Highly oxidized yet super smooth, the layered cup offers much to delight. Summer fruits like peach and nectarine, with a soft sweetness of honey and dwell in these leaves.
Customers use these reviews to describe their experience with Hsinchu Oriental Beauty, 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 was a much lighter, grassier oolong than others I've had. It had a mild natural sweetness that came through after a few sips, but the main note I got was an earthy, slightly grassy flavor. Overall not bad, but not one of my absolute favorites.
This tea is rather light and plain tasting for me. I like I might have liked it brewed a little longer.
Delicious straight oolong tea that is less buttery and more astringent than my favorites, but enjoyable still. Holds up to a couple of steeps, the leaves are deep brown and render a darker colored liquor. Cheers!
This was a complex, full-flavoured, yet delicate tea. It had layers of minerality, honey, and raisiny qualities that made it enjoyable from first to last sip. Other reviewers mentioned that this is a forgiving tea for resteeping, so I have done three steeps, and each time it's held up nicely. The third steep lost some of the fruity/honey character and the minerality was more prominent, but still a complex and therapeutic tea to sit and ponder the meaning of life.
Original steep: 3 min @ 195º
Second steep: 4 min @ 195º
Third steep: 4 min @ 195º
I couldn't help but compare this tea to my favorite in the category of oolongs with fruit pit type flavors, Ooooh Darjeeling, which still holds my number one spot but this would be a close second. The fruity stone like flavor is not as pronounced in the Hsinchu Oriental Beauty but more like a backdrop or after taste as it cools. It also has more of a honeyed mineral type flavor with a touch of a floral tone to it. Definitely worth a try and a great one to get multiple steeps from.
Out of the packet, the fragrance is very light. After brewing, the flavor was pleasant and light, nothing overpowering. A good subtle tea.
This is a bit lighter in character than the oolongs I adore (wuyi rock oolongs are my favorite!) but it is still a winner! As the tasting notes indicate, there are more stone fruit characteristics present and almost a honey-like quality to the mouthfeel. There is a bit of a floral note on the back of the sip, but it’s not very intense. This is a multiple steeper, so brew it when you can really relax and reflect on your sip. Happy Sipping!
Excellent tea. Nice tones of mineral and dried wood. This is the type of oolong I adore. Super tasty.
CommuniTEA portion: 195 for 3 minutes. Fantastic sip today. Mineral, earthy, fruity, quality, yum.
Another oolong that did not disappoint. The hsinchu was smooth and light. I detected a bit of floral, a bit of fruit; rounded out by the taste of honey. This is a nice little tea for a spring morning.
In the bag: Leaves have a unique shape - long and twisted. They range from white to dark green to brown.
On the nose (pre-steep): Like most oolongs, a strong scent of wet river grass that you might find along the banks of a freshwater river. Also, an accent of peach.
On the nose (post-steep): The grass notes remain but just barely - all aroma is nearly gone. No more peaches either.
On the tongue (pre-sweetener): The river grass flavor is back in full strength and leads the way. Accents of peach have returned. An underlying mineral taste and mouthfeel.
On the tongue (post-sweetener): Peach notes are a little stronger. Other than that, no changes.
Opinion: A pleasant enough tea, but not one that I will reach for when scanning my tea cabinet for a go-to. The hint of peach provided an interesting layer of nuance, though. I'm generally not a devotee of plain teas, so keep that in mind.
Preparation: First steep 4 min, second steep 8 min. Both @ 175 ℉. ½ teaspoon monk fruit sweetener.
Truly a beauty
Needn’t dress up makeup
Naturally gorgeous
Are not we all though?
Truly beautiful bright souls
At the very core
(Haiku Review)
This was delicious. It was so smooth and I could taste primarily honey. It was faintly floral and sweet. I loved this.
Yummy, yummy, light golden elixir. So refreshing and clean tasting. It is like walking in a field after a summer rain - so green and fresh. This can be sipped all day as it steeps well multiple times. (3 mins @ 195ºF).
What a treat to have this tea in our communiTEA packets today. It's a lovely tea, very smooth and earthy. Some fruit flavors and a good amount of spice to finish. Off to make a second cup and see how it changes.
