Banana Oolong (organic)

I made a huge David’s Tea order a looong time ago. It was pretty large and I have done a terrible job at trying them. I am leaving to Europe on vacation Tuesday, so I decided that I would go ahead and try a few more of them. This is one I have been looking forward to. Bananas are everywhere here in Ecuador. There are a bunch of varieties (from normal yellow ones, red ones, green ones, small super sweet ones…) and they are eaten in every way imaginable, both salty and sweet. Oolong and banana? Sounds delicious.

The dry leaves were a beautiful emerald green with small cubes of banana mixed in. The scent was surprisingly smooth oolong with a hint of natural banana! I was expecting artificial candy type banana. This was a pleasant surprise! I brewed 2 teaspoons to my 12oz tea cup. The scent while brewing was almost entirely oolong, but a sweet creamy oolong. Exactly the kind I like!

Once brewed the scent was oolong with a hint of banana. It smelled sort of like what a fresh head of bananas smells right after it has been picked: a mix of sweetness, grass, fruity banana, and cream. So inviting… I could barely wait for it to cool down enough to sip.

The first brew was smooth and creamy oolong with a hint of banana at the end of every sip. There was a nice hint of banana to the scent that was delightful. The second brew was a tiny bit stronger on the banana flavor and the oonlong was sweeter. I always find second oolong steeps to be my favorite! Both brews were really sweet and no sweetener was necessary to enhance the flavor. If you like oolong, especially milk oolongs, you should give this a try!

My boyfriend sniffed it and asked to try it. He says it tastes like a sweet large banana we have that we usually bake or fry that we call Maqueño in Ecuador. It is delicious baked with mozzarella cheese melted on top…

I finally made it to the new David’s tea in San Francisco! I picked this tea to try in the store. I don’t know what water temperature this was at. To me it seemed really hot since it took me a while to finish this. I was surprised at how buttery the oolong was, and the banana was present but not totally overpowering. I liked this pretty well for a flavored tea but I think it might be even better with a touch of sugar.

Thank you TeaFairy for this yummy sample!

Tonight I had an early dinner of fish with Thai Sweet Chili Sauce with some Injera Bread left from the Eritrean dinner last night. I love that savory and sweet spice combination. Um.
After sitting for a bit I decided to try this Banana Oolong before having an ice cold orange for desert and later a square of dark chocolate before bedtime. Little bites of delight are how I celebrate and enjoy my life. And tea plays a big part in that picture!
TeaFairy had plastered a note on the foil packet containing this tea that said “One of my Favorites” in big purple letters. The dry tea had little dehydrated chunks of what I was assuming was banana. (Better than artificial flavoring)
My steep time was 5.5 minutes and produced a clear, light yellow brew that tasted like rich, creamy, warming oolong with a tender and light banana flavor. What a relief that the banana wasn’t a “Screamin Banana” (can you feel me here), but was gentle and true.

Since my dinner was over, I added some sweetening for that “AH” dessert tea-lishous cup, and another. It was very good.
I would drink this oolong over and over again. It is organic, and subtle. More of what I am looking for in a flavored tea these days. I seem to be changing.

(Oh Davids Tea is not entirely correct in saying a banana is an herb. It is an
herbaceous plant…a herb and a fruit….it has no woody stalk so it’s not a tree but has male/female parts, and the banana has black seeds so it is a fruit. It is BOTH)

Holy yum.

This is creamy banana amazing goodness. mmm just sweet enough. I ate one of the dehydrated bananas and it tasted like one of those banana marshmallows, but the tea itself was very real. Like a banana-bread flavour… no. More like a vanilla smoothie with a fresh banana blended in!

srsly.

So the leaf grade is not as high quality as David’s Milk Oolong, it comes out a tiny bit more chopped up, but I still got a quality 3 steeps out of 1 1/4 teaspoons in a 12 ounce cup. The third steep lost most banana flavour, but was still creamy oolong goodness and no bitterness.

Winning!

The first sip of this completely threw me off guard. One moment I was enjoying the lovely flavours that green oolong seems to have, the next moment it felt like I had very sweet smushed bananas pressed against the back of my mouth. I thought it was some kind of weird not-sugar splenda thing but as I continued sipping it became clear that it was all bananas. It’s a little disconcerting how dramatic the bananas are, to be honest. They taste more “real” than the oolong- which makes the transition between the two slightly awkward.

I picked up one of the banana cubes in the wet leaves and they taste like one would expect, although a tad sweeter. Maybe I should steep it longer to bring out more oolong.

