Today’s review is some winter Taiwanese oolongs from Tillerman Tea – Shan Lin Xi and Cuifeng. Both teas I tried gongfu style, steeped at 1 gram of leaf per 15ml of vessel size in boiling water.
Tillerman Tea’s 2018 Winter Shan Lin Xi
Shan Lin Xi’s dry leaf smells buttery sweet and a bit floral. While I was doing the rinse, I could smell the leaves giving off a spinachy fragrance.
First and Second Infusion: 2018 Winter Shan Lin Xi sips in real thick, so it is like drinking melted butter. The notes are mostly savory of fresh buttery spinach with a mineral finish. The second steep added some sweetness, but still in the vegetable side of the scale with an edamame bean note. The aftertaste is clean buttery bean complete with the thick oil texture left in the mouth.
Third, Fourth, and Fifth Infusion: These infusions have a sweet crispness to them, there’s a snap in these beans going snap pea melody with a buttery finish. Some sips taste like air popped popcorn. The fifth steeping had a bit of astringency giving the popcorn note some squeak.
Sixth Infusion: 2018 Winter Shan Lin Xi finally got a bitterness to it along with the astringency. The oolong tastes like squeaky spinach boiled a touch too long, with some more popcorn notes.
Tillerman Tea’s 2018 Shan Lin Xi oolong is a crisp, green high mountain oolong leaning on the vegetal side with an awesome thick texture. If you love that thick body on an oolong, this is a nice one.
Tillerman Tea’s 2018 Winter Cuifeng
The 2018 Winter Cuifeng smells less vegetal and even more buttery than the Shan Lin Xi, whereas the hot leaf smells like toasted kale.
First, Second, and Third Infusion: Winter Cuifeng sips in very smooth. It is mineral wet rocks, sweetly vegetal with a pine tree finish. The pine note adds a nice freshness in the aftertaste. The texture is also buttery slick and easy to drink.
Fourth and Fifth Infusion: These steepings are crisp and refreshing. The kale note is a good tender leaf, not a bitter cabbage one. The body is still thick, so this tea coats the mouth well and feels good to drink.
Sixth and Seventh Infusion: 2018 Winter Cuifeng is getting a little stewed and dryness is starting making my cheeks feel dry. The flavour is more clearly kale with a pine refreshing finish. It reminds me actually of my Seattle’s winter snowmageddon kale garden with my kale is poking through the snow like palm trees. This tea is crisp and refreshing like a winters day, but there’s a spring vegetable hope in there.
You can see with the leaves side by side the Cuifeng is bigger and a little less beat up.
Out of the 2, the 2018 Winter Cuifeng is my pick as it is a more unique experience with the refreshing pine and smooth flavour. In general, Tillermans Cuifengs have always been pretty good and my usual recommendation. Or more honestly, just pick the most expensive thing at Tillerman and that will be a solid tea. Both oolongs are priced well, but it is 2oz sizes so the teas look deceptively more expensive than other sites who list things per 1oz.
(tea provided for review)