Gongfu brewed to reveal many layers of flavor. Sweetgrass on the start ,mild date/raisin flavor,sweet, earthy and a light floral flavor as well. A slight mineral taste on the finish. Really enjoyed this tea.
2023 sampled this tea 2 mins @ 185° Delightful, really enjoyed the flavor changes as it cooled. Enjoyed several steeps, it has a smooth mouthfeel. What a treat!
This tea is so good! Lovely earthy mineral oolong. Not one I will be buying as it is super expensive and I can't justify the price. But definitely a wonderful tea!
I enjoyed this tea. I didn’t get the honey and fruit flavors, though. I thought it was a little like hay. It made multiple cups.
Tasty cup, but doesn’t feel precisely like the good oolongs I know & love. Its mineraly-ness is there but very subtle, it’s not really creamy either, but it’s still tasty. Good for a couple pour overs but not as long lasting as other oolongs.
No oolong bug-leaf hoppers were noted in my communiTEA packet!
I had 1.52 grams of wispy tea leaves, enough for a 12 ounce steep. I steeped at 190°F for three minutes.
When hot, mildly smooth and sweet floral tastes were noted. No sugar was added.
When warm, raisin flavors were mild. Hints of honey and cinnamon flavors were noted. A moderate mineral mouthfeel was noted.
A bright mouth-watering and creamy mouthfeel was noted at finish. Long lasting spicy zings were noted on the front of my tongue. This was an excellent oolong indeed. A second steep produced similar results. (3 mins @ 190ºF, no sugar added)
Super good. Sweet and floral with a light orange color.
I brewed my Hsinchu Oriental Beauty hot and plain. It came out a beautiful amber color. It was pleasantly relaxing and I believe it had light floral notes. I really loved this tea and would highly recommend it!
The tea smells rich and fruity with notes of raisins, dates, and citrus. The liquor is a light golden yellow with a slightly musty, mineral scent. The cup is very creamy and sweet with slightly mineral notes and a slightly grassy finish. I don't have a ton to say about this one compared to many of the other master teas. It is certainly worth trying, but for it's price, it definitely won't be one of my regulars.
Wonderful tea and I will definitely buy this tea all over again
My husband did not care for this tea as much as other oolongs we have tried. It tasted grassy to him and lacked the fruit, honey or mineral tastes noted in the description. It seems his taste buds just are not tuned to this tea.
This is the perfect tea. The smell of the dried leaves is quite floral, almost like a rose, and when I first opened the package, I was worried the brewed tea would also be overwhelmingly floral as well (which isn't a flavor profile I'd prefer), but following the reviews of other commenters, I brewed for 5 minutes instead of 3.
I don't know exactly what temperature I brewed it at because I don't have a kettle that allows me to put in a specific temperature or an accurate food thermometer, but I let it come off the boil for just a minute before steeping. When I pour the strait rolling boil 212°F water over the tea, it scalded it and left it much less flavorful. With it slightly cooler, it was sweet with that classic honey flavor with undertones of floral tastes that was perfect and complex. I wish I hadn't gotten the sampler so that it would last me a while! I'll need to reorder!
I wish I could join those reviewers who rave about this tea. It did provide lots of fruit flavor and felt good in the mouth. But I had to brew far more than one teaspoon for that result, could not get any further infusions and noticed little aroma. For the price, I expected more. Given the vast range of flavors that one can find in Oriental Beauty, I won't attempt to predict whether anyone else will find this particular variety worth the price.
Well flavored Master Tea. In my opinion it's the second steep that really brings the flavor out!
This is honestly the best tea I've ever had in my entire life. The smell of apples of peaches mixed with the tea it's so good. Don't miss out.
A beautiful, Taiwanese Oolong that has light, floral notes when steeping light, but can get very dark and mineral tasting if steeping long. It s easy to alter your steep times to get the flavor your want. Overall, a good tea that I really enjoy! @adagioteas
I'm in the group that doesn't quite taste all the intricacies possible with this tea, but I do taste a perfectly lovely oolong that lasts a minimum of 4 steepings, all done at boiling for 3 minutes, without any loss of flavor. If you are the type of person to love steeping the same tea leaves over and over again - I simply don't usually have that many cups in the morning - this is a tea that is made for you. It is worth its price just for the amount of steeps.
Brews to a lovely golden amber color, and tastes about as good as it looks! Lovely blend of flavors.
