thanks so much Naturestealeaf.com for the samples! Always appreciated! I LOVE their Chocolate Midnight Black tea, and this one has the same chocolate shavings, so I thought I’d try this one too. I steeped for 3-4 minutes. Looking at the cup, it looks so creamy from the chocolate shavings that it looks like I added cream or milk! Peeking in my infuser, the many white and dark chocolate shavings are now melted, so the second cup should be like a normal oolong. The oolong leaves are so dark, you’d think it would taste like a dark oolong. This one doesn’t, though it is hard to describe… it’s a lighter flavored oolong with the sweetness from the chocolate. It seems more white chocolate than dark.
Second steep // 4 mins at boiling // This steep was better! It seemed like all of the white chocolate was gone in the first cup (but I could have swore all the dark chocolate seemed like it was gone too when I looked in the infuser) but in this steep, the chocolate and oolong have melded together into a better flavor. It seems darker somehow and a better match. I don’t know what happened… the boiling water? The leaves opening up more? It seeming less like cream from the white chocolate? Hmm. It’s also odd that this oolong doesn’t have the flavor of any other oolong I’ve had. It’s doesn’t taste roasted, peachy, floral or vegetal, though I guess it did have a vegetal flavor for a second in the first steep. I mean, I had a roasted oolong a couple days ago that tasted like charcoal, and this one doesn’t taste like that. I’ll have to try some more later. It definitely doesn’t taste like the Tiekuanyin that is also delicious from Nature’s. This blend doesn’t come close to the perfection that is Chocolate Midnight Black… but give both of them a try!
