Thank you Bo from the The Tea Spot for this Sample!
My tea sipping today has run from Chai in the morning to a Tippy Assam in the afternoon then an Organic Green in the late afternoon to this Grand Finale Oolong…ta da! A lovely progression from bold to a softer and delicate bouquet.
Oolongs remind me most soft breezes and dappled light…the type that plays with Wysteria and small long stemmed Orchids in the garden, peeking through the leaves and dancing like light when it bounces off water. They are as mysterious as water nymphs.
When I smelled this Oolong dry, I was a little puzzled at the lack of any floral scent. It smelled like green tea. (I know that you can be fooled by the dry scent though!)
I followed the instructions for brewing and chose the longer steep time (4 minutes).
Then I put my nose to the basket…wanting that first glorious scent of wet leaves.
There was a roasted vegital smell, somewhat bitter…and a bit of orchid. The orchid smell was very faint.
(The liquor was pale yellow with a hint of green).
When I tasted the tea, the flavor was slightly floral and juicy, with some astringency on the tongue (which was not unpleasant). There wasn’t any bitterness.
I was a bit surprised at the flavor… which was closer to a Green Tea than an Oolong… and wasn’t complex. This was pretty much a one note tea.
As I thought about it, I believe that this is the lightest Oolong I’ve ever tasted.
I added some sugar (just to see if it would enhance the tea) and the floral taste came alive a bit more…!
There was an Oolong hiding in my cup after all but I had to sweeten the tea to find the flavor!
This is not a tea that I would choose to drink again unfortunately.
