Initially, I wasn’t too interested in this tea. I mean, vanilla oolong? Kinda dull, right? Well, as usual, the hype got to me. Lots of people seem to like this so I got myself a .5oz sample.
I’m must say, I’m surprised at the size and quality of the leaf. Usually, when I get flavored oolongs, the leaves are kinda crumbly or small. These leaves are large and dark green! Pretty! I also enjoyed the occasional orange petal of some variety.
When brewed, the vanilla flavor seemed pretty artificial to me. It’s like vanilla ice cream, but with a bit of a chemical background. The citrus flavors are pretty light and very enjoyable. Now that I think about it, it’s kind of similar to the Orange Blossom oolong I had earlier today. The other one was way better, possibly because of the jasmine. I feel kind of bad comparing the two but I pretty much had them back to back. :(
In the second steep, the oolong flavor came forward a little better and I could taste something floral and green. I’m really interested in how this tea tastes without the added flavor. I might light it better, to be honest, since the flavoring seems chemical-y to me.
Still, it is enjoyable. I’m going for the third steep where, hopefully, the flavors will have receded enough for me to taste the base more thoroughly. :)
