This Taiwan tea, also called Fancy Formosa Silver Tip or Oriental Beauty, is one of the world's most prized oolongs. More heavily oxidized, yielding luxurious floral, peach-pit fragrance. Incredibly sweet and lush, delicate warm spicy undertone.
Customers use these reviews to describe their experience with Formosa Bai Hao, 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.
This tea has a distinct peppery quality but does not have the sweetness of a wuyi or dancong variety oolong. A little astringent but not overwhelming. It is not at all comparable to its luxury counterpart (Hsinchu Oriental Beauty) from the masters collection which provides a true honey aroma and low astringency.
Not much flavor, even though it had steeped awhile.
I first got this as a sample and liked it a lot. I purchased more and find it a wonderful addition to my tea collection. It has a hard to define sweet taste I really find quite appealing.
Great flavor and body. Nice quality oolong
Enjoyable
I did not care at all for this tea. It has an astringent taste to it that I don't like.
Maybe I received an older batch, but I wasn't to impressed with this one.
I was initially turned off by the scent of the dry leaves, but it smells (and tastes) wonderful once it's been brewed.
Nice, clean, smooth. I enjoy it as a change from my usual green teas because it's nowhere near as harsh-tasting (to me) as black tea.
I really wanted to love this so-called 'champagne-tip' oolong, but honestly, it strikes me as a rather lackluster tea. Although gorgeous in appearance - as the whole tea leaves unfurled into beautiful, deep brown tendrils and swirling flourishes - the resulting amber-colored liquid was a far less interesting sensory experience. I will continue to experiment with this tea, in hopes that it will yield a more rewarding experience... Especially after purchasing a sample sized pouch for a whopping $7!
Tasted sort of like a darjeeling. Except it was more expensive. I'd recommend getting a darjeeling.
Usually I think many oolongs are too earthy, but this one surprised me! It's definitely more similar to a black tea, but still has green tea flavor and is very light overall.
Absolutely delicious. This tea has an aroma and taste that reminds me of early autumn--with the sweetness of sun-warmed grass (but not at all 'grassy' like some green teas) and the earthiness of the bottom of a leaf pile. There is also a touch of honey just as you begin to swallow. I love sweeter teas that aren't overly fruity, so this fits me perfectly. I will definitely buy this again!
don't really have much to say about this one. It was ok but not my favorite
It's a very tasty oolong. The fruity notes mentioned in the description are very subtle. Expect it to be pretty much plain oolong. UPDATE: I tried this mixed with equal parts snowbud to cut out some of the smokiness and I am going through it faster now.
This tea is delicious and warm, but sort of weak.
The first time I tried this, I was OVER THE MOON for it. It was nectar-sweet, complex, delicious, and up for at least 3 extra steeps. I don't know if this order was from a different harvest, but I wasn't quite as fond. I found it a bit more difficult to get the balance of flavors right. You can definitely still taste the peachy undertones, but it had a kind of harshness that wasn't so nice. Hmm. More experimentation may be in order.
I love good oolong and this is my favorite adagio tea.
A very nice, mellow oolong, I enjoy it with meals or as an afternoon hot drink on its own.
Really enjoyed my sample of this tea! I am not a huge oolong fan at all, but loved this one so much, am going to try a few more that sound interesting. The ones I've tried in the past (not adagio teas) where too mineral-tasting and I didn't care for that at all. This one is softer. If oolong isn't your thing, give this one a try!
A very good and well-balanced oolong. Good for three steeps.
My absolute favorite tea! I keep trying to find something I like as well for less money, but keep splurging on this one.
This is a nice oolong tea with rather high oxidation. It is earthy and strong. I think if you like iron goddess tea, but are looking for something a bit stronger, but find adagio's version to be to light/green, you will like this one. I prefer my oolongs on the greener side, so this is not my cup of tea, but it does offer some nice variety to my tea collection for guests.
This was my first oolong tea and I must say it is excellent.
Slightly bitter with a wonderful aroma. A most refreshing
after dinner tea.
The taste is really earthy!It has a soothing taste.
I mix this tea with the Yunnan Jig (sort of making my own versions of Adagio's Mambo) and it's delicious. A pinch of Yunnan Jig and a pinch of the Formosa Bai Hao brewed quickly (less than two minutes) makes a lovely, flavorful cup of tea.
