VAHDAM, High Mountain Oolong Tea Leaves From Himalayas (50+ Cups, 3.53oz) Strong & Robust Oolong Tea | High Elevation Grown | Vacuum Sealed | Brew Hot, Iced, Kombucha Tea | Loose Leaf Tea

I’ll begin by saying that I mostly drink black tea and am new to oolongs. My experience with them so far has consisted of a handful of tie guan yins, that dark oolong served in American Chinese restaurants, and a crappy fruit flavoured one. So I’m not an oolong expert. Having said that, I really enjoyed this Darjeeling take on oolong and think it’s a very interesting tea.I don’t agree with the reviews that say it’s more like a black tea than an oolong. The dry leaf is darker leaves mostly but also lighter hues including some that are rather green. I don’t know it’s exact oxidation but it’s clearly less than most black teas. It IS more like some Darjeelings (because it is one…) but it still struck me as different. In particular, I preferred this oolong to both Vahdams spring and summer Darjeeling, though it should be noted I’ve only had the teabag versions of those.Despite the darker dry leaves, Vahdam recommends brewing this tea from 175-194 F and I agree. I felt this tea was boring and muddled when brewed with boiling water and still undistinguished at 205. I’d even say aim for the lower end. I like it best around 185, but also liked it at 175. So treat it more like a green tea than a black tea, or at least like a greener Darjeeling, for the best results.When brewed the aroma is an appealing melange of grass, dried fruit, and cocoa. There are occasional hints of the muscatel notes of some second flush Darjeelings. The flavour is mellow, earthy, and fruity, with hints of fig and a variable level of cocoaness. The lower the brewing temp the more fruity, with more coca and earthiness emerging with higher brewing temps. There is a pleasant light astringency and a bit of citrus in the finish. I don’t recommend adding milk or sweetening as most of the flavours are subtle. The tea resteeps pretty well, particularly when the initial brew is cooler. I found the second steeps to be lighter, more vegetal and grassy but still enjoyable.I liked this tea and would recommend it to black tea drinkers who want to branch out some and to Darjeeling fans. As for serious oolong drinkers, those who know the ins and outs of Wuyi tea or Taiwanese high mountain oolongs, I don’t know. Your art is a strange one I hope to learn. At the least, an Indian oolong is fairly rare and might be worth a look.

I've recently acquired a taste for Oolong tea. I also drink a selection of black and herbal teas frequently. This just simply isn't Oolong. perhaps it is cultivated or prepared in some Oolong fashion, but it's not Oolong when all is said and done and it's in your cup. When I smell the dry tea leaves, I don't get much of that Oolong aroma, but I could detect the scent of black tea. It's not a strong as a typical black tea, but that is the dominant fragrance. Also, the tea leaves are in such small pieces. After steeping, it is apparent that they are chopped or torn up pretty badly. One of the signature traits of premium Oolong is that the leaves are kept whole and rolled or "furled" during the drying process. It's this that allows them to often be infused multiple times.Immediately after the steep, there are some subtle Oolong fragrances going, but they fade away fast and all that remains is that of black tea. The taste is not bad at all, but it is just missing the subtle flavors of Oolong and just tastes like a really smooth and clean finished black tea. There is nothing bad about it, but it's simply not Oolong. Not in practice, not in fragrance, and not in taste. Take that how you will. It is, however, a decent quality tea and would be better received if they would just call it Darjeeling and be done with it. I have given it three stars mainly for that reason.Edit and Update: After a few more times to enjoy this tea, I can say that it is quite good. So I guess if this is the Oolong processing methods applied to very good Indian tea and the result is excellent. Maybe not the exact tradition that it was named for, but something great nonetheless. Moving it up to 5 stars as this tea was a gateway to finding some other really good VAHDAM teas.

A forewarning: I am not a tea expert at all, lol, more of a coffee guy - but I have a fondness for Oolongs and like to go out of my way to find little specialist tea importers and ask for the quality stuff (usually from Taiwan for me). I'm also rather fond of the black teas I've had from Darjeeling - so this Darjeeling Oolong was of special interest to me.Taste-wise this Oolong reminds me of the better Formosa 'Silver-Tipped' teas that I've had prior to this (although it does not have as many silver tips), but the brew is a shade darker and just a touch more robust than those teas (still very recognizably Oolong, though). That said, it has a twist - Darjeeling! There's a certain flavor in tea I've had from that region that I have a little bit of trouble describing, but to my experience it's pretty unique. It's this sort of background floral note with a sort of smokey grape or raisin taste that hits on the way down (sorry for the poor description, lol). It's a flavor that I've only ever really noted in teas from the Darjeeling region, and I most certainly note it here - and I think it's a great and unique addition to the Oolong taste that I enjoy.So I definitely do highly recommend this tea, and given that the importer I used has been shut down over the pandemic, Vahdam is going to be my go-to tea source for a while, I think. I look forward to trying their other teas!I also want to mention that Vahdam teas deserve a shout out for some of their policies, and for their excellent packaging. Being carbon and plastic neutral is a pretty important thing to some of us; so is dedicating part of one's profits to education programs to help their employees - I appreciate that rather a lot. Also the packaging is great! The tea came vacuum sealed in foil (nice and fresh!), and had a foil lined heavy plastic (opaque) zipping bag to store the tea in afterwards - and a label for it to boot! That's the sort of touch I expect from those aforementioned importers, not a company that sells tea in a paper box - bravo!Good tea. Good company. Win/win.