional tea tied to that scope of effect, similar to how better than average Oriental Beauty oolongs tend to come across.  The flavors aspects set is nice and unique though; all in all a very nice tea.

Typically it's not a blogger's place to mention cost and value related to tea but per my take it would still make sense to buy this tea at twice the listed price, with some teas of comparable quality and overlapping aspects range selling for more than that.