Second Steep at six minutes: The liquid smells so good! I have a hard time describing oolong but the aroma is a mixture of that and fresh banana. This is a vast improvement; the banana and oolong flavours no longer feel like their divided by a Pink Floyd-esque wall of social contact. Smooth transition is achieved. The oolong is milky and buttery; the banana is creamy sweet and the liveliest I’ve ever tasted it in tea.

Third steep is my ideal cup. Mostly creamy green oolong with the light banana sweetness faded mostly to the background.

I don’t know what gives with my first steep. If I had based my judgement on that I would have given something around a “70”. As it turns out, repeated steeps make this something I want to keep around.

This is interesting. The banana flavor is oddly subtle at first, and just when I’m like, I could use more banana….bam, sweet banana. It’s a good flavor with the green oolong. It seems creamier, sweeter, and I like the fruitiness it adds.

Oddly I don’t like actual bananas as much as I like banana flavored things, so I like this a lot.

Definitely going to give this at least another steep tonight. Thanks for sending me some of this, Krystaleyn.

I was a little nervous before taking a sip because the scent is a little strange. I’ve had weird experiences with banana teas — usually they end up tasting like banana runts, completely artificial and overwhelming. It doesn’t have the best smell, but the taste is another story! This tea is creamy and sweet. I love that the banana doesn’t overwhelm the cup, but that you can actually taste the oolong in the background. The first thing I taste is the banana (not terribly heavy, but still present) followed closely by the oolong. The finish reminds me of big banana leaves with little flowers — smooth, bright and creamy. This is a very yummy and refreshing cup of tea!

I got a big box of teas in from greatlin yesterday! Thanks so much! After my successful go with the mandarin silk oolong the day before, I was craving even more oolong. I knew that this was one that she was sending, so I hunted through the box for it. Unfortunately, I can’t remember how it smelled dry, but after steeping it was like wonderful banana heaven. I was expecting this to have the fake banana flavor, but it tastes like actual bananas. The creamy banana goodness and the oolong go together so perfectly! Definitely getting more of this!

I’m really surprised by this tea, the balance is perfect. Most flavoured teas tend to have the flavouring mask the actual taste of the tea, but this one does a beautiful job showcasing the awesome taste of oolong. When drinking, I first get the banana taste, something similar to banana daiquiri which was part of the summer collection, but the taste isn’t too strong nor sweet. I do not really like bananas, but for some mysterious reason, I seem to enjoy most banana teas…! Then, after 4-5 seconds, the banana taste seems to vanish completely, and I fully taste the oolong, almost as strongly as if I was drinking a straight Tie Kwan Yin. The aftertaste is a great, light mix of these two flavours, which screams for one more sip… one more, and one more!

I got this in a swap from nwolf
I’ve kinda newly ventured into oolongs, after a recommendation from my local tea house.
This is good, creamy, slightly banana tasting & green tasting. (Although not earthy like the last oolong I had), It’s very green tasting, like a not quite ripe banana.
This is super nice, but not quite enough banana taste, but still a really great delicious tea. Probably one I will order!

I love bananas and I love oolong so when I saw this I had to try it. It smells really sweet, but I think that is from the stevia more than from the dried banana.

Banana is a weird thing. I think it’s kind of difficult to get that real authentic banana flavour in a tea, but either way, this is still delicious! It’s very light, slightly sweet (not overly sweet or sour like some fruity teas can be) and refreshing.
It has the same ‘banana’ aftertaste as another tea I had from DavidsTea that had bananas in it, but that was a black tea (organic snowbunny), and I think this banana-y taste works much better with the lighter, floral flavours of oolong, and without the nuts.

We’ll have to see how this one lives up to my other favourite teas at home, but this just might be one I’ll have to get a good stock of when my sample runs out. Plus, this being all organic is an added bonus. Nom!

Slightly creamy. Butter. High quality oolong taste. Seaweed complementary flavour in the background. Banana closer to the end of the taste. The banana taste goes really well with the oolong flavour. The stevia is well blended, I am usually sensitive to the taste/aftertaste.

I am not usually a fan of banana teas, other than snow bunny, but this was fairly good.
The flavours really complement each other, the sweetness of the banana and stevia with the smooth, creamy, butter taste of the oolong.
I like how each flavour isn’t too strong, they are both just right.
2nd steep: 7min, 95degrees, lost most of the banana flavour but it is still tasty buttery oolong

I wasn’t expecting much from this tea, as I always get disappointed by banana flavored teas. I find myself searching for the banana, but it’s never really there, or the taste is weird… but this one… Holy spirit, this one is heaven!

