Name: Hairy Crab Oolong
Brand: Dream About Tea
Type: Oolong
Form: Loose Leaf
Cost: $14.25 for 4 ounces
Review: Ignore its funky name and relax. You are about to drink an interesting cuppa cha.
The first infusion colored up to a orange/gold with maybe just a hint of green. The nose was interesting: A bit of jasmine, along with a hint of forest, though not anywhere near as intense as the Jade Oolong from Drink The Leaf.
At first sip, however, I was somewhat perplexed. The taste was best described as “austere”. The (fairly strong) jasmine and forest notes were there (along with a decided woody-ness) but there was also a considerable astringency that almost entirely obscured the emerging peach notes. Though it was a very interesting tea, I didn’t quite know what to make of it.
It was at the second infusion that the tea really began to blossom. The woody-ness was replaced with a nutty note, combined with more intense peach flavor. The jasmine remained, but didn’t seem so aggressive as the astringency lessened. The third and fourth and fifth infusions yielded honey with more peach: It was after the fifth infusion that I finally gave up. . .the color of the tea hadn’t even changed too much!
Incidentally, Dream About Tea suggests that this tea be prepared gong-fu style, and I would agree that that would probably be the best method for this hearty, complex oolong.
Recommendation: Initially austere, but has great merit for patient oolong lovers. Starts to shine in second infusion. Holds up well to numerous steepings, making it a great value.
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
I love Oolong …drink it all the time helps me keep slim, I feel it suppresses somewhat my appetite, also is one of the best antioxidants I know gets rid of free radicals…well done…saw you on foodbuzz
Hi Rico,
Yes, I confess to a special fondness for oolong myself. . .it is such an intriguing tea! Do you have a favorite oolong?
Thanks for stopping by!
I too love oolong. The first one I have re-tried (as I used to drink tea as a child) was Ti Guan Yin. This is the iron goddess oolong a standard chinese tea. It has extreme sweetness/vanilla taste. The level of floral-vanilla sweetness balanced against the tea’s natural, but mild bitterness makes for a heady seductive beverage.
Right now I am on my 8-9th infusion of a 2006 Wild Tree Floral Raw Pu-erh Tea from Luxi * 250 g that I purchased from Yunnan Sourcing LLC. It is a great website for Puerh and Black Tea. This tea has rich smooth unique earthy flavor at first after about the 5th washing it turns to a sugar cane sweet leafy taste.
Recently I just ordered 500 grams of Hairy crab oolong from them Fall ‘08 harvest. I am curious to try their oolong. This will be my first Fall harvested tea and my first time trying Hairy Crab Oolong. I am also very very very excited to have a daily oolong tea that is not as sweet as Ti Guan Yin. While Ti Guan Yin is an amazing tea after a couple pounds worth woa its just too much sweetness I need a break.
If anyone is looking for a great black/red tea I strongly recommend searching for Yunnan Gold Bud Bi Luo Chun” Pure Bud Black tea
This tea has a deep but crisp flavor with the highest level of serious fruitiness I have ever experienced in a tea. But deep fruitiness not like floral orchid or jasmine like a fine oolong, but rather more pomegranate or roasted candy apple. This is the perfect tea if you were a long time coffee drinker and you need something a little more stiff than oolong in the morning. Also I could get 2-3 good infusions from a spoonfull of leaves. The leaves are tightly curled. In hot water the quickly unfurl by the end of the 2nd or 3rd wash the individual buds open and split displaying two mirror halves of the bud connected.