2009 Lushan Jinxuan
Posted on 4 May 2009
Jinxuan (a.k.a. as Taiwan No. 12) is one such variety of tea tree, and apart from good productivity it is known for its creamy or milk-like aroma. This is as much a blessing as a curse, as many unscrupulous producers of lower-end oolong simply boost this subtle natural aroma with artificial flavouring. The result, sold as ‘Milk Oolong’, can be so utterly repulsive I have pretty much lost any confidence in jinxuan altogether. I thank Stéphane all the more, therefore, for having sent this very enjoyable sample.
Leaf: These tea pellets look just like any gaoshan but are really rather large: I reached the required 2g with just 12 leaves (see photo at the bottom of post). These leaves are also quite thin, resulting in a fair bit of bruising and other damage. Colour is a consistent dark green. A pleasant leafy smell to the wet leaves, like walking in a garden after a spring or early summer rain.
Infusion colour is rather light. A fine scent, vegetal, leafy, mildly sweet perhaps, with the ‘milky’ association really kept more allusive than upfront (what a relief after the low-end, artificially-flavoured examples). A comfortable mouthfeel for this classic-styled tea that in fact reminded me of continental Chinese teas such as Tiekuanyin or Maoxie. Limited sweetness, this hints at boiled vegetables on the reasonably long finish which is enlivened by some dryness. I don’t get any milk notes here.
All in all this an enjoyable tea with a very subtle, unobtrusive ‘milky’ aroma. But it also shows why the jinxuan variety doesn’t have the pedigree of qingxin: this tea just lacks the structure, depth and finesse of the latter.
2g of leaf after 5 minutes of infusion.