Coconut Pouchong

I am just a little bit surprised by my reaction to this tea. In my quest to drink every coconut Oolong I can get my hands on, I ordered some of this from iHeartTeas. I expected to be madly in love with it, and heartbroken that Golden Moon for some reason can’t arrange shipping to Canada (I’ve emailed them about it and they are very nice and helpful, but say it’s not a possibility at this point).

Anyway, I’m not in love! What! This isn’t to undermine this tea. It’s good. It’s really good! But, my mind is not blown. And I’ve been finding coconut Oolongs pretty mindblowing 3/3 up to this one. It has the same light Oolong crispness, the coconut sweetness. But I’ve had it twice now and it’s just not quite matching up. It’s going to be a pleasure to finish it, but I am (thankfully) not going to be in mourning when it’s finished. I’m enjoying it but it’s not the first tea I want to reach for like Tealish’s Coconut Bongo was while my 50 g lasted. I think the Spice and Tea Exchange and Tao Tea Leaf versions have been my favourite, but the price of the Tao one sets it back. Tealish’s is a close third, but its accessibility boosts its rating. This one comes in fourth, as a solid contender but lacking the star power of the others.

Have had this for a while by now, but the first two testings made me feel like I was doing something wrong (did not like…at all). How could I not like a coconut tea, so loved by so many on Steepster?

Well, as the saying goes: third time is the charm. Tried to be brave and try it unsweetened (blech…nope). After adding about a tbsp. of honey, this turned nice … much more so as it cools. This coconut is very obvious, but so is the tea. Since most of you have tried this, I’ll just say: yummy.

p.s. Have any of you cold brewed this? If so, any hints?
Still need to try some resteepings, so depending on how many and how it turns out, maybe chilling after is better ??

I like the flavor of this tea a lot. It does not need sugar. It is fantastic hot and also delicious cold. This is a win-win tea. Today since the ground is covered with a foot and a half of snow, it is a hot tea.

The aroma of the tea is coconut, hands down. The flavor of the tea is coconut, carried by a green tea with a sweet almost minty after taste. It is absolutely wonderful. The first time I tried the tea, I knew I had to buy one of my own, and I did.

As a note: I tend to use a lot more leaves than I should, this is just a force of habit, but I think it makes multiple steeps of the tea better when you have more leaves.

I had a string of good news today and I also got to see my wonderful kitty who I have been apart from for a while, so I decided to reward myself with this tea! It is one of my absolute favorites so I try to savor it, but today was definitely a coconut day. I actually first got this in the little sampler on Golden Moon’s site—I ordered two teas and threw it in since it was free, and ended up buying all 3 of the ones they give you (though I got the Genmaicha Matcha from Den’s).

I had to brew this rather oddly as I’m at my house (my parents’ house I suppose, but it feels so odd to say that) and I have none of my tea aparattus. So this got brewed in a measuring cup and I totally messed up the ratios and steeped it for 6 minutes. Oh well, it still turned out fantastic because this tea is MAGIC. Seriously, tea of the gods here.

Pouchong/BaoZhong is by far my favorite “base” tea—it’s somewhere between a green and an oolong, and I could drink it every day and be happy. Sweet, light, floral, buttery, fragrant—everything I love! Add in the coconut flavoring that somehow tastes both creamy/raw and sweet/toasty and there’s really nothing better I can imagine.

Finally getting around to trying this highly rated sample from Ricky.

The aroma surprises me a bit. It smells salty, a bit like steamed rice, a nice fancy jasmine rice with a hint of coconut milk.

It tastes like creamy coconut milk, a lighter version of the rich, creamy coconut milk, but coconut milk nonetheless. I’m still getting a bit of rice taste, but might just be from smelling while tasting.

I have a 2nd steep cooling to try iced. I don’t know how to rate this one. I think I’ll have to try it again. I don’t think this is one I’ll need to own, but it could grow on me.

