Morgana Send Message

570 Followers / 390 Following

Recommended

__Morgana__ drank Grapefruit Oolong by Adagio Teas

2036 tasting notes

Having tasted the black savant, flavors, green savant and most of the herbal sampler (just lemongrass to go and I’m not in the mood for that just now), I’m moving along to the next set of Adagio samples. This is the first of the flavored oolongs.

I really love oolongs, but I don’t drink them as much these days as other things, mostly because they’re something of a production to drink with the multiple steeps, and I just haven’t felt relaxed enough lately to sit with a tea through four or more steeps.

This one has very twiggy coarse dark leaves with flecks of grapefruit peel among them. It smells like a tree scented with grapefruit.

The liquor is a light amber/yellow and it has a strong, toasty/fruity aroma though the fruity part isn’t necessarily grapefruit.

But in the flavor, there’s grapefruit and it’s… really nice? Surprising, in a way. I haven’t had a lot of success with most flavored oolongs I’ve tried. The oolong here is mostly the toasty/roasty background for a grapefruit flavor that sparkles along the top of the sip.

I’ll update and rate this after I’ve given it it’s due. I have to run off to dinner now. Trying a new Mexican place in the neighborhood.

Preparation

195 °F / 90 °C 2 min, 0 sec

I Like This

8 likes

0 comments

People who liked this

Profile

Bio

I got obsessed with tea in 2010 for a while, then other things intruded, then I cycled back to it. I seem to be continuing that in for a while, out for a while cycle. I have a short attention span, but no shortage of tea.

I’m a mom, writer, gamer, lawyer, reader, runner, traveler, and enjoyer of life, literature, art, music, thought and kindness, in no particular order. I write fantasy and science fiction under the name J. J. Roth.

Personal biases: I drink tea without additives. If a tea needs milk or sugar to improve its flavor, its unlikely I’ll rate it high. The exception is chai, which I drink with milk/sugar or substitute. Rooibos and honeybush were my gateway drugs, but as my tastes developed they became less appealing — I still enjoy nicely done blends. I do not mix well with tulsi or yerba mate, and savory teas are more often a miss than a hit with me. I used to hate hibiscus, but I’ve turned that corner. Licorice, not so much.

Since I find others’ rating legends helpful, I added my own. But I don’t really find myself hating most things I try.

I try to rate teas in relation to others of the same type, for example, Earl Greys against other Earl Greys. But if a tea rates very high with me, it’s a stand out against all other teas I’ve tried.

95-100 A once in a lifetime experience; the best there is

90-94 Excellent; first rate; top notch; really terrific; will definitely buy more

80-89 Very good; will likely buy more

70-79 Good; would enjoy again, might buy again

60-69 Okay; wouldn’t pass up if offered, but likely won’t buy again

Below 60 Meh, so-so, iffy, or ick. The lower the number, the closer to ick.

I don’t swap. It’s nothing personal, it’s just that I have way more tea than any one person needs and am not lacking for new things to try. Also, I have way too much going on already in daily life and the additional commitment to get packages to people adds to my already high stress level. (Maybe it shouldn’t, but it does.)

That said, I enjoy reading folks’ notes, talking about what I drink, and getting to “know” people virtually here on Steepster so I can get ideas of other things I might want to try if I can ever again justify buying more tea. I also like keeping track of what I drink and what I thought about it.

My current process for tea note generation is described in my note on this tea: https://steepster.com/teas/mariage-freres/6990-the-des-impressionnistes