Need help identifying an oolong

[bsteele]

Oolongonians, I need some help identifying an oolong from The Tea Spot simply called "Vintage Oolong." I don't know much about oolong types so any help is appreciated

The aroma and taste is similar to Adagios oolong #18. Since the pictures are on the large side, I'll post a direct links.

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_863CcyQyf4o/Sde3k ... olong1.jpg OR http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o231 ... eda953.jpg

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_863CcyQyf4o/Sde3k ... olong2.jpg OR http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o231 ... e607d8.jpg

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_863CcyQyf4o/Sde3l ... olong3.jpg OR http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o231 ... 49b2d1.jpg

[Deleted User #30641]

Now I don't know much about Taiwanese oolongs but it looks like its a rolled green oolong and Vintage probably means Aged. So really I think nearly any guess is as good as another without tasting it, and other possible oolongs to compare it to. It could be an Aged Dong Ding, Aged Ali Shan, etc...

Sorry I can't be of more help than that.

[tea fish]

I'm very new to oolong sleuthing, but it looks a lot like an Ali Shan that I had recently.

[Drax]

Hm, they're all "404'd" right now. Maybe you're in the process of moving them or something...? Just thought I'd check to be sure.

[bsteele]

they're working for me, but I'll put up secondary links just in case.

Edit: Up now

[tsverrir]

Judging by the pictures, it could be almost any high altitude, hand harvested Taiwanese oolong.

[gingkoseto]

It's medium roasted taiwan style oolong, and the leaves don't look like the traditional taiwan oolong cultivar (green heart oolong, which has pointed leaves). So it could be the new cultivar cui yu (green jade). It's non-pointed leaves and sparse teeth are consistent with features of green jade oolong.

Since you said it tasted very much like adagio#18, which is called jade oolong (I guess it's the same translated name as cui yu/green jade), this combined with its leaf appearance, then it's very likely to be a medium roasted jade oolong

[Deleted User #30641]

...then it's very likely to be a medium roasted jade oolong

I'm curious, and eager to learn. How did you come up with the conclusion that it was medium roasted? The description of the flavor on the site doesn't seem to have many taste indicators that would make me think "roasted" except for possibly the mention of a nutty flavor. I mean when you have a roasted oolong you pretty much know it, at least in my opinion.

I mean could it be the hints of reddish brown on the used leaves? Though being more knowledgeable about pu rather than all the various types of oolongs myself, it reminds me more of the look of an aged leaf. Or is it the more muted color?

[Drax]

I mean could it be the hints of reddish brown on the used leaves?

I think that's so?

My experience with oolongs is extremely limited, but I do believe that's the first time I've seen a long enough stem to bear multiple leaves on it... Interesting...

[tenuki]

does not look like an aged oolong to me. I think the reddish splotches on the leaves are oxidation, not roasting. The rolling of the leaves during processing crushes them and creates those more highly oxidized areas. i would guess the name 'vintage' refers to the more oxididized style, but really it's anyone's guess and probably their marketing department who made it up doesn't even know why. could also hint that chin shin was used (leaves may suggest not), or the hand cut and rolled appearance, or whatever. I would guess that is ~20% oxidized and mostly unroasted. The varietal is hard for me to guess without feeling the leaves, looking at them very closely front and back (and eating them) so I'll leave that one alone.

[gingkoseto]

...then it's very likely to be a medium roasted jade oolong

I'm curious, and eager to learn. How did you come up with the conclusion that it was medium roasted? The description of the flavor on the site doesn't seem to have many taste indicators that would make me think "roasted" except for possibly the mention of a nutty flavor. I mean when you have a roasted oolong you pretty much know it, at least in my opinion.

I mean could it be the hints of reddish brown on the used leaves? Though being more knowledgeable about pu rather than all the various types of oolongs myself, it reminds me more of the look of an aged leaf. Or is it the more muted color?

Green or darker roasts are all relative. It's just an intuitive thought from the color of the photo that the tea looks a medium roast. It instantly reminds me of a medium roast dong ding I have. My tea looks very similar to bsteele's, but with slightly different leaf shape. (but my pohoto skills are poor )
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Tjz7-dt8PhM/S ... %A1%B6.JPG

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Tjz7-dt8PhM/S ... %BA%95.JPG

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Tjz7-dt8PhM/S ... +infus.JPG

As tenuki said, the leaves have some degree of oxidation (the wide red rim and red dots on the leaves). I hold the general assumption that most of the time heavy oxidized oolongs are more heavily roasted to bring out their characters, and less oxidized oolongs are very lightly roasted (or simply heat to dry rather than real roasting) to maintain their floral fragrance.

But of course all these are just guessing, without really touching the tea. [/url]