Another sample thanks to Nature’s Tea Leaf! I was really intrigued by this one: cinnamon and oolong aren’t a combination I think of as going together, especially not with the light oolong chosen for this blend. But it smells incredibly delicious, so so cinammon-y, and there’s also huge chunks of cinnamon bark in there! The bf looooves cinnamon, so I made him up a cup of this. Of course I sneaked a sip first though—and I’m going to be making myself a cup REALLY soon because this is so tasty.
The aroma of this once brewed is really POW in your face, powerful cinnamon. But like cinnamon sticks/bark, not dry cinnamon. It’s a small distinction, but since I bake a lot it matters to me. Dry cinnamon is more holiday bake-y whereas bark is more for everyday use—in fact, my favorite place to use it is in chili! Trust me, it’s delicious. With cocoa powder and coffee and chilies… mmmm. Anyway, back on topic. This tea also brewed up super pale, as I’d expect a light oolong to, so it was off to a good start.
Holy COW this is good! It’s got all the markers of a very nice light oolong: floral, a bit creamy, with natural sweetness and very nice vegetal notes. There’s a lovely cinnamon taste, obviously very natural tasting since it comes from bark and not just flavoring. Not, you know, that flavoring always tastes fake but I find with spices I like the real deal! And, amazingly, the oolong and cinnamon are a perfect pair. Spicy, sweet, sooo good. I could drink this all day long, what a winner! I really want to try it cold too, I bet this would be fantastic hot and iced.
EDIT: I forgot to update this yesterday, but I got 3 hot brews AND a cold brew out of the leaves! It is sooo good iced, I think the oolong is more prominent though the cinnamon is definitely still present. Upping the rating a bit since this is equally good hot and cold, plus you can get a ton of brews out of it which is always nice.
