I wasn’t sure what to think of this tea when I read about it online; pu’erh with oolong? The ginger I could see but the orange? And what in the world is eleuthero root?? But when I got into the store and had a chance to take a quick sniff of it I could see where it all started to come together. The scent was filled with sweet orange notes; under laying that was a bit of spice from the ginger and the earthy notes of the pu’erh. I couldn’t catch much of the oolong but there were a few floral scents hovering in the background that were most likely coming from that. I was really surprised at how the orange and the pur’eh complemented each other, I never would have guessed/thought of that combination.
The steeped liquor came out a deep orange-brown and the scents darkened significantly. The orange was still there and was the highlight of the profile but the earthy (almost loam like) notes from the pur’eh were out in full force. The ginger seemed to serve as a bridge between the two scents, melding them together in a very interesting way. The floral notes from the dry scent are still there but aren’t as noticeable as they were previously.
As for the flavor, this is definitely a pur’eh but it’s not as earthy as others that I’ve had in the past, the oolong (and the rest of the blend) certainly helps to lighten the flavor profile of this base. Like with the scent profile the ginger definitely helps to bridge the pur’ehs loamy flavors with the bright citrus notes from the orange; it also leaves a pleasant tingle in my mouth (I love ginger!) There’s a touch of creaminess that could only be from the oolong and I can definitely get the floral notes on the back end of the sip.
In all I was really surprised by this blend, dark and compelling but with some lovely orange highlights. And it doesn’t hurt that it’s “good for me” too! I can definitely see myself keeping some in my cupboard.
