I always say, Chinese are masters of oolong tea, and I have tried oolong teas from different countries, including Japan, Thailand and Malawi. All these countries have a long journey to achieve the Chinese standard of making oolong tea. Although, I’d say Thailand has already made significant progress and has a considerable domestic oolong market with multiple producers and a considerable number of consumers.
Malawi has established a good reputation internationally but mostly with its black teas. I have tried white and oolong teas from Malawi now and I found the latter incredibly underwhelming. I also lack information about this tea, but I can tell you that it was on the medium-oxidation and medium-roast side. Although I saw that the oxidation was not homogenous across the leaves.
It tasted smooth, mellow, somehow fruity but nothing special. Quite dull really. While appreciating the effort and intention, I think the end result should also be satisfactory and, in this case, it was not. Come on, Malawi, you can do better!
Tea Profile:
Type: Oolong
Origin: Malawi
Harvest time: 2019
Leaf colour: Tones of brown with occasional green and red
Liquor colour: Amber
Tea aroma: Fruity
Tea taste: Mellow, slightly sweet and fruity
Steeping/brewing: Place 5 g of this tea in a teapot and add about 100 ml water at around 90°C. Rinse after 3 sec. Steep for 10 seconds for the second time and increase the consecutive steeping time by 5 seconds each time. You can steep this tea about three times.
Shelf life: About 2 to 3 years