Wow! I’m so glad that I’d read Shanti’s note about this tea and decided to give it a whirl. I have never craved coconuts, and I generally avoid them on sweets or cakes. Um, but I think that I’ll now take them in my teas! To paraphrase a wise old bird: I’m cuckoo for coconuts!

I think that others who have been reviewing this do a better job than I could. The one thing that I’ll add is that I don’t know what is going on (or if this is a common thing with oolongs because I had an oolong the other day that did this same thing) but it feels like little sugar bombs are going off in my mouth. Like, the size of a tastebud sugar bomb randomly “pops” on different spots on my tongue. I don’t even know if this has a name in the tea world, or if it’s just me, but I love it!

This isn’t a guaranteed future purchase, but it’s going on the short list. NE

Thank you Melanie for this wonderful sample!
I’ve been seeing this tea reviewed over and over again…so what’s all the hype? What’s so great about this tea? Curiosity got the best of me when I saw that Melanie had this in her cupboard for a swap…hee hee…would she part with a pinch for moi? She agreed (to my delight)! I don’t go along with the crowd unless there is danger… I form my own opinions and hope you all do also and this tea review is not an exception. Beginning the process I kept the steep at just 3 minutes and at about 180F. Sniff, there isn’t a huge burst of fragrant coconut…no…I’m reminded more of oolong…a faint memory of that corny, floral butter scent. First sip is very creamy and rich, diving right away into a deep pool of coconut taste the way you get it right out of a fresh coconut in the tropics. It’s the aftertaste that is so honest. I spent 4 months living in Puerto Rico where you could stop and get a chilled coconut at the roadside, have the top lopped off with a machete and drink the coconut water with a long straw. So good. That’s the coconut flavor I taste. But there is that floral orchid mixed in also. Makes you want to put on a sarong and lay on the beach. Sometimes it helps to pull away and come back to tea when it is so intensely complex. Doing this was helpful for me. I came back to my glass cup and realized that there is a custard quality quite a bit like the fragrance of jasmine in the Summer on a hot evening when you swear there is coconut cream pie somewhere close by…or you hope there is one waiting at home (there never is though). Real jasmine never tastes like that smell. Tragedy! I think this is very good tea but not one I would serve with food. Too special for that. This is dessert and could stand up to fresh strawberries or pound cake. I thought chocolate was too strong alongside the tea because I tried some and said “no”. Tried some sugar and it was good. I’m off to finish the lovely liquid without you now…bye.

Steep Information:
Amount: 2 heaping scoops (i didn’t want to use all 3 in case i messed it up)
Additives: none
Water: filtered boiling 1 teapot, set to cool a few moments until it was around 195
Steep Time: a little over 3 minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: sweet baking coconut
Steeped Tea Smell: baking coconut (not like fresh coconut milk), grassy, vegetal (like some kind of buttered stewed leaves), maybe even a little nutty
Flavor: watery vegetal, again like buttered stewed leaves, very silky smooth mouth feel though
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: coconut, sweet
Liquor: nearly clear, yellow-brown

This was a gift from SoccorMom!

I have never had a Pouchong before. Pouchong – Wikipedia suggested following the directions for Oolong tea.

The tea was very natural tasting, not like two distinct flavors (tea, coconut) being put together, but one flavor that was both tea and coconut.

The vegetal that I dislike in greens was not a negative thing, it was more a nice cooked side dish of greens doused in butter and silky smooth.

The steeped leaves unfurled into beautiful green full leaves! I could swear they were just picked.

I am glad I got to try this as it was good and different, but not a favorite that I would stock up on, but I certainly wouldn’t mind having it again.

I never even knew there was such thing as Pouchong before, and I think I preferr this to green now that I know it exists!

Post-Steep Additives: none

images: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/02/golden-moon-tea-loose-leaf-pouchong-tea.html

Heavenly.

Unfortunately, I can’t really write a full tasting note here, because I don’t have ANY CLUE what temperature I brewed this to. I was too impatient to cool my Zojirushi and too wary of overheating the leaves to chance it, so I added room-temperature water to water I had cooled slightly in a glass…goodness only knows what temperature it was. It sort of breaks my heart that I may have under-done it, but I’m hoping that just means I can get another really good steep out of it.

