Shalimar Oolong

Here we have a flavoured oolong that Dinosara shared with me. I quite like fruity oolongs in general, possibly as a result of that raspberry oolong from ACP. That one has made the idea of flavoured oolong appeal to me (although it certainly depends on what they’re flavoured with )

This one is rose and tropical fruits. Mango and passion fruit and also aconia berries. I have no clue what aconia berries taste like.

The aroma is rather tart, and I’m easily picking up on the passion fruit. The tartness of the aroma smells sort of juicy and bright orange-y red. I wonder if that’s the berries. I can’t find much in the way of mango at all here.

The flavour is unexpected. The first thought at the first sip was something along the lines of, “nutty, what?”. It’s a sort of mix between walnuts and hazelnuts, but it’s unmistakably nutty and wee bit woody, and it’s especially evident on the swallow and in the initial phase of the aftertaste. This stuff may smell like the colour of flame, but it tastes decidedly brown.

Second sip brings me some fruit, and again it’s primarily passion fruit. Slightly weird tasting passion fruit, which must be the influence of those berries. If I knew what they were supposed to taste like, it would have been a lot easier. I’m not getting all that very much out of it than just the passion fruit, so this tea isn’t making me all that much wiser, apart from a suspicion that they’re probably somewhat tart in flavour. On the other hand, aren’t must berries kind of tart in flavour?

I’m getting nothing in the way of mango, but the more I sip, the more I’m getting a floral top layer of rose. I’m not super keen on floral teas as most of them are either too perfumed or dusty tasting. I’ve met a few that were surprisingly nice, but in general it’s not something I have actively sought out on my own. This one has a rather strong floral note there, but it seems somehow detached from the rest of the flavour. Like a roof rather than a top layer, really. I’m honestly not sure how I feel about that. Generally I would prefer to have the flavour experience a fully integrated one, but in this case I kinda like having the floralness sort of off to one side. It’s easier to deal with there.

I have come to the conclusion that the nutty notes that I’m getting out of this must be coming straight from the base. It’s funny I’ve never really noticed oolongs being so nutty before.

All in all, I’m not sure this is a tea that I would necessarily need to come back to or miss once the sample is gone, but now that I’ve got a cup, it’s quite enjoyable. Just not one I think will stick around in my mind much. As usual, interesting to try though.

This is one of those teas I know some else will appreciate more than me. There is just too much going on here. I am glad to have had the chance to try this sample but it just isn’t for me.

This is a very tropical tea! The dry leaves smell of sweet/tart mango, passion fruit and berries. Brewed up the liquor is a medium amber color and the aroma is still predominently general fruity-tropical, but it’s more muted now and I can smell the more of the underlying oolong tea coming through. The flavor maintains all of these notes but I think I can detect some of the rose (faint, and more of a background flavor that just adds to the other flavors).

I was at first skeptical of this tea because sometimes the “berry” flavor in fruity teas can overwhelm all the other more delicate flavors, but I think this is a good balance. There’s so many different flavors they’re hard to pick out individually, but they come together nicely.