2010 Spring Fujian Anxi Huang Jin Gui

To diversify this blog a bit, here is a tea which is neither Japanese nor green – instead, this is a lightly oxidized and lightly roasted oolong from Anxi, Fujian, southeastern China.

Sample of this tea was gladly received from Teatrade.sk.

Leaves of this Huang Jin Gui look quite typical for lightly oxidized oolong, comprising mainly of small ball-shaped and curled leaves, which are mostly light green in color and generally quite similar to lighter, modern versions of Tie Guan Yin. Smell is very sweet and creamy with scent of various flowers, including the expectable Osmanthus.

Being brewed in water cooled down just a bit, the first infusion is golden-yellow in color and quite simple in taste, matching the smell of dry leaves well – flowery, creamy sweet yet fresh and juicily.

The second infusion is more milky and silken with tones of honey and berries. This brew also shows the slight roasted note of this tea, which are in harmony with its fresh, flowery character.

This note also echoes in the third infusion, where the slightly roasted character blends with lighter tones of Osmanthus, meadow flowers and long, fine piquant aftertaste.

The fourth infusion is once again dominated by honey in taste, though the color is less golden and a bit greener than in all previous infusions. It’s creamy and smooth with touch of decent astringency in aftertaste.

Several further infusions of this tea are then enjoyed, being gradually weaker in taste and more unvaried in overall character, though still drinkable to that extent that I don’t want to stop pouring hot water on these leaves.

Even after the last infusion is gone, sweet honey character of this tea lingers in my mouth for a very long time and doesn’t seem to disappear.

I always enjoy looking at leaves of good oolong after the session – unbroken, even and well-sorted. This tea, of course, is no exception.