Green oolong tea from Ali Shan, one of Taiwan's most famous tea growing areas. Beautiful high mountain oolongs come from its misty peaks. Warm sugar and deeply layered floral aromas, with a melting, creamy mouthfeel. Mellow and light-bodied.
Customers use these reviews to describe their experience with Ali Shan, including flavor, aroma, preparation preferences, strength, and how the tea fits into daily routines. Browse the full review history page by page to compare tasting notes, steeping tips, and favorite ways to enjoy this tea.
I've not yet brewed this in a gaiwan, but I can agree with other commenters that this tea is great to get multiple steeps out of, even grandpa-style by just chucking some leaves and warm water in a cup. Delicate, subtly floral and with just an edge of a vegetal green that makes the whole thing just taste... fresh! I prefer this to Milk Oolong as the vegetal taste is not overpowering, even after a few steeps.
Mama Mia! This is the one. I can sip this light, buttery tea all day long...from the same teaspoonful! I can easily get seven steeps and they all taste delicious. This one is definitely a staple in my tea pantry!
Another review said the following, so I will repeat it: This tea is expensive, but so is a ferrari. This is an excellent tea and I am so happy I spent the money on it. I find that brewing it for 5 mins (195 degrees) is best for me.
Ali Shan smells delicious, looks good. Not a bad tea
As a fan of Oolong, I can honestly say this is the best Ali Shan I've had. It's very fragrant, with a sweet aroma and flavor. I love this tea!
This is an absolutely beautiful oolong. I have purchased from Adagio Tea directly for a couple of years, and all of their oolongs are of the highest quality. You can't miss. Some may think this is expensive. It is not! I tried another that was from a different vendor, and it did not compare. My favorite tea!
A delightful tea! Pleasantly fragrant and not too bitter if it accidentally gets left to steep for too long
I found it good. I added a spoon of honey. I do not know if I would reorder.
I don't know if I have been getting old recently but this seemed pretty flavorless. I had to use double the recommended amount for to it not to taste watered down
Yum!! Smooth sweet-buttery tea. Tastes like honey added beforehand.
CommuniTEA portion: 195 2-1/2 minutes. Fantastic tea. Buttery with just a slight floral note. Multiple wonderful steeps.
This is good tea. It’s an awesome oolong tea that I highly recommend.
I enjoyed watching the leaves unfurl over the first 2-minute infusion. I was going to steep it longer but was worried about the strong grassy smell. The first few sips did not taste as grassy as they smelled, though, and after adding a little sweetener it was actually pretty good. I steeped the second infusion for just over three minutes, added a little sugar, and enjoyed it about the same as the first.
What a delicious oolong! I loved the floral notes and the smooth texture of the beautiful tea.
Good tea today. I liked it more than I expected. Nice sip
This is a complex and buttery tea that tastes great.
A gentle sweet oolong tea. Not overpowering. It was fun to watch it unfurl and the second steep was better than the first - longer and gave more flavor. CT 9-12-2023.
It has a nice subtle flavor that I can't quite place. The color is very pale, but the taste is plenty strong.
This is a nice light tea that surprised me by not having any grassy taste. I smelled a grassy smell when I opened my packet and as it was brewing. I brewed it at 195 for 2 minutes in an effort to avoid the potential vegetal taste that I didn’t get. Knowing that now, I think next time I would brew it for longer and see how that affects the taste.
Very gentle and soothing. I like this one! Loved how the leaves open up as it steeps.
A lovely oolong that is light and has a buttery taste. And I had multiple steeps.
I had to sit with this tea for a bit before ultimately deciding that I did, in fact, like it. The dry leaves yield a slightly toasty aroma, evidence of the slight roasting these leaves undergo. I need to take a few sips of the first infusion to adjust to this tea. Though not outright grassy, the first few sips suggest savory vegetal notes that make me a little hesitant. Yet, the more dominant buttery notes keep me sipping, and as the tea cools a subtle floral sweetness blooms. A second steep proves to be less buttery but still silky smooth. At its hottest, it’s almost peppery, but that fades, and the vegetal notes from the first round lean more toward herbal flavors. The floral sweetness from the first infusion has also faded, but I still don’t feel compelled to sweeten this cup. On the third brew, the floral sweetness seems to have returned and it’s equally balanced by the herbal notes from the second steep. I should note that I am not a gong-fu brewer, and I managed to get three good western-style infusions from one serving of leaves. I have no doubt, one could get more, so this pricey tea is well-worth the investment from that angle. While I am glad to have had the opportunity to try this tea through the CommuniTEA, I can’t say that Ali Shan will be finding a permanent home in my tea cupboard. For me and my life right now, Ali Shan is a tea that demands too much attention and reflection. (2-3 minutes @ 190F)
It's teas like this that keep me here, this Oolong is absolutely perfect, almost a flawless cuppa, bonus to watch as it unfurls, magical sips on this day 9/11/23
This is a delightful oolong! It is smooth and buttery, with a lovely, light floral flavor.
An excellent multi-steep oolong, with a different character in each steep. I look forward to this one in the CommuniTea every year!
