This was the first time I tasted an Oriental Beauty (also known as Bai Hao Oolong). At last...! And it was simply delicious!
Before I prepare a new tea I always check for optimal infusion time on the Net. And I always compare data to ensure myself that I picked the most trustful piece of information. So, when I'm about to discover a tea, I like to taste it following that optimal infusion sequence, and only then I start to explore it by infusing it according to other time sequences. Of course, when you proceed like that it's very helpful to write down parameters and tasting notes on a piece of paper.
For this first tasting I intended to follow the Gong Fu Cha brewing sequence suggested by Rishi Tea - 35'' / 20'' / 20'' / 2' - but I got distracted by all sorts of things happening during the Gong Fu Cha... so the first infusion was too short... and the others a bit longer...
I infused 3 g of tea in 14 cl of filtered hot water at 90° C. I used my zini Xishi teapot from Tea Masters - which is fabulous by the way - thanks again Stephane!
So here's what I tasted.
First infusion, 25'' : pale yellow liquor, sweet and subtle; very silky texture; quick succesion of notes: a very delicate chocolate note as the one that I'm used to find in Quimen Mao Feng, then a flowery note, a fruity one (more like dried fruits as prune, California fig, raisin), and at the end honey. Balanced infusion; great harmony.
Second infusion, 50'' : very rich liquor, sweet flavour, three main notes: brown sugar, delicate chocolate, slightly flowery. Then a different type of notes: dried fruits and at the end quince marmalade.
Third infusion, 35'' : intense combination of three main notes (chocolate, flowers, dried fruits), than a quince marmalade and brown sugar even more intense.
Forth infusion, 50'' : sweet liquor; persistance of the previous notes and a slight woody one (scented wood).
Fifth infusion, 3' 10'' : dark amber liquor; previous notes developed in a different way; a bit less harmony; but the woody note evolved towards something warmer close to camphor. This note gave me a very nice feeling of warmth in the throat, which I could feel as well in my lungs.
Sixth infusion, 1' 10'' : nice prune note a bit covered by a mix of flowery woody notes (couldn't identify them precisely).
Seventh infusion, 35 '' : brewing time was not enough and so the aromas were rather indistinct, almost vanished. A short brewing at this stage was definitely not a good idea...
Eighth and last infusion, 2' 45'' : slight combination of three notes (flowery, dried fruits, camphor), and a global sweet flavor rather fresh (a bit like a green pear).
Believe me, I did my best to shorten this post, but well... it was a two hours and a half tasting with very nice things to share with you all. So... I hope you can forgive me for its considerable lenght.
