Today let’s check out Bitterleaf Teas‘ oolongs. Everyone fusses over their puer, but Bitterleaf tea has some banging oolong and black teas. I got Nightingale and Ducktale dancongs, let’s go!
Nightingale Spring 2017 Yelaixiang Single Bush Dancong Oolong
Bitterleaf Teas’ Nightingale is a “Night fragrance” oolong, along with, “…single old (50+ years) bush grown at high altitude (1000+ meters) on Wudong shan.” so this tea is luxury. This information I did not read until after I drank it.
The dry leaf smells like floral and baked goods whereas the hot leaf smells like tangy mango. I steeped this dancong with a heavy leaf ratio, using 1 gram of tea to 12ml of vessel size. Nightingale was flash steeped in boiling water.
First and Second Infusion: Nightingale sips in bright and brothy. This tea is lit! It is balanced between a creamy thick texture, high salivation, and long, clean aftertaste of bright refreshing floral. It has almost a cooling feel to it when I breathe in, then a sinking feeling down to the heart. This tea I notice the texture, aroma and feel well before the taste. The taste is clean, bright, delicate floral note that I can’t pinpoint yet.
Third, Fourth, and Fifth Infusion: The early steepings I didn’t even notice the taste, as the texture and feel were strong. The notes are complex, yet also delicate. My nose picks up the mango. Some of the sips are faintly jasmine, amber mineral, plums, all with a gentle bitterness. The aftertaste is a long floral note that doesn’t leave. Each steeping gets a touch more bitter and lighter in flavor.
Sixth and Seventh Infusion: Nightingale is dying and all I’m getting is perfumed jasmine and honey water. It surprisingly isn’t too bitter but has plenty of aftertaste of max floral experience.
Comments
Nightingale is a lovely high-end dancong. I went in not knowing much about this tea. You need a dedicated afternoon with friends to slowly enjoy Nightingale, not my chug tea before a dentist appointment session. Nightingale has a lot going on and is best for oolong lovers who love their texture and floral. It isn’t grassy or roasty but leans on the delicate, bright, floral. For close to a $1 a gram, you certainly want to know you love oolongs and what makes them good before you approach this one. If you are a dancong lover, but sure to sample this one.
Ducktale Spring 2017 Yashixiang Dancong Oolong
DUCKTALES, WHOOOO-OOOOO! I consistently love Yashixiang dancongs (duckshit oolong) and keep it in stock.
Strangely, the dry leaf smells like roasted peanuts, whereas the hot leaf smells like sugared almonds. I steeped this tea the same method I used for Nightingale.
First and Second Infusion: Ducktale is a super smooth dancong. It sips in slick, plummy, sweet almond flesh, and strangely mellow, but perks up the end of the sip to a strong and long aftertaste of sweet flowers. The texture is creamy feeling in the mouth.
Third and Fourth Infusion: I got a crazy good infusion here tasting like marzipan of sweet almond pastry, but other sips are strongly floral magnolia notes with a slight bitterness to keep the party going in the aftertaste. This duckshit oolong rolls high on floral compared to other ones I’ve had.
Fifth Infusion: I tried for a fifth, but it jumped high on bitterness. This duck leans slightly greener, so it got stewy bitter quick with all these hot infusions.
Comments
Bitterleaf Teas’ Ducktale (whooo-ooo) is a high floral, creamy, and almond tasting tea. It has a great creamy smoothness to it, then builds more and more floral. Though it is on the lighter roast side, so its goose gets cooked in the later infusions. Overall, I enjoyed this tea quite a bit, but I am also biased towards almond profile dancongs as I love the sweet, mellow, and floral contrasts.
Don’t let the fowlpoo name scare you off, the name actually gets more me interested as it sounds crazy. If you love a floral oolong that isn’t grassy/vegetal, and dislike roast/heavy flavors, this one is perfect.
(tea provided for review)