Unfortunately I'm not experiencing any of the flavors or fragrances that I was hoping for. I'm only picking up a heavy mineral taste with an extremely silky mouthfeel. Nothing too extraordinary. Not even a fragrance really from the dry leaves.
However, the leaves are so beautiful that I will give this a 4 star instead of the average 3.
A bit pricy, but a very unique tea with a nice flavor.
This tea is absolutely delicious. If only it weren't so pricey! It is definitely worth trying at least once, though, if you like honeyed and stone fruit flavor profiles. A very similar (and much more affordable) tea is the Formosa Bai Hao, also available on Adagio.
This is my go to tea. The flavor is much fuller than the regular Oriental Beauty and has lovely floral undertones. It is a gorgeous tea that I drink almost daily. It will stand up to multiple infusions. a good thing given the price point!
Tastes closer to black tea if steeped for too long.
Floral, fruity and minerally. It smells almost like dried tea roses, mineral flavor with nuances of pinkish orange stone fruit and honeysuckle.
Boiling water, steeped for about ~20s Gongfu style in a gaiwan. 5+ infusions.
Tea looked intact and very similar to the picture, when the leaves expanded during brewing I was enjoying the size and quality consistency of the leaves. Uniformly oxidated. Pleasant tea to work with.
Very nice looking after brewing. Dark yet still golden. burgundy, bourbon vibes.
Flavor was good, I agree with the nectarine and honey notes in the description, but personally was also pulling notes of cookie/biscuit flavors, dates, minerals, and hints of cinnamon/clove. Slurping/aerating really brought out the cinnamon. All while being very smooth. All of the flavors were balanced. Could almost be called a 'black tea' with the flavor profile.
Really enjoyed the session, but I knocked a star off because the cost. That $50 for 2oz is pushing it a bit for what's going on here.
Ok, so, this is one of the few times where I think Adagio really got the temp and steep time very wrong. I followed their instructions and was incredibly disappointed in this tea. It was almost flavorless, with only the faintest hit of maaaaaaybe some floral and grassy notes. But it also tasted very dilute, and under-steeped. I know it's an oolong, so the steep temp and time *should* be right. But it just didn't taste right.
So I followed the advice of some of the other reviewers and steeped it at 212 for 5 minutes.
Totally. Different. Experience.
NOW I can taste this tea. And it is worth every penny.
The first thing that hits my tongue is a distinct sweet hay flavor. Then that makes way for some soft floral notes. Nothing too heavy or overt, just a light hint of flowers. After that, I get earthy fruits, like a mix of raisins, peaches, and plums. I don't get the honey flavor that other reviewers describe, but I do get an earthy umami flavor, almost like a chaga, right at the end. The flavor that lingers is a beautiful blend of all the others.
So yes, this is a beautiful tea. Still not my favorite oolong! But a sublime experience to be savored nonetheless.
Amazingly smooth & delicious! I may need to get a part time job to afford this tea.
It’s a good mild tea. I needed a bit more tea than the recommended 1tsp to make it strong enough for my taste. I really enjoy it though.
Expensive, but a nice occasional treat. Nice honey notes.
I very much enjoyed this tea. Was well balanced and paired nicely with honey. I recommend it.
It tastes like dirt. But good dirt! I’d buy it again, but only if I made a ton of money somehow.
Holy wow. I had doubts it would justify the price point, but then I brewed some. I have never had the sensation of peace in my mouth before. It's so smooth and lovely.
My new favorite. Velvety gold, peach and honey. I highly recommend this to the tea aficionados who wish to feel like royalty.
I didn t love this tea as much as I expected too, which has nothing to do with the quality of this tea, and more to do with personal preference. I thought it had an odd, mineral note that I wasn t a fan of. I did enjoy the fruity peach/nectarine notes, but this tea was just not my favorite.
A very mild, smooth oolong. I was expecting something a bit more special for the price, but I definitely enjoyed it!
It was the name of the tea that first caught my eye. She certainly is a beauty...multiple colors of tea leaves. The tea steeped into a beautiful golden green color with a honey aroma. It's smooth and subtle. Nothing needs to be added as it has a sweetness of its own. There is something special about a tea that can be enjoyed without adding anything...it's simply perfect!