★★★★☆
Mild and smooth. Not my choice for the first cup in the morning when I need that extra kick, but pleasant tea for later in the day.
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.
Mild and smooth. Not my choice for the first cup in the morning when I need that extra kick, but pleasant tea for later in the day.
I may have to review this tea again, but my first brewing - what is this? Raisin water? It's almost flavorless but when I opened the tin, it had a heady, delicious mid-floral spicy nose to it. The only flavor I'm picking up on is a slight raisin taste and that's it.. :/
This is called oriental beauty for a reason!!! Absolutely takes you to the orient!!!
A good tea, but not one of my favorites. Earthy, not overpowering.
I like it, but it's more expensive than I'd pay for everyday.
A smooth oolong tea with strong notes of peach, honey and an aftertaste of stones (kind of). I like it very much. When I first tasted it, I thought 'well this is different' because of the kind of fruity taste (this is not a sweet tea however. the fruit notes are subtle but very much there if you pay attention) and the mineral-like aftertaste. Not my absolute favorite Masters tea (the darjeeling spring tip or wuyi da hong pao is that) but I like it well enough, I'll probably buy it again when I can afford it.
The flavors were intriguing and it felt like every sip tasted like another flavor, you can brew this tea more than once, the 2nd brew has flavors just as intense, most tea you re brew does not taste right, but the flavor in this is very intense. You can definitely have this tea all day long.
Expensive, but I reserve this tea for special days.
I love oolong but for being one of the more expensive, Master, ones, this particular oolong was terrible tasting. It's bland and lifeless. Almost has a subtle 'spicy' undertone to it - as if it were distant cousins to orange spice but had been left out in the sun to bake and lose flavor. It's really not very pleasant and definitely not a 'beauty' in my book at all. A rather 'meh' flavor by comparison to other Oolongs both green and brown.
I tried this warm and let it cool and found I enjoyed it more at room temperature, with a little sweetener. There is a bit of fruit scent and flavor. I can't really describe what is going on with the overall flavor. the only word that works for me is 'mysterious'.
This has such a smooth taste with a hint of flora and makes for a great morning cup of tea. I've even made ice tea with this and it holds up nicely both hot and cold.
Hsinchu oriental beauty is probably my favorite tea of all time. I'm usually a black tea drinker, but this oolong superstar has supplanted my previous favorites. It's a wonderfully fragrant, smooth tea that I believe is best enjoyed unadulterated, without adding milk or lemon. You can tell it's a master tea just by looking at the tea leaves after they're steeped--they're enormous, almost as if the producers have barely touched the tea leaf. There's no tea dust here! If it weren't so expensive, I would drink hsinchu oriental beauty exclusively. Unfortunately, I have to limit my indulgence to just a couple of times a week. If I win the lottery...
Easily one of the greatest cups of teas I've ever had. I love Oolongs and this one is just IT. I cannot recommend it enough!!
This tea had some deeper, earthy flavors I was iffy on. I actually prefer it cold myself
If you like very light tea, you will enjoy this. It's good, but it's not my favorite of the Masters so far.
This tea lives up to its name: it's BEAUTIFUL. It not only looks good with its long, luscious tea leaves, but more importantly it tastes divine!
This is a smooth tea--much smoother than most oolongs I've tried--and I enjoyed the peach notes which were not as overpowering as peach-flavored teas. However, I had to use twice as much leaves as usual per cup and it was only good for the first steep--the second cup was bland and a bit dry. Pretty disappointing for a masters tea.
Delicious! Unique flavor. Very satisfying. Multiple pours.
It's very light and soothing. I was a little wary of it being so light, but I was proved wrong!
This is really nice tea. My problem was that I had this and several other teas to try but I kept making this instead of trying the other teas because I enjoyed it so much.
What a wonderful oolong. This one is definitely at the top of my list.
This tea is rated high for a reason. I love the earthy taste and the sweet finish. With a little rock sugar, I like to drink it warm in the winter. Delicious!
Lovely fresh and subtle. This tea is a gentle energizer for the afternoon slump.
Worth every penny. I'll be saving up to buy more of this.
The tasting notes are accurate, but I misinterpreted them. The peach note that is mentioned is strong, to the point that it really tastes like an added flavor. I did a second, longer wash in an attempt to pull out more astringent rock taste, but it's still peach, which I find offputting. I would not order this again. my personal preference is for a more mineral-forward tea.
I wondered, for the expense, $400 a pound how good can it be? I steeped this tea for 5 minutes with water that was just at 212 degrees. Let me tell you this tea is amazing! This has a light floral/honey taste to it among the white, green, yellow, red and brown oolong leaves. It smelled slightly more floral, until you tasted it. Then you can taste that the oolong was perfectly matched with the different leaves. It had a robust taste with no overpowering of any one flavor. This tea is good ANY time of day for that phenomenal cup that one needs.
