Well, it SMELLS delicious. I thought it was a little on the pricey side, though, to be honest. For a flavoured oolong? Still, I made the trip. I decided on this one when I discovered that there was a hidden Teaopia (not even on Google Maps, let along here) near(ish) to me. Jillian’s well-timed tasting note on this tea helped with the decision.
Dry it’s very creamy sweet smelling, brewed there is definitely more of a nutty profile in there (more in the wet leaves than the brewed tea, however). It’s sweet and creamy, and definitely nutty. The nutty, I think, blends well with the natural flavours of the oolong used (looking at the large, darkly colourful leaves, I wonder if it’s bai hao). The nut flavour, I think, is the culprit behind the light astringency on the tip of my tongue, because the tea is rather smooth otherwise. I think the nut is what sets this tea apart, because without it it’s just a cream oolong of some sort (not that that’s terribly ordinary anyways, but who would think to pair nuts and oolong? I like it).
Teaopia recommends three minutes, but that had seemed a little much; I started with two, but when I poked my nose into the pot, I saw that there hadn’t been any convection at all, just a small cloud of brown surrounding the teaball; I spent an extra (timed) thirty seconds of dunking to mix the tea and let it steep a little darker. The oolong leaves themselves look dark and oxidized enough that I assume it wasn’t meant to be a light brew.
First cup’s cooled more, and I’m picking up fruity hints. This is mellow and very nice.
This is a satisfying tea, and I’m delightfully surprised with Teaopia (not that I was expecting bad things). Also, they have (only in-store, not on their site) Turkish teacups! Except they sell them individually. And the saucer comes separate. Five bucks for a single glass teacup, three dollars for the saucer. Jesus Christ.
