Leeshan or Alishan green tea

[miginaustria]

Hi there,
I recently bought a fairly expensive green tea at tea store in Vienna, Austria where I live. It was sold as a Taiwanese mountain Lee shan green tea. But on trying it seems to have a few oolong-like characteristics. My experience with oolongs is limited so far though, I've only had 3.
But all searches I have done on Lee shan or Alishan only turn up oolongs. And the owner of the store said this tea had to be brewed with water near boiling. It works fine and it a very good tea. But is it a green tea or oolong? Have you ever heard of green Alishan teas? And can any green tea truly be brewed with near boiling water?
She also sells a Leeshan oolong to be fair, and the Alishan green was billed as a rarity.
I can also post a couple pics of the leaves later maybe.
Thanks,
Miguel

[Rainy-Day]

It seems like A-li-shan is a location, as described here:

http://www.houdeasianart.com/index.php? ... 488824b794

So in theory it could be just a green made from leaves from that location. I have tried many green teas but none of them had taste similar to oolong. There are many oolongs that are very lightly roasted so their taste is close to greens but always have a bit of an oolong note as well. I never had a green that could be brewed near boiling temp. I suspect that the tea you have is a very lightly roasted oolong, would be properly called 'green oolong', but who knows..

[thirtysixbelow]

I'm definitely no oolong expert so take this with a grain of salt but I think it has to do with mount ali? Isn't that where an ali-shan tea comes from? They are lightly oxidized oolongs from the couple I have had. I guess if it's less oxidized than normal it could approach a green tea category.

[TokyoB]

Li-Shan and Ali-Shan ("shan" is mountain in Mandarin) are located near each other in Taiwan. Tea from Li-shan is usually more expensive. The most rare/expensive high mountain tea from Taiwan is from DaYuLing. These days oolongs from those locations are ball style teas which have very little oxidation or roasting. Thus they look very green. In Taiwan everyone uses boiling water or water just off the boil.

You can find many descriptions of Taiwan teas at Floating Leaves, HouDe, ShanShui, Red Blossom and Tea from Taiwan.

http://www.houdeasianart.com/

http://www.floatingleaves.com/

http://www.shanshuiteas.com/

http://www.redblossomtea.com/

http://www.teafromtaiwan.com/

[Victoria]

Those are definitely oolongs. I'm seeing that more and more this year - the referring to Green Oolongs as Green Tea.

The Ali Shan was probably hand picked, making it more rare.
I've had both this spring, and usually favor Ali Shan, but this year's Li Shan
impressed me more.

[Maitre_Tea]

I don't know if I'm the only one here, but I think there's an uncanny similarity between Li Shan Oolong and TGY. Thoughts, anyone?

[shah82]

absolutely not, in my case.

high mountain taiwanese oolongs tends to taste like (more rosey though) lilies like baozhongs do. With a lot of umami and vegetal in the flavor. Green TGY might taste a bit like them, as any action packed green leaf would, if processed similarly. However, TGY is known for the processed leaves that leave it substantially more heavy than any high mountain oolong.

[gingkoseto]

There are a few (very few) green teas produced in Taiwan that are meant to be green teas. Some Taiwan green teas on market are simply oolong varietals processed with green tea method. I read it from somewhere (teahome taiwan, probably, but i'm not exactly sure) that green tea made from oolong varietals are simply raw tea (un-oxidized) of oolong, and raw tea of oolong is somewhat bad to one's stomach, compared with all other kinds of tea.

[miginaustria]

Some Taiwan green teas on market are simply oolong varietals processed with green tea method. I read it from somewhere (teahome taiwan, probably, but i'm not exactly sure) that green tea made from oolong varietals are simply raw tea (un-oxidized) of oolong, and raw tea of oolong is somewhat bad to one's stomach, compared with all other kinds of tea.

That's what I think this tea is. It is certainly an interesting tea, with a very subtle first infusion full of floral notes and a pleasing roundness. It is also very clear from the leaves that it was hand harvested. But it is the flavor is almost too subtle, plus you need a lot of leaf to make a decent small cup, and after the first infusion the following infusions are all much less interesting. In fact, I have never tasted a tea that drops so much in quality from the first infusion on, although the first infusion as said is very impressive.
So, it isn't something I see myself drinking often, but interesting to try. The tea shop owner brews it gong fu style, and I have tried to do the same with my limited tea ware.

[TIM]

I don't know if I'm the only one here, but I think there's an uncanny similarity between Li Shan Oolong and TGY. Thoughts, anyone?

Li Shan Oolong or DYL are grown in above 2000m. And TGY are usual grow in lower altitude. Most Li Shan are of Jade or qingxin varietal, but still they are closely related / originated from Anxi TGY. The difference is like tasting a merlot from Napa vs Pomerol. The more you taste and sample Taiwanese oolong, the more you can tell them apart.

[Maitre_Tea]

I probably should have clarified on this, but I thought there was a similar aroma in the tea and and the wet tea leaves. They both had a similar floral smell which was what struck me as being kind of similar

[Tead Off]

Green oolongs should not be confused with green tea. They are just lightly oxidized but really have nothing in common with green tea.

Li shan and Ali shan are 2 different locations in Taiwan. If I had to choose, I would give the nod to Li shan teas. These are refined, delicate tasting teas that are my staple. I used to favor TGY before I knew of Taiwan teas. I can see how someone could associate the 2, but, they are really quite different in the mouth. The Taiwan teas are far more subtle having a hint of dried fruit flavor and sometimes almost brothy. I started my tea journey with TGY and still occassionally drink it but I always find myself reaching for the Taiwan teas. Makes me want to drink some right now.