2015 Cui Yu Oolong Tea

Brief steeps (5-10 seconds) in 90 Celsius water.
Liquor is clear with a golden amber color.
Taste clean and mellow with a soft creamy toasted aroma and a floral note in the aftertaste.
Mouthfeel slightly sticky from the medium body infusion, with a hint of astringency.
Empty cup leaves a mild yet sweet toasted scent.
Wet leaves are deep olive green in hue.
The flavor intensity starts to mellow down from the 7th/8th infusion, thus best to do a longer steep from here onwards.
A longer steep (30 seconds) gives a more pronounced floral note to the aftertaste and increases the astringency on the palate.

I brewed 6g/ 100ml, 99C.
First off, I had no clue you could drink a “mid-age oolong” (beyond 2 years, under 10). I always drank young oolongs, or once the 25 yr old heavy roast from Meileaf. But a 4-year-old? I was positively surprised.
These were big clunky ball-rolled oolongs - heavy, tightly rolled, huge. They were not verdant, but rather brown, olive, & deep green. Some reddish stems. Definitely Taiwanese style production.
The smell of the dry leaves was chestnut & pecans, milky, fruit jam, sweet & high fruit notes, with caramel & milk chocolate.
Wet leaves smelled greener, more fruity, a bit of Dong Ding Oolong medium roast chestnut flavor with pineapple and kale leaves.
It took 3 infusions to get a deep golden color, as the leaves were huge and took time to open up. The liquor was crystal with bud hairs swimming beautifully in the sunshine. Taste was fruity sweet (very!) with a thin mouthfeel that becomes thicker over the infusions. A Tie Guan Yin kind of tartness enters the scene as of second infusion, with a hint of astringency. My tongue started to tingle with a juicy finish. A very fruity light oolong that’s nothing like the floral green ones I know. Delicious - like fruit juice.
The empty Gongdaobei and teacup smelled of caramel, chinese herbal medicine, sweet chestnut, with a hint of “green” bitters & florals. Excellent combination!