★★★☆☆
Don't understand the hype for this tea. Always seemed weak no matter how long it steeped. I did enjoy it though.
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.
Don't understand the hype for this tea. Always seemed weak no matter how long it steeped. I did enjoy it though.
Loved this tea, will definetly reorder. Very good profile and can be brewed multiple times.
It's alright, but I don't think I'll be getting more of this. Overall, this tea was rather bitter to me and lacked the complexity and the layers other reviews spoke of. On top of that, it's really rather expensive. That said, seeing how huge a teaspoon of this can get when added to water is pretty hilarious.
What can I say that hasn’t been said about this amazing tea will be ordered again and again.
I love rolled Oolong because the more you step it, the more flavor you find. This is no different! A subtle tasting Oolong and with each step you get a little more oxidation. Highly recommend for a first time Oolong drinker or for just a staple.
This is a smooth tea that is high quality. It has a creamy feel to it. Filling and great.
Yes it's expensive, but just try the sampler. It's everything they say it is! It's like drinking fresh air. It's light, a bit floral, a bit fruity a bit...?? It's constantly changing.
Additionally, I love my tea sweetened & yes this tasted great with honey, but truth be told didn't even need a single drop overall. It was so overwhelmingly NOT bitter. Each resteeping was new yet delicious. Try it!
A flavorful and pleasant tasting oolong tea, not too strong or weak.
No wonder this tea is so expensive! Worth every penny! such a nice complex yet smooth flavors. Has a very light color which can be deceiving. I have not tried second or third brew but I will based on other reviews. Treat yourself to some Ali Shan!
If you like green tea, this is truly the best I ever had! Fantastic with added honey. I love it!
Enjoy the flavors. Just the right light sweetness. One of my favorites.
Prepared gongfu style, the first steep was light but very tasty, and no bitter notes, and very soothing... Etc. It's very creamy, buttery mouthfeel. I can't place the delicious taste at the end of the sip, a long finish, sweetness... Top 3 Adagio tea for me. Recommended.
Ali Shan has now made it's way into my top 5 faves! I am so glad I went ahead and added a sample pack to my last order because this tea is a real treat. This tea reminds me of everything I like about a green tea, without the 'vegetable' taste. Light, but flavorful, this tea has a lingering sweetness that leaves you refreshed, yet wanting more. Personally, I almost double up my teaspoons per cup, as it's a little on the light side for my taste, and I like a stronger steep.
NOTE: I am an iced tea drinker. My reviews are based off of brewing/steeping accordingly, adding sugar or honey, then pouring over ice.
This is a favorite! It is a treat for me (price), but I do love it and resteep it 3x.
Excellent, but not what I was expecting. It is beautifully subtle, with a complex and sweet flavor that really highlights its outstanding quality, but it doesn't taste much like an oolong tea. It definitely is an oolong tea, and it tastes closer to an oolong than any other type of tea, but it's light, flowery, and gentle, with only the barest trace of oxidation.
You can brew this tea up to three times and have consistent flavor, especially if you use a slightly lower brewing temperature. You also want to brew this tea just slightly on the long side, at around 3 min. Slightly increase the time when using the leaves again.
FAIL: I have opened my pouch containing 15 bags Ali Shan - so far 3 of 4 have been defective: leaking leaves, broken sachets, and i can see inside the pouch that the rest of the sachets are defective. Very disappointing, especially considering this is a very expensive tea! Also I should not have to pay for returning a defective product - I expect Adagio to arrange a pre-paid return. And I want Adagio to give me a call to discuss this defective product - I have been an Adagio customer for over 10 years and have plowed hundreds of dollars into your registers - and expect a better level of service.
Good, but not worth the hype. Not as sweet as reviews made it sound.
The tea was smooth and rich tasting. I like it very much. The tea leaves can be reused as well.
Very nice tea. is a bit tricky to make well but has a lot of great flavor
Yum! This is a delicious, subtle, buttery oolong with a delicious flavor profile. Oolongs are probably my favorite teas, and while this isn t, say Fujian Ti Kuan Yin, it doesn t cost as much either.
my new favourite tea. i was pleasantly surprised by how flavourful it is considering how light it appears after brewing.
This ali shan is good but lacking in character. I will keep looking and/or possibly getting a more expensive one.
It’s true high mountain oolong from Taiwan - what’s not to love? This has the same smooth buttery undertones of the best oolong I had when I lived in Taiwan. I’m so glad to be able to eat something similar in the US!
Love the buttery taste of this oolong. Definitely a special one.
Very good, worth the slight premium. Slightly floral, though not overpoweringly so (I'm not much for strong floral flavors).
This is one of those teas i can't seem to figure out if i like it or not. For some reason, to me, its tastes like i made the tea with water i boiled potatoes in...weirdly starchy. Its not horrible...but for me not worth the price.
This one had a great balance of herbal, floral, and even fruity flavors. It reminded me of fine white wines. Definitely worth a try!
Great flavor. Husband also likes. Love the fragrance. Settles stomach after dinner
This was one of the first oolong I tried. I enjoyed it but I really prefer green tea.
Good green oolong. It’s less floral and a little more vegetal than the Jade oolong
I bought this tea because it had my name in it. It s a good oolong, with light floral tones.
Very subtle on my palette. Almost like a white tea. My husbands says it tastes creamy and has light floral notes towards the finish.
This is great, but for the price I think the decong aria, or the golden flower oolong.
Great quality and taste especially with Northwest water!
I decided to splurge a little and get a plain tea (I usually go for the flavored ones) to enjoy when I m feeling calm and ready for gentle nuances. This is a beautiful little black-dress tea that doesn t overwhelm or underwhelm. For me it has notes of green grass and woods, and tastes like Nature in a cup.
So worth the $29 teabags! I got the leaves after trying the teabags & reseeped it up to 3'x's & it still had flavor. There's NO bitterness even w/ reseeps. The descriptive of this oolong pretty much sums my experience w/ the flavor- mellow & smooth, minimal vegetative, but not like Japanese senchas. I can add it to other tea blends w/o changing the taste. It's good w/ black or green blends, even the pu-erhs. And out of curiosity, I placed it in the fridge for the next day & i was still able to use it again.
Pretty good - Green is my fav - oolong is fun. this is quite good for an oolong
Another pretty darn good green tea from my favorite producers of the green stuff. Ali Shan was the going concern where I used to live in Taiwan, and you can see barrels of the stuff for sale at day markets all over the island. The leaf is in a looser ball than some other hand rolled greens and opens nicely in the pot. The scent is just as it should be and the leaves hold up nicely to a couple of rebrews. Worth your money and time if you're looking for an authentic Ali Shan tea experience.
Beautifully floral! Thick liquor with a lovely colour. This was an impressive oolong with many intermingling flavors
Not a big fan of this Alishan. Alishan is typically a fruity, honey'd tea with a light floral taste... but this one had much more of a vegetal flavor, reminiscent of Japanese green teas, not Taiwanese Oolongs. While some might enjoy that flavor, it simply isn't Alishan. Additionally, the tea got quite bitter when oversteeped, a sign of poor leaf quality.
Wonderful tea, both delicate and flavorful. It is now on my gift list for all tea loving friends.
really nice cup of tea. its amazing that nature can produce such a delicious and complex flavor in a single plant. worth the money. what you should expect: Light body, floral taste, multiple steeps, no astringency (unless you over steep).
Not as strong as I wanted, but altogether a fair oolong
Lovely smell, I do detect the lilac the blurb mentions. The taste is lovely too but VERY mild. Sort of reminds me of a very weak chamomile infusion. I like a robust green oolong but if you like them delicate this is definitely worth a try.
Wow, it is that good. Even my Philistine kids recognized the difference. Smooth but not unctuous with a strong but not harsh bouquet.
I was surprised that this tea had more milky creamy notes than the milk oolong! Exactly what I was looking for. The 2nd and 3rd steeping were magical!! The aftertaste coats your tongue like a creamy dessert
This is a nice tea with a somewhat bitter flavor.
Pretty generic oolong, but if you like oolong, you'll like Ali Shan.
I was not as blown away by this oolong the way others seem to be, but it's definitely very good. I found it's best flavor to be after it had cooled a little, and the second steep was good too.
I thought this tea would be amazing but it's just alright. The flavor was underwhelming, but I confess my palate may not be that sophisticated. Do not add milk, that was a mistake. I tried it again without milk and it was much better.