I’ve mentioned before that I really dislike overdone flavored teas. They frighten me. They tend toward artificiality. Strong flavors in tea make me wary.

Nevertheless, I spent a good minute and a half standing in my kitchen, huffing the smell that came out of the sampler bag and thinking…oh my god, it’s like someone vaporized macaroons. It really is. The buttery quality of the oolong and the coconut make me feel like I’m sipping on subtle macaroons, without the heaviness in the mouth that would come from all of that sugar (and without the heaviness in my a** that would come from the same thing, heh).

I’ve never had pouchong before, but I’ve already mentioned this week that I think I’m a huge fan of oolongs, generally — the bready, starchy, buttery, chewy and delicious sort — and this tea is managing to combine that allure with coconut. It’s oolong and coconut, but it’s also macaroons and buttered kettlecorn.

This one is going on my shopping list. I’ll grant you it’s probably not the sort of thing I could drink 24/7, but I could see myself drinking it often. It’s the kind of tea that makes me want to plan a menu and throw a dinner party.

After reading some of the rave reviews here for this tea, I was a little initimidated. Kind of like meeting a movie star: would it be as nice in person as I’m imagining? Cutting open the sampler packet, I was immediately hit with the aroma. Not the suntan lotion coconut I’d feared, but rich, creamy and toasted. The leaves are pretty too – they look good. This bodes well!

The taste follows through on the promise of the scent. The coconut flavor is incredibly creamy, and makes me think of a macaroon dipped in milk. There is so much rich, delicious coconut flavor in fact that I’m not getting a whole lot out of the tea other than a background hum. Nothing offensive, but nothing standout either. I’d normally think of pairing coconut flavor with black tea and then putting cream and sugar in it to make a yummy warm drink, so I’ll be on the lookout for that variety next. Still, this is a very tasty tea.

Flavored teas can be tricky. I’m the type of tea drinker who generally prefers unflavored, straight tea, so if I’m going to drink something flavored, I’m kind of picky. I want a flavored tea to still taste like tea. I want the flavor(s) to enhance the tea, not overpower it. I want the flavors to taste natural and not artificial. Coconut Pouchong satisfies my requirements.

The coconut flavor of this tea is lovely — as other reviewers have mentioned, it’s kind of a toasted coconut flavor. Very natural, and it smells wonderful as well. The tea itself — well, I think I would drink this tea even if it weren’t flavored, because it’s sort of in between a green and an oolong, but comes off more like an oolong. It’s sweet, only slightly vegetal, and a bit (but not too) floral. When sipping this tea, the flavor of tea mingles with the coconut flavor and the end result is a balanced, pleasing cup with no odd aftertaste.

Overall, drinking this tea is a wonderful escape. I like it iced as well as hot, and it goes perfectly with almost any type of Asian food. I find it the perfect foil to spicy Thai curries and noodle dishes, or even desserts such as mangoes and sticky rice.

This tea smells amazingly good dry. Someone else mentioned coconut macaroons, and that is exactly the smell of the dry leaf. Not just coconut, but a baked coconut meringue, or perhaps a recipe that uses sweetened condensed milk for the base instead. I want to eat them, but I know that they will not taste like that.

The brewed tea is a very light greenish yellow, and the aroma has come down a notch. It’s not quite so bakey, but still definitely coconutty. I’m still getting some slightly buttery-creamy notes, but they’re tempered by a lightly floral green aroma poking through.

Mm, wow, this is one of those teas. You know the ones… you don’t have many expectations, and they smell good but not outstanding, and then you take the first sip and they just blow you away. This tea is coconutty, yes, but also buttery and creamy and sweet. It’s toasty while being fresh and vegetal. It’s deliciously smooth and it leaves a lovely aftertaste of coconut macaroons hanging out in my mouth. This is the kind of tea where I just think: this tea is truly delicious. It is not merely a coconut tea, this tea is more than the sum of its parts. More, please.