I am usually making pots of the black teas, like Irish Breakfast or even Dragon Black Pearl. Love them equally for their different reasons. I almost exclusively stick with black teas.
This tea is much different. It is on a different level than most other teas and well worth the price.
This is my second tea from Adagio's Master line of teas. It is much better than the Darjeeling Spring Tip I had last time. This tea had a nice floral taste to it, with a hint of an soft, cool earthy undertone. It smelled amazing too, my guests also rather enjoyed it. I am very tempted to pick up the 4 oz tin. This is a nice tea to have as a treat or for guests.
Too expensive for daily drinking honestly. $4 to fill the single size IngenuiTEA. Ouch.
I love oolong tea, and this did not disappoint. I got the stone fruit flavors others have mentioned, but very light. There was enough sweetness to it that I didn't have to add anything, but it definitely wasn't overpowering. It's a nice one to have on hand to get me through afternoon hours.
I thought the flavor was meh. Good but not great. Kind of nothing special in my opinion. None of the fruity specialness that the description gave. It was hard to steep to the strength I like. Its a good tea but its not for me.
Nice astringency, medium bodied brew. Would probably reorder.
I got this for my 'tea drinking husband' who really liked it. He likes his teas flavorful, but...NO flavors!
A exceptional oolong tea. It has a lot of complexity, and a rich mouth feel along with a nutty taste makes for a very indulgent tea
This didn't really do it for me. I was expecting the fruit notes I read about in other reviews and they never popped. It had a little sweetness on the finish but was mostly toasted in taste and aroma. This is by far the most disappointing tea from Adagio so far.
Really enjoyed this tea, it is a wonderful tea for just sipping and relaxing. Has a wonderful smooth slightly sweet taste.
I was SO disappointed by this tea! I thought I'd love it, it sounded delightful, but it was just totally flat. There was almost no taste, and the scent was overwhelmingly floral. Imagine someone squirted a shot of perfume on a glass of hot water, and you've pretty much got it. The only thing I can say is I'm glad I started with the sample instead of a larger size.
This tea is very much deserving of the masters collection title. I love it. Has it's own unique fruity flavor.
Again, I expected more from a Master tea and this was was just okay. I do like the tin these teas come in, though.
Amazing. Tastes like floral water, nothing heavy or earthy about it.
Very enjoyable oolong, but not enjoyable enough to warrant the extra price. I do love the tin the sample came in.
Being a part of the Masters collection (and based on the glowing reviews), I expected a better flavor out of this tea. It's not bad, but it certainly didn't impress me that much, and while I know it's a different kind of tea than jasmine silver needle, if I'm going to drink hot tea, I'd opt for the jasmine any day over this one. I do like the custom packaging of the individual sample tin, though. As always Adagio Teas does a great job with their packaging.
Truly exceptional tea but high price. Definitely something to try.
A smooth and flavorful tea, no need to add sugar. I will be reordering this tea.
Great flavor and very subtle changes. Made multiple steeps and still great.
A very nice tea that is actually reasonably light for a tea mainly composed of black tea.
Found the description above to be spot on. Slightly Amber cup with notes of peach and honey on the nose. A surprisingly sweet, light feel in the mouth that lingers with all its goodness.
Nice oolong with a sweet bite. It might even be recommended for those with a taste for chai. it reminds me somewhat of chai without the spiciness.
This is my favorite tea from the Masters blend. It is one of the more unique tasting of the Masters teas.
Very clean and light. Appetizing and pleasant its an excellent choice to have prior to a meal. I've found to use a heaping tbsp per cup it is very mild. I recommend a four minute steep on the first to allow the leaves to unfurl and three minutes on the second steep. The leaves are high quality once they unfurl and show themselves. What keeps this from five stars is a lack of memorable flavor. It is a simple and elegant tea yes but it doesn't stand out amongst its master collection peers. High quality simple tea at its best, but for the emboldened I would look elsewhere. Pairs wonderfully with wildflower honey.
This is my all time favorite 'desert island' tea. I can steep this all day and the beautiful dainty leaves keep on going, delivering light sweet earthiness with hints of dates, raisins, peach pit...it constantly evolves. To those used to strong flavors like Blood Orange, this may not be for you. This is a subtle tea you take time to contemplate and savor. Worth every penny. Seriously resteep this sucker. I usually do 3 minute steepings, with the first at 180 degrees, 2nd around 195, and the rest at boiling, but it's versatile enough to handle whatever you throw at it. TRY THIS TEA!
WOW! Now I can die and go to Tea Heaven! What an exemplary taste experience! It's like a whole orchard in your mouth: sweet honey notes, stone pit fruit, nice tones of allspice, floral bouquet, soft wood and mineral notes, and just a bit of darker, toasty nuances with absolutely no astringency! And the flavors continue in your mouth long after - simply sublime! 1st steep, Western method, was for 3 min, 2nd steep for 4 min - I'm sure it could go for more steeps with proper brewing. May have to get a second job to afford this habit (smiles)