Today’s oolong review is Tea Setter’s Wild Arbor Oriental Beauty Oolong, a tea grown in Wuliang Mountains of Yunnan, China.
The other day I was talking with a tea vendor and they mentioned Oriental Beauty oolong. I haven’t had an oriental beauty oolong in awhile, so it stuck in my mind. DRINK ME, the delicious oxidized pretty oolong. Sadly, I still don’t have a standby oriental beauty oolong, I’m still sampling away, looking for one that’ll make me fall in love. Let’s try Tea Setter’s Wild Arbor Oriental Beauty Oolong!
Dry Leaf
The dry leaf of Wild Arbor Oriental Beauty Oolong features a very dark leaf with the odd silver and gold tip with chocolate brown highlights. You know, I hope when I get older and grey I hope I get hair like the colour of this tea! This Wild Arbor Oriental Beauty Oolong seems not as colourful as other oriental beauties. The scent of the dry leaf is of roasted peaches.
Steeping Instructions
Tea Setter has a steeping instructions page on how to steep their pu’ers and oolongs. I did my Oriental Beauty oolong with 200F water, using the entire 4 grams sample, steeped in a gaiwan.
Tasting of Wild Arbor Oriental Beauty Oolong from Tea Setter
First Infusion: 15 seconds. Wild Arbor Oriental Beauty Oolong sips in sweet and creamy with a moderately thick body. The flavor is pretty light, as expected for a first steeping. Wild Arbor Oriental Beauty Oolong finishes off with a dainty peach aftertaste and light dryness, 1/10 on the Astringency Meter.
Second, Third and Fourth Infusion: Wild Arbor Oriental Beauty Oolong got a bit darker in colour. The flavor intensity is moderate. Wild Arbor Oriental Beauty Oolong has notes of mineral, peach, earth and lightly roasty. There is also an interesting note present – a touch of wild citrus green flavor, like a single under ripe zest curl of a lemon.
Fifth and Sixth Infusion: Additional 30 second infusions. Wild Arbor Oriental Beauty Oolong flavor is smoothing out. The peachy flavor is expanding mixing in with a light cherry woodsy flavor. The sweetness is gaining speed with a hint of creamy caramel to it, like grilled peaches with a hint of burnt caramel glaze.
The wet leaf in bowl looks like I’m steeping black roses.
Seventh, Eighth and Ninth Infusion: Additional 1 minute infusions. I’m fighting to keep this Oriental Beauty Oolong going. The flavor is sweet with a gentle peachy note. Early in this infusion bracket there was an earthy woodsy finish, but with each later steeping earth and cherry woodsy notes disappears leaving the peachy sweet flavor. The peachy sweet note holds on until the flavor fades away.
Comments
Tea Setter’s Wild Arbor Oriental Beauty Oolong is delicate yet down to earth. It has subtle, gentle flavor notes of peach, earth, wood, and citrus, with a thick body. Everything is just a hint of flavor, but with plenty going on so there’s lots of flavor. The dryness is very slight, never getting stronger or bitter.
Overall, Tea Setter’s Wild Arbor Oriental Beauty Oolong is perfect for someone wanting a more earthy oolong with lots of complex and dainty notes. It’s an oriental beauty oolong for someone looking for a more down to earth, wild beauty of a tea. I enjoyed how complex and delicate this oriental beauty oolong was, it was one that made you sit down and keep guessing what it would taste like next.
(tea provided for review)