I’ve been trying so many great teas lately form DavidsTea, what’s going on?

This one will be on top for a while, that’s for sure. As I’m writing this, I actually find it hard not to drink it right now!

Here’s why I like it so much: the banana could have overpowered the delicious oolong, but instead, it showcases it, it celebrates it! And mostly, it’s really there, true taste of banana!
It’s creamy but yet, very clean and refreshing.

Did I mention the beautiful golden liquor that these elegant unfolding leaves produce? Pure liquid gold, I’m in love!!!

I’m finding it difficult to make up my mind about this tea. I’m getting a nice buttery oolong but not enough banana for me to consider it a banana flavored tea. Its still pleasant though! I’ll have to give it another try.

Teas like this make me think my senses are back to norm and then I end up dissappointed later… haha. This was pretty decent!! for an oolong. I’ve had better milky type tea before but I like this one more than the standard DT Milky Oolong. The banana is present in the first steep but barely so. It’s a little “malty” or rather as close as I’ve gotten in weeks, so I imagine it will be loads better in time! my standards are a little low these days… but getting higher by the sip! :)
Not sure I’d purchase this. In my memory, the Tea Emporium milky oolong is the best local variety I’ve tried.
I think the third steep was the best btw!

Forgot to review this one. I got it in the mail a couple weeks ago and suddenly I’m staring at the bottom of an empty bag of sadness. I don’t think I’ve ever gone through a tea quite as fast as I’ve gone through this one.

It has this sort of subtle sweetness that I just love. It smells incredible, and tastes just as good. The oolong is there, and the banana sort of lingers behind for a nice, delicious finish. Its sweet and light and definitely a favorite. I’ve had it hot and iced, steeped it over and over again and each cup never fails to satisfy.

Goodbye, banana oolong. We shall meet again when my finances allow. Until then, I shall miss you. </3

Argh, my phone hates Steepster and ate my review.

Anyway. Wandered into DT after work last night, wanting to have something I’d never tried before. Which, knowing how current and encompassing our stash is, is actually pretty difficult. After a little bit of searching, we pulled this one down.

My overall impression of the tea was of a mild and flavourful oolong similar to an iron goddess, with a kicker of banana marshmallow. I do love me some banana marshmallows, but this tea left me craving more oolong – just straight, delicious oolong. So I went back to DT for some.

Man, I love Banana Oolong. I’m not too fussy on bananas, but this tea is so creamy and buttery, it doesn’t even bother me. However, the smell of the dry leaves and the tea itself is enough to make me vomit some days. I rarely drink this one because the smell is such a turn off! I’m always reminding myself that the tea is good, just don’t smell it! So it definitely loses big points for that – whoever heard of a tea that tastes awesome but smells nauseating?
It did, however, give me a chance to try out my new kettle! An early christmas present from the boy (he didn’t want me to wait!): http://www.cuisinart.ca/cuisinart_product.php?item_id=290&product_id=335&cat_id=13 … I’m in so much love.

Hmm. This is the second oolong tea I have tried recently, so I think I can officially say I know what oolong tastes like. It tastes good. The first one I tried (consciously i mean, because a few of my other teas are oolong but it has been awhile) was Vanilla Orchid, which I lovvvvve.

The thing with this tea is that though it is nummy, it tastes mostly like oolong to me. That being said, I’ve never had an unflavored oolong so I’m probably wrong on that. I guess the thing is that I cannot really get a banana flavor out of this tea, whereas with the Vanilla Orchid, it’s clearly vanilla.

As a disclaimer, I’m not a huge fan of banana flavored anything, at least not artificial banana flavors (incidentally I feel the same about apple flavors). Now on the bag it states “banana” and “natural flavor” as 2 of the ingredients, I don’t know if the “natural flavor” comes from a banana or not. Maybe if it was “artificial” it would be more bananariffic. Anyhow, this tea is tasty, but I don’t need to own it because I own Vanilla Orchid which I way prefer.

The only banana flavored thing that ever really turned my crank was that yellow medicine we used to get as kids, I think they no longer make it, which is sad. Back in MY day, it was like “you’re sick, we are going to have to go to the doctor to get some medicine.”

“GREAT, would this by any chance be a sickness curable with Banana Medicine???”

Kids today are missing out.

To summarize, tasty, yeah, super bananariffic? Not really. I prefer DT’s Vanilla Orchid oolong though.

Someday I will try a plain unflavored oolong and edit this note accordingly :)

(brewed as per the directions but I don’t find it overly flavorful!!)