My Golden Moon order FINALLY came in!!!

This tea smells like Girl Scout Samoa’s!!…well, without the chocolate. I only brewed the first infusion for 2 minutes and it is a bit weak but there is a buttery/coconut presence. I’m hoping that the flavor becomes slightly stronger in the coming infusions. I’m withholding rating for now…so, stay tuned!

I could just smell the open packet all day and be happy. I steeped the whole sample in 5 oz. water. My daughter and I are both smelling buttered popcorn? Right at the first I even taste popcorn with a coconut aftertaste which doesn’t sound nice at all but actually is…quite. It’s yummy…I’m bummed I can’t make another cup right away—definitely getting a tin of this. Off to re-steep!

Golden Moon Sampler Tea #22:
Enough about dessert teas, it’s time to get back to work!
This is, as I have noted before, one of the teas that I’ve been dreading. Not as much as the licorice, because I can generally tolerate coconut in pastry, but still, expectations = not too high.

The leaves smell like macaroons. I am reminded that I quite like macaroons. Or at least fresh ones. Once I got the leaves wet, though, I could immediately sense the green tea, although the coconut/pastry scent was still there. I was a little worried about pouring in too much water, and I think I may have overshot the mark a bit. Oh well!

I…really like this! It has just the right amount of personality in the base tea and coconut flavoring. I can definitely see getting rice from it – although I’m more thinking of rice crispies – there’s a certain sense of toastedness about it. It’s VERY drinkable, I think I could just drink it all day. But especially if I had some curry or something. Maybe crab rangoons. Man, I wish I know how to make those.

This would confirm my theory, by the way, that most of my food dislikes have to do with texture more than taste. I hate peanuts but like peanut butter, I hate coconut flakes, but apparently am perfectly fine with coconut flavor. Not that this really allows me to do anything about it, but at least I know! Knowing things, it’s great!

Today’s moral is: I am totally getting more of this.

Omg, what a delightful smell! I’m sure this one will be a winner. It smells of sweet coconut. I could just sniff it and be happy :)
But lets steep it… Its yellow, quite light.

It has a similar smell, just less coconut and more green tea. Still delicious.

Tastes good, it’s scented very good with this coconut essence. Sweet, coconut-y and you can taste delicious green tea too. One of the best scented teas I had so far for sure. A perfect desert tea :) Too bad I only had this sampler.

Funny thing is, I’m not even a big fan of coconut ;)

This cup of tea is decent today. I needed something different.
A bit drying in the mouth, but the flavor is smooth & definitely coconut. I’ve been trying to stay away from Golden Moon ever since my disaster experience with their honey pear. A good, drinkable tea. I don’t think I’ll purchase this, but it’s pleasant tonight.

Backlog from earlier today.
Mmm. The coconut in this is amazing. It’s almost as if I were drinking coconut milk. Yum! So smooth and creamy, with an authentic coconut flavour. Getting some floral notes, too. I’m guessing it’s the pouchong? This is so good… I’d imagine it’d taste amazing iced, too.

Resteep: Not as flavourful as the first steep, but still quite tasty! I might try a third steep, but I think that’d be the limit for this.

More tea from Amy oh! Gosh this one smells nice. I think it smells a lot like cake. The coconut is very mellow in this.
Oh my gosh. This is so good! I’ve always heard good things about this tea and now I know why! This is also the first tea I’ve had from Golden Moon tea. It tastes a lot like cake! I really love how well the oolong base and the coconut flavor mix together. Neither of them overpowers the other.
I think this would be a great tea to have with crunchy cookies!

My awesome HoppiTEA, Alana237, sent this in my package so I am enjoying a fragrant cuppa right now.

This is the first tea I’ve tried from Golden Moon. I really enjoy the deep coconut flavor (and fragrance!), but the pouchong tea is what I’d write home about.

It’s grassy and mellow, light but not so much that the coconut overpowers the tea flavor. It’s a comforting, fragrant cup. Delish!