8 oz, 2 mins @ 195* F, with sweetener
Hot
This is a very nice mellow cup which just happens to be a touch too 'green' for my liking. I prefer darker oolongs than this one. That won't stop me from finishing the cup. The leaves were lovely to watch unfurl, it's a beautiful cup. My tongue is pickier than my eyes.
i liked it! Oolong is slowly growing on me, lol
A subtle, exquisite experience - from the unfurling of the tea leaf balls, the light golden colour and the mild grassy note on the nose and the pallet. It is a nice to take a break from all the tea blends and just have the simple tea leaves in all their glory.
Personally, I am not a fan of oolong teas, and Ali Shan has changed my view/ tastes. Thanks to Jim's review, I plan to try pre-rinsing the leaves prior to the first steep to rinse off unnecessary dust and bitterness. I hope this step before the steep will bring me into a better relationship with future oolong teas that come my way.
10✨️'s! What a most magickal cup! Big Flavor which constantly changes as the cup cools. Its a joy--from beginning to end to watch the leaves unfurl to swooning with every sip. A whimsical and telestic greatness tea for anyone...whether you tend to like more greenish oolong or not.
This was lovely to watch steep as the leaves unrolled. The final cup was too grassy & mineral for my tastes.
I'm finding that I am unable to appreciate the more delicate oolongs such as this. The flavor of this tea was confusing to me, something between a green tea and a typical oolong. It's hard to describe--somehow vegetal, floral and a little bit earthy all at the same time. I added sugar to my second cup but found it added to the flavor confusion. Very smooth tea.
UPDATE 2023.09: Tried it again, but I still find this tea a confusing mix of flavors. I know I'm in the minority, but it's just 'meh' for me.
(3 min @ 195)
Oolong is king, it rocks, it can just do no wrong! This particular one is outstanding. It's sweet, smooth, light, comforting, perfect! Love it!
I don't typically like oolongs. They taste like burnt green teas to me. I've been to several tea tastings and tasted dozens and never found one I liked... until ali shan. It has the rich (almost burnt) aroma I associate with oolongs but it has the taste of a light green. Very refreshing.
A very clean, crisp, and mineral flavor is present. I love all oolongs and this was a win for me as well.
I loooove this tea. Oolong is my favorite tea and this one is exceptional.
Pleasant tea with notes of jasmine, pear and peach. I like darker oolongs with mineral taste more but this is good as the jasmine is somewhat contained. Probably not a repurchase for me, but solid.
What a splendid and pleasant cup of green oolong tea! The leaves are tightly curled into nuggets of goodness and I steeped this 4 times after an initial 15 second hot water rinse, as recommended. I agree with others that the real flavor begins with the second steep when the leaves are really opening up. There are lovely buttery and mineral flavors to enjoy in each cup after that.
This is a nice light oolong to start the day. I like watching the little balls of tea leaves unfurl.
This was my first oolong tea, and I didn't know what to expect. There is a scent of brussel sprouts, which turned me off a bit, but the flavor was really good.
This oolong is very light and refreshing. i find myself enjoying this oolong a lot.
UPDATED from 5/16/21 This is a lovely rare oolong that is only harvested twice a year! As the CommuniTEA packet opens, there is an aroma of fresh greens. The small balls of tightly wound leaves roll out, then slowly stretch out like sleeping flowers awakening in the hot water. As they unfurl they produce a very light golden tea. The flavor is delicate and sweet - so refreshing! More like buttery veggies than grass - this has a soft, mouthfeel - and natural sweetness perfect for a spring day. I keep steeping the leaves (this can be re-steeped MANY times) so I can taste the tea while hot, cool, and cold. All are delicious and delightful - with zero astringency. The price seems ouchy until you realize that you can probably get 4 - 5 cups of tea with each ½ teaspoon of tea. (2 mins @ 190ºF).
This is a really nice tea - it has a smooth mouthfeel and even though it's green leaves, it doesn't get super-grassy. I'm really enjoying this one and it seems like it would hold up to multiple steeps. Steeped 2.5 min @ 195ª.
Unctuous and intoxicating. Very smooth and subtle.
Nice light buttery taste especially for somebody who drinks tea every day.
This oolong has a complex flavor profile, along with a buttery mouthfeel. There are slight floral essences, that get a little stronger as the tea cools. Watching the little balls unfurl always amuses me, and this tea doesn't disappoint! It is a little costly, but you can get several steeps per cup - which makes it more affordable.
I got 3 good steeps out of this and I probably could have gotten more. My first cup came out the lightest but it had a very nice light buttery taste. My next cups had more flowery notes emerging with each subsequent steep but it was never overpowering. I really enjoyed this oolong and I like that it makes a great cold brew too.
A pretty good green oolong ...I would consider buying again. It was refreshingly light and delicate, yet not weak.
Light milk flavor and a honey-like aftertaste with floral notes in between. The milk flavor fades in subsequent cups, but the floral and honey notes remain. Mineral flavors also become more prominent, too. Complex and mild tea that doesn't have any bitterness, despite me brewing for longer than recommended. Good for at least 3 steeps.
This is a lovely tea. A bit pricey for me to have it as an everyday tea, but a nice treat. A nice light oolong.
I received a sample of this tea in the Oolong sampler box and WOW. I love oolongs and this is the best one I have ever tasted! I made it in my Simplicitea and the leaves were beautiful as they unfurled. This almost has a green tea-like flavor, also a little reminiscent of honey. Just delightful.