This isn't my favorite oolong, as I prefer earthier, nuttier varieties. This is more sweet and floral.
Great clean taste that goes well with almost anything!
This is by far one of my favorite teas. It has this subtle peach scent to it than also comes through in the infusion. I can get two good steeps with this one before a lose any flavor. The third steep is really light, but is nice late a night with a little lavender thrown in.
Such a nice tea and has such a lovely color. The taste is subtle and soothing.
The tea was fine, however I wouldn't order it.
This tea has many interesting flavors and undertones. It has a bit of a flowery flavor and is exceptionally smooth. As others have noted, there are also some pleasant hints of nuttiness as undertones.
This is a beautiful tea. The aroma is sweet and draws you in to a wonderfully balanced flavor. It is sweet and a little fruity, but not overly so, with a hint of nuttiness.
I am an oolong guy so I'm kind of biased. That being said, this is one of my favorite teas that I've ever tried. The tea has a very neutral kind of grainy (not quite grassy) smell to it with just a hint of something sweet underneath. The drink itself has more of a little spice to it, but still, there's that tantalizing sweetness just underlying the base flavor of the tea. One of my favorite teas, this will always be in my collection of tea.
I'm relatively new to oolongs, but this is exactly what I was hoping for. It's full and has good body. Definitely a quality oolong.
This is the best oolong I have had from them. It is a dark, nutty, and roasty oolong, which it different from most of the oolongs I have tried from Adagio so far.
My absolute favorite tea! Very smooth with a complex fruit undertones, haven't tasted any spiciness in my cups. A very relaxing pleasant tea. Multiple infusions result in the same perfect cup two to three times.
The. Best. Tea. Ever.
I've tasted many teas, including many from this site, and this is by far my favorite. This is my go-to tea when I really just want a satisfying cup. It's extremely flavorful and very sweet and light. Not earthy or acidic. I am very happy with this tea. It will be a permanent part of my tea collection.
This was great. I am making this a regular tea. ice price for quality.
Excellent mellow oolong with steeping of only 2.5-3 minutes/brew. Visiting out-of-town friend who recently had bariatric surgery found the tea greatly eased her digestion after meals. She was so impressed and grateful we went to my local Adagio store the next day so she could buy the formosa bai hao to take home with her (as well as MANY other Adagio teas she was able to sample!)
This is very good dark Oolong - but it's not great. Perhaps I become spoiled on green Oolongs, but this seemed to be light in that spicy-smoky flavor that is so purely dark Oolong - and no amount of brew tricks could bring it up to the forefront. Was it a god cup of tea? Absolutely - but just not great and given the price, I had expectations somewhat higher, plus it takes 2 tsp. to 1 cup, amping the price up further. Oh well. I won't be getting it again, but I'm glad I tried it :)
The description from Adagio matches this tea very closely. I am not a big fan off oolong teas...I prefer the depth of black teas. But I enjoyed this tea, I usually drink it after work while relaxing
EXCELLENT!!! They say it is the champagne of oolongs and it is superb. This is a MUST try for oolong lovers.
Just okay, seems to be missing something. Not sure what that 'something' is but the tea is only okay.
Not as floral or aromatic as other Taiwanese teas. Closer to the black end of the oolong spectrum. Not terribly complex.
Beautiful deep amber color, a pleasant aroma,and a smooth and mellow flavor. It's really interesting how the first sip is mellow but the aftertaste is bright. It lingers very pleasantly on the tongue. The more citrusy notes are coming out as it cools.
I like this one much more than the more grassy pouchong.
Very good, although it's a little too citrusy for my taste. I like it, although i do prefer other Oolongs.
Formosa oolong with more of a toasty, granola-type character. Great warm or iced.
Update: A more recent portion of this tea from a sample seemed more earthy and pungent than the first one I tried. There is a possibility this may have resulted from oversteeping.
A nice floral and sweet tea that's been great with multiple brewing!
Would order again. May need to try a few times to get all the nuances. More elements of a black tea vs some green tasting oolongs
This is a great tea but not for the price. Tastes similar to their black tea ''golden monkey'' but this would be the oolong version.