fyi: Floating Leaves Tea oolong sale.

[tenuki]

Looks like Shuiwen has discounted some of her tea in anticipation of the new harvest.

The two 2008 oolongs that are left are 50% off and both are oxidized enough that it doesn't really matter that they are a year old - ie oriental beauty and taiwan wu yi. Both are good tea and at those prices a real bargain.

A bunch of the 2009 spring teas are also discounted at 25%.

Don't know how long the sale will be going on.

[Maitre_Tea]

In the newsletter she sends out it says on the bottom that the sale is ongoing until 12/31/09...or until supplies last. I hope I'm able to order some of the 2009 Traditional Dong Ding before it's all snatched up! I'm really looking to the winter harvest though; wonder why the quality will be with all the bad weather conditions

[Cinnamon Kitty]

Ordered two ounces of each of the 2008s that were on sale and two ounces of the 2009 Spring Jin Xuan because it sounded good. I've been waiting for a good oolong deal.

[teaisme]

yeah very good prices right now I put in a order too
3.00 for some good taiwan wuyi thats a steal
Great time to buy a variety to get an idea of her selection/tastes
Too bad the dayuling is out, I have heard good things about it

[Victoria]

Yeah, I thought the DaYuLing was the best of her spring offerings. I'm so stocked up, I didn't have room to take advantage of this offer. I guess I need to drink up!

[tenuki]

I'm really looking to the winter harvest though; wonder why the quality will be with all the bad weather conditions

http://floatingleavestea.blogspot.com/2 ... r-tea.html

[miginaustria]

I have ordered one ounce each from 8 different teas to get a good idea of her offerings.
I was already planning to order from her for the first time last week. I e-mailed her about a shipping quote to Europe, and she was nice enough to tell me that there would be a sale starting in a week and to wait till then.

[tea fish]

Thanks for the lead, tenuki. I love this forum. I just snapped up some of the dong ding, oriental beauty, and taiwan wuyi!

[Maitre_Tea]

I have ordered one ounce each from 8 different teas to get a good idea of her offerings.
I was already planning to order from her for the first time last week. I e-mailed her about a shipping quote to Europe, and she was nice enough to tell me that there would be a sale starting in a week and to wait till then.

Wow, that's excellent customer service. I've heard nothing but praise for her dedication to tea from people who've met her in person. It's hard to find honest vendors these days, and people like her make buying tea online a less anxious process.

A big thumbs up for her 2009 Spring Traditional Dong Ding, which is processed in the Hong Shui style, which is more "old school" in my understanding. It's lightly roasted, but I believe there's a higher level of oxidation. It's got a ripe fruitiness and sweetness, and to sum it up: it tastes like autumn.

[iannon]

I had just run out of the last of my decent Oolongs so I had to go snap up those 08's myself! cant wait to try them

[Cinnamon Kitty]

I was incredibly impressed that I ordered my teas from Floating Leaves on the evening of the 22nd and received them today. There was even a nice, hand-written note on the packing slip and a free sample of the ShanLinXi in the box.

I decided to the open the 2008 Taiwan Wuyi out of curiosity. The dry leaf smelled like chocolate and raspberries with an interesting floral note. The dry leaves are absolutely gorgeous, all wiry and fragile-looking but most still whole leaves. I preheated my yixing pot that is dedicated to darker oolongs and filled it about 3/4 full with the dry leaf.

First steep was just pouring the water in the pot, putting the lid on and pouring it out. I was surprised at the light color of the tea liquid compared to what I expected from a Wuyi. That wasn't the only thing surprising about this tea though. The taste was definitely more of a medium roasted Taiwanese oolong with hints of the toasty chocolatyness that are generally present in a darker roasted Wuyi. It is a fascinating combination of flavors: mild chocolate with hints of fruit, floral and honey. It is lighter tasting than the darker roasted Chinese Wuyis and definitely not as robust but at the same time, not as light as some of the medium-light roasted Taiwanese Oolongs.

The second, third, fourth, and fifth steeps progressed to where the fruit, floral, and honey notes were more prominent and the chocolate faded out. It probably has at least one or two more steeps left in it.

Overall impressions: It is definitely a good tea and worth it with the 50% discount. Just don't go in expecting a Wuyi and don't go in expecting a Taiwanese Oolong because it is neither. I am still a bit a confused with it, as mentally, I cannot classify it as one or the other simply because it is both.

[tenuki]

A big thumbs up for her 2009 Spring Traditional Dong Ding, which is processed in the Hong Shui style, which is more "old school" in my understanding. It's lightly roasted, but I believe there's a higher level of oxidation. It's got a ripe fruitiness and sweetness, and to sum it up: it tastes like autumn.

I agree, this is how I like my dong dings.

I decided to the open the 2008 Taiwan Wuyi out of curiosity.

These tasting notes are spot on, a really gorgeous and interesting tea, hard to classify but one of my favorites. Thanks for sharing, it was fun reading your descriptions.