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I've never had a milk oolong and but due to really positive reviews I was gonna buy 3.5 ounces of one from Teavivre for only like 10 bucks. I really like TGY and greener oolongs. i've heard about the milk taste. is it really that apparent? has anyone tried teavivre TGY? thanks

I have never had one from the company you mentioned, but I have had some with a very strong "nai xiang" (milk fragrance) before, and it was very apparent. Some of them are natural, some are added due to processing. It most cases it ends up being a little creamy (in a milk cream sense) in its aftertaste and fragrance. The price is pretty reasonable, maybe see if you can get a sample first, since 3.5 ounces is a lot, if you don't love the tea.

Jin Xuan or "Golden Lily" is a tea varietal developed from plants grown during the JN occupation of Taiwan where in addition to their militarism they also administered tea research.
This is the milk oolong and produces a buttery flavor all by itself without the addition of flavorants/adulterants.

There is a lot of flavored milk oolong in the marketplace.

beecrofter wrote:Jin Xuan or "Golden Lily" is a tea varietal developed from plants grown during the JN occupation of Taiwan where in addition to their militarism they also administered tea research.
This is the milk oolong and produces a buttery flavor all by itself without the addition of flavorants/adulterants.

There is a lot of flavored milk oolong in the marketplace.

I thought development of Jin Xuan started in 1950s by professor Wu Zhenduo, the "(god)father of Taiwan tea" But I don't know if the development actually started in 1940s under Japanese occupation but people just didn't want to mention it.

Jin Xuan is name of Wu Zhenduo's grandma. I think it's sweet to dedicate name of a tea to his grandma

Like you said, there are different "milk oolongs" and when different people mention it, they may not mean the same thing.

Here is a discussion on steepster about milk oolong, where quite a few types of "milk oolong" are mentioned. Eventually, I guess everybody can call whatever they want to be "milk oolong" "milk oolong"
http://steepster.com/discuss/1403-milk-oolong?page=1

Maybe earlier as the Japanese were in control of Taiwan for a 50 year period that ended in 1945.

I'd like to believe that Milk Oolong is free of odorants and the like...but it's such an inexpensive and popular tea that low-quality imitations have become more common. Just yesterday, I tasted a Milk Oolong sample from a fairly reputable vendor. The least expensive tea on their list; there was even a discount on old stock.

The unstopped leaves smelled like taffy and vanilla - almost like candy. The flavor wasn't sweet in the way that some teas can be; this was almost cloyingly sweet, taking over the flavor. I'm told that it's possible to distinguish between real and adulterated Milk Oolong by steeping an additional time; if it's a flavored Milk Oolong, it will wash away. I didn't bother to find out.

I've only had Milk Oolong once, at at tea tasting arranged by a tea shop in Stockholm, I'm sure it was artificially flavoured. Everyone else loved it but it might have been the most horrible tea I've ever come across.

The taste of plastic and burnt rubber still haunts me :S

That said I have an unopened bag of Jin Xuan from FLT in my tea cupboard. =)

IMHO, the non-artificially flavoured Jinxuan is an interesting daily drinking oolong, quite a unique flavour to it. As far as I know, even the highest grade of Jinxuan is unfortunately not good for high ratio brewing.......but then again high ratio brewing Jinxuan kind of defeats its unique character...

SilentChaos wrote:IMHO, the non-artificially flavoured Jinxuan is an interesting daily drinking oolong, quite a unique flavour to it. As far as I know, even the highest grade of Jinxuan is unfortunately not good for high ratio brewing.......but then again high ratio brewing Jinxuan kind of defeats its unique character...

By high ratio brewing do you mean gong fu style? If so, I always brew the Jin Xuan oolongs that way. I don't find it that different from the more common cultivar grown for high mountain tea - Qing Xin (Green Heart). I especially liked some Jin Xuan oolong grown on Li Shan sold by T-Oolong Tea. It was extremely fragrant and tasty.

http://houdeasianart.com/download/Oolong_Species.pdf

I have never tried the flavored milk oolongs - it doesn't sound very appealing, but I do like plain Jin Xuan oolongs.