Left Shanghai for a while (and also left all the tea in my cupboard!) to visit my family back home. I’m the only one who has a tea habit, so I’ve been lacking good quality loose leaf tea here to say the least. Imagine my surprise when I find that my family never even opened this Darjeeling Oolong tea that I got them as a gift from India! Slightly annoying to me, but also fortuitous! At least now I have some wonderfully fragrant tea to help me chill in the evenings :)
The most striking thing about this Darjeeling Oolong is the fragrance. There’s a wonderful herbal/floral aroma that you get a good solid whiff of right after brewing. The spice/herb scent seemed to dissipate as the tea cooled.
In terms of taste, I’m honestly not too sure how this Darjeeling Oolong is different from a standard black Darjeeling. It still has that familiar fruity flavor that a lot of darjeelings have, albeit milder and more subtle.
I’m not sure if I’m imagining it, but the tea also seems to be a bit less brisk and astringent than black Darjeelings. Not too sure though so I’ll probably have to drink some black Darjeeling when I get back to Shanghai to compare…
Overall, the flavor and aroma of this oolong is very different from Chinese or Taiwanese oolongs. A good reliable oolong, that I would recommend to anyone who wants to try something new :)
