A few months back Floating Leaves Tea did a live stream tea tasting for their hong shui GABA oolong on their Facebook / Instagram. Prior to the live session, you can purchase the teas to drink with them – perfect for those not in Seattle or in quarantine. Floating Leaves Tea sent me the sampler, but I ended up drinking mine sometime later as I was sick. I then learned it is really hard to drink back to back multiple hong shuis, especially Floating Leaves Tea’s hong shuis, as they have high body feels.
Either way, from that blind tasting I learned I loved Hong Shui A, which turned out to be their Lo-shan Hong shui. I learned from subsequent drinkings of Lo-shan that I got real tea drunk and that likely got carried over through the next teas. The teas in this sampler were the Lo-shan, GABA Oolong (I already reviewed), Lalashan, and Taman Shan (also reviewed).
In the end, I bought a bag of Lo-shan and Taman Shan. I already got a bag of their last batch of Lalashan. I didn’t even wait for a sale to purchase, I blasted through the samples and I needed more now.
Lo-shan is a 2016 harvest GABA oolong from Shi-Ding, Xinbei, Taiwan, reroasted in January 2020. This is also another one of Floating Leaves Tea’s charcoal roasting master Mr. Zhan’s teas.
Leaf and Steeping Method
Leaf smells of dark raisins in raisin bread.
I used 1 gram of leaf per 15ml of vessel size, gongfu steeped in boiling water. This tea tasted great and opened up without a rinse.
Steeped up, the leaves smell fruity and honeysuckle, but with a touch of rye on that raisin bread.
Tasting of Floating Leaves Tea ‘s Lo-Shan Hong Shui Oolong
First and Second Infusion: Lo-Shan Hong Shui sips in sweet, raisiny, and bready with a touch of underripe banana cream. The broth is like gooey overstarched pudding and the aftertaste is a thick starchy banana with a slight staleness. As I drink, this hong shui takes shots to the throat and sinks to my stomach as it’s just so thick and starchy.
Third, Fourth, and Fifth Infusion: Slowly, Lo-Shan Hong Shui builds up a cozy feeling as I drink. Taste wise, Lo-Shan Hong Shui has plum, dried cherry, and starchy banana flavor with a thick texture. The aroma of the fruity flavors of the tea stays in the mouth. This tea brings me back memories of being a kid and watching my grandma fry up small starchy bananas and boiling taro root. Man, I loved watching my grandma cook.
Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth Infusion: The hong shui is thinning out, the feeling is astringent upon the sip to dry the tip fo the tongue, but lightly herby medicinal and tart fruit flavor slinks in and lingers. Some sips have an old dried up twig taste. As the tea steeps out, it holds a light astringency and slips in flavor.
By the end of this session, my ears are ringing and buzzing. Lo-shan seems to have slow crawl energy to it as by the time the session is done, I’m feeling like I’m getting a big hug that makes my eyes droop to go into nap mode. I also got feelings of someone thumping my chest and I want to buy many things online that I don’t need.
Comments
Floating Leaves Tea’s Lo-Shan Hong shui has excellent complexity and fruity notes, along with some interesting ones like medicinal and woody. Like the other Floating Leaves Tea’s hong shuis, Lo-shan has some powerful tea energy feels.
If you are trying to decide between the three hong shuis from Floating Leaves Tea it is difficult for me to say which one is the best. Lalashan I enjoy a lot and that I haven’t review yet as it is hard to put to words. Taman Shan is mineral, wood, smooth, and serene that becomes addicting. Lo-Shan is fruity, cuddly, and I cannot stop thinking about drinking it again. You might like Lo-shan more as it has a hint of aged flavor, but in the end, you should sample them all and see which one you like. In my case, it’s worth owning them all in quantities that make my wallet weep – these teas start at $21-$25 an ounce / almost a $1 a gram.
Be sure to check out Floating Leaves Tea’s live streams on Facebook or Instagram. They also have a podcast!
(initially provided for review but then purchased)
