Kimberley's Kyusu

Well it’s been a while hasn’t it… I really wasn’t planning on there being this much time between posts here on my blog but sometimes things don’t go to plan. I’ve been focusing on other projects and trying to balance those with this blog and also work everything around the health issues I have, just proved to be too much for me and certain things had to take a backseat.

I really have missed posting here, as much as I love the freelance writing projects I’ve been working on (which I am incredibly thankful for and I’m in no way complaining about) ,it just doesn’t feel like I can fully be myself with those like I can here, so getting the chance to come back here and work on this post and finally get live was the breath of fresh air that I truly needed.

So what is today’s post all about? Well recently, I was able to make my first ever White2tea order, something I had wanted to do for a long time. While there is no way I’ll be able to cover everything I ordered here on my blog, I wanted to make sure I did some long form blog posts documenting my first session with the teas from my order than have stood out to me the most so far. The first of those being Moonbloom Dancong.

”From the Guangdong province of China, our Moon Bloom Dancong oolong tea is made from yelaixiang varietal. The varietal name Yelaixiang roughly translates as “fragrance that arrives in the night”. Though the varietal does not share the same notoriety as Milan due to its much smaller production size, the lack of fame shouldn’t deter you from trying it. Our Moon Bloom is heavily oxidized and has a smooth, reddish liquor. The flavours are fruity and floral, with heavy fragrances throughout.” – White2Tea

Upon opening the bag that this tea is packed an aroma with notes of vanilla and thinly sliced almonds. It was slightly floral and sweet, with a roasted/toasty, comforting feel to it quickly filled the air amplified each time the bag was moved even in the slightest. The dry leaves are mixed shades of brown, long wiry and somewhat twisted with a medium thickness.

After the first steep of which the liquor was a lovely reddish peach colour, the wet leaves gave off an aroma that was quite a bit different than the aroma of the dry leaves with notes of grapefruit, sherbet and heavy florals followed of hints of creme brûlée, and pannacotta with a red berry compote.

When it comes down to taste the most prominent notes through all steeps were orchid floral notes, red berries, custard danishes and hard candies with sherbet centres. around steep three a delightful woody appeared and continued to become more prominent as steeps went on, the natural sweetness became lighter and was not present at all the the last two steeps of the session. The red berry notes were consistent throughout all steeps and provided a nice subtle tartness. There was also an after taste of grapefruit from the third through to the fourth steep.

Overall in terms of mouthfeel this tea from start to finish was smooth, ever so slightly drying and creamy but that did weaken as the steeps went on which resulted in the mouthfeel becoming lighter and meant that it didn’t sit on the tongue as heavily as initial steeps. The empty Gong Dao Bei had an aroma that gave notes of brown sugar, creme brûlée, baked almond pastries and strawberries.

Body sensation – I’ve now done multiple session with this tea and each one has been just as fantastic as this first one was. It’s an incredibly consistent tea and after each session I am always left feeling, relaxed, calm and ready for a nap. Sometimes I struggle with allowing my body to rest when it clearly needs to so the fact that this tea has helped me to do that after each and every session has been a godsend honestly. After each session with this tea I’ve been cold brewing the leaves which makes for a perfect iced oolong to sip on during super warm sunny days.

All in all this tea is absolutely fantastic and I’m so glad I added it to my order. When it comes to oolong, dancongs are my absolute favourite and I’m always looking for new ones to try, which has sadly ended up in some disappointing session as all dancongs are definitely not built equal, however this session and the session I have had after this with Moonbloom Dancong were all incredible and I can’t wait for my first outdoor session with this tea hopefully sooner rather than later. As something tells me that the experience this tea gives with only be amplified tenfold when surrounded by nature.

Should you want to try this out yourself and see how your tasting notes might compare to mine you can find this tea here on the White2Tea Website! Should you have already tried this tea let me know your thoughts on it in the comments because I would love to know if we picked up on any of the same aroma or tasting notes as I did.

Until next time (hopefully there won’t be as much of a break between posts), Happy Steeping – Kimberley