Imperial Nai Xiang Milky Oolong Tea

Imperial Nai Xiang Oolong Tea, also called Milky Oolong because of its characteristic aroma of milk and caramel, is special and unique because its sweet aroma comes from the minerals in the earth where it originally grows, along with the temperature difference between day and night in the high mountains. This version is lightly flavored to accentuate the creamy notes of the tea even more.

The large firmly rolled leaves have an alluringly sweet fragrance of cream and caramel. The flavor is smooth, with milky and floral notes. Perfect before and after practicing yoga, sports and meditation.

Tasting – Sight and smell

Imperial Nai Xiang Milky Oolong tea leaves have the classic rolled shape typical of low-oxidation oolongs, in this case looser and more irregular and rather small in size. Colors range from dark green to moss green, with numerous shades between ochre and light brown at the leaf veins. Once infused, they open rather quickly, releasing intense aromas: in fact, vegetal hints are barely discernible, while milky and buttery notes of extreme sweetness are clearly discernible, followed by a delicate floral note that, especially in gaiwan, increases infusion after infusion. The liquor in the cup is golden, intense and very bright.

Tasting Notes

GONG FU CHA

The first infusion of Imperial Nai Xiang Milky Oolong tea is super sweet and creamy, with notes of condensed milk, butter, butter cookies, and white sugar. A light floral is perceived on the finish, providing freshness. With the second infusion these floral notes emerge more, giving off hints of white flowers such as magnolia and wisteria. There is then a faint citric and barely astringent note on the sides of the tongue, immediately replaced by the sweet and intense notes of cream and creme caramel. With the third and subsequent infusions, the floral notes remain, while the citric hint almost completely disappears. A very faint note of freshly cut grass appears, followed then by the enveloping but more measured notes of milk and custard.

WESTERN

At first sip, Imperial Nai Xiang Milky Oolong tea brings out its floral nature with notes of white flowers such as magnolia, jasmine, and lily of the valley, followed by notes of tropical flowers such as monoi. This is followed by the sweet, milky hints that characterize this cultivar, such as butter, condensed milk, and milk and honey. A caramelized almond note also emerges on the finish and a very faint note of lemon zest, fresh and pleasant. The body is decidedly dense and oily, with almost no astringency, while the persistence is long, milky and floral, overall quite fresh and very soft on the palate.

Place of origin

High mountains in Fujian Province, China.

Production

The distinct milky hint of Nai Xiang Milky Oolong is not always natural, but is sometimes added through flavoring.

The most common method of flavoring the leaves to accentuate their characteristic butter flavor is to infuse or spray them with milk before roasting. However, this quality of tea is variably endemic, and a similar contribution to taste can be produced by extra oxidation.

Ingredients: oolong tea, flavorings.

Discover all the benefits of Oolong tea.

Preparing Milky Oolong Tea

We recommend the use of ceramic or porcelain accessories. Rinse the cup and teapot with hot water.

For traditional Chinese-style preparation (gong fu cha) fill the gaiwan or small teapot 1/4 to 1/3 full of tea leaves, or with 5 g of tea leaves for every 150 ml of water if you are not using a porous clay teapot. Briefly rinse the leaves with 85°C water, then let the leaves steep for 40 seconds. Gradually increase the duration of successive infusions by 10 seconds (40 – 50 – 60 seconds…).

For Western-style preparation, we recommend using 3 g of tea leaves per 200 ml of water and let the leaves steep with water at 85° for 3 minutes. Gradually increase the duration by 30 seconds if more infusions are desired.

Storage: it is recommended to store Nai Xiang Milky Oolong tea in a cool, dry and dark place.