TeaHQ

Jin Xuan

A Taiwanese cultivar bred in the 1980s and known for a natural creamy note that gave rise to the milk oolong name. The genuine article is a plain rolled oolong with a buttery character from the cultivar itself; much of what is sold as milk oolong has been artificially flavoured.

OolongModerate intensityAccessible to appreciateForgiving to brew金萱
Brew at 90–95 °CUse 5–7 g per 100 mlFirst steep 25sGongfu brewing (gaiwan)Full schedule and equipment →

Character

Recognisably creamy without being artificial, sitting a little softer and rounder than an equivalent high-mountain oolong. Grown at lower elevations it is a modest everyday tea; grown high it is very good indeed.

Flavour
Creamy, Floral, Sweet
Aroma
Orchid
Mouthfeel
Silky, Smooth, Full bodied
Complexity
Moderate
Notes
cream, butter, gardenia, sweet corn
Aftertaste
Soft, buttery and sweet.

Moderate intensity: noticeable weight or grip, but neither dominates the cup.

Provenance and production

Origin
Taiwan
Region
Alishan
Oxidation
Lightly oxidised
Harvest
Spring
Processing
Withering → Bruising (shaking) → Kill-green (fixation) → Rolling and shaping → Drying

Authenticity: A strong, obvious dairy or condensed-milk aroma in the dry leaf indicates added flavouring rather than cultivar character. Unflavoured Jin Xuan is subtly creamy and can be mistaken for an ordinary high-mountain oolong; flavoured versions are unmistakable and are not the same product.

History

Released as TRES No. 12 by Taiwan’s tea research station in 1981 alongside Cui Yu, bred for yield and for a naturally creamy aroma. It is the most planted cultivar in Taiwan and the reason 'milk oolong' exists as a category — the milkiness is genetic, and flavoured imitations followed.

Brewing

No caffeine estimate is authored for this tea. TeaHQ does not infer one from its category, because category predicts caffeine poorly — matcha and gyokuro carry more than many black teas.

Common mistakes

  • Buying a flavoured version believing the creaminess is natural

If you like this

Grouped by why they were suggested, strongest reason first. Nothing here is a blended score — a suggestion appears under the best reason that exists for it, and never under a weaker one as well.

Editorially linked

Someone wrote down why these two belong together. The note below is theirs.

  • Ben Shan

    Both soft, creamy and floral rolled oolongs at accessible prices.

  • Cui Yu

    The pair as bred. Cui Yu is sharply floral, Jin Xuan is creamy, and they were released together precisely so a drinker could choose.

Similar sensory profile

Shares controlled flavour, aroma and mouthfeel descriptors. A looser match — two teas can share descriptors and still taste nothing alike.

  • Alishan oolong

    Shares 7 descriptors with Jin Xuan: floral, creamy, sweet, full bodied, silky, smooth and orchid.

  • High mountain oolong

    Shares 7 descriptors with Jin Xuan: floral, creamy, sweet, full bodied, silky, smooth and orchid.

  • Bai Ji Guan

    Shares 6 descriptors with Jin Xuan: sweet, floral, creamy, silky, smooth and orchid.

  • Da Yu Ling

    Shares 6 descriptors with Jin Xuan: floral, creamy, sweet, full bodied, silky and orchid.

  • Li Shan

    Shares 6 descriptors with Jin Xuan: floral, creamy, sweet, full bodied, silky and orchid.

  • Qing Xiang Tie Guan Yin

    Shares 6 descriptors with Jin Xuan: floral, creamy, sweet, silky, smooth and orchid.

Compare this tea with another

Written comparisons

Where TeaHQ has set this tea against another in full, rather than deriving the comparison.

  • GABA oolong vs conventional oolong — GABA tea is made by processing leaf in a nitrogen atmosphere instead of air. This compares the processing and the flavour, and makes no claim about the compound the name refers to.

Journeys featuring this tea