Sugar Caramel Oolong

Yum!! I was looking forward to something interesting this afternoon, and when flipping through the samples, this one caught my eye.

The dry leaves smell just like maple cotton candy. It was one of those smells that you know won’t exist in the actual tea, but is really nice out of the container. As the tea steeped, I realized the leaves were Really Big. (Seriously, check them out: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lauren_pressley/tags/sugarcarameloolong/show/) I pulled out a few for the photos, but will resteep the rest a few times to see how this holds up.

The tea itself is definitely sweet, but doesn’t taste sweetened (if that makes sense). There is a clear sugar and caramel flavor, though I’m picking up floral notes as well. It still smells of sugar, but has the grassy taste you’d expect from an oolong.

So, this one is a winner for me! I might just have to get a canister… looking forward to seeing how the resteeps go!

Golden Moon Tea Sampler #1
I picked out a packet at random and got this one. I wonder if I used too much water? I tried to use about 4 or 5 ounces of water, but my eyeballs are not well-trained precision tools. Glancing at the other tasting notes, I see that I’m off from the general consensus. Aroma, to me, is sweet corn in green tea and I can’t get the “corny” flavor out of my mind as I sip.

It tastes like a pleasant, weakish, generic green and I’m missing out on all the sensation. I will carefully measure water for my next steep and then possibly revise my note.

I love the mood on this one – introspective, scholarly. As I’m staying up all night awaiting the announcement of a literature prize, I do feel a little of both.

The smell of the dry leaves for this one was very sugary/sweet, but when brewed it mellowed out considerably. And became extremely delicious. It’s a really smooth caramel flavor, with both a light sweetness and creaminess to it. From the described flavors, I think I’m mostly getting the cedar and orange blossoms notes – the more crisp, autumnal side of it. I do notice it gets fairly bitter after it cools a bit.

The wet leaves after the first steeping started to smell more oolong-y – steeped this one the max of four times.

I just had a serious craving for something sweet and this looked to fit the bill (I think it’s from reading all of ya’lls amazing caramel tea reviews). The dry leaf smell was amazing like as another poster said maple cotton candy smelling (if there is such a thing as maple cotton candy).

Once steeped I get more of a mapley sweet smell Yum! The liquor is bright yellow and the taste is as JaquelineM described sweet yet earthy in a very good way. This is definently filling the sweet tooth craving I was having. It’s a nice sweet treat that I might be able to find a little room in my cupboard for.

For my first GM sample review, it was toss-up between this and Sinharaja. Sugar Caramel Oolong won because I felt like having something sweet! :)

Scent: Like milky palm trees! This smells so green and sappy! Like I imagine palm trees basking in the sun smell like (but I’ve never actually smelled them).

Appearance: The leaves start out tightly rolled, but quickly unfurl into these large, wide leaves! At first I thought, “Oh what a stingy sample!” —because of how small these leaves were wound, it didn’t add to much in my mug. But add the hot water and it’s like boing! the leaves unwind and end up filling half the mug!

Taste: Very fresh and “brisk”. I’m not detecting anything overtly caramel (meaning no burnt or glazed sugar taste). It’s more of a “green” sort of sweetness. Like how banana leaves smell like when they’re wrapped around sweet, sticky rice.

Final thoughts: As the liquid cools, I’m detecting more of a toasty sweetness…but it’s all still overlaid with green. This is very much a green tea. The flavoring is just a bit of enhancement.

this one is very sweet and candy like. you can taste the burnt sugar flavor in it mixed with the flavor of the tea. so far most of my GM samples have not disappointed me in the least! (besides that jasmine pearls) i don know if i will be getting a larger package of this but i will miss it when im looking for that burnt sugar flavor i love.

I’ve stated before that I’m not the biggest fan of Golden Moon Tea. I want to like their teas, but they haven’t really played well with my tastebuds in the past. I know that my tastes and preferences for certain teas do change occasionally, so I’m giving this one another go. The scent of this tea after it’s steeped is of an earthy, toasty oolong with a hint of caramel or sugar. I pick up on some of the grassy, almost marine-like character of the oolong, but it seems to twist itself around the buttery caramel scent at the same time giving me the impression of a candy shop by the sea or at the zoo. The sea sounds so much more romantic, but it truly could go either way!

Sipping… this is a very smooth oolong with floral and wood notes being most prominent for me. I also taste a bit of something fruity — perhaps cantaloupe? It’s like the rind of a melon, only not so bitter. I can see why this is called caramel oolong in that the wisp of caramel sweetness comes out towards the end of the sip. I find that I have to look for it though and wish that it were stronger and sweeter.

This is a decent tea that is subtle and is best when you can fully concentrate on all of the flavors that it has to offer. Definitely bumping up my aged rating although this isn’t a favorite.

I am really behind on logging my teas, but that’s what finals week will do to ya! So, I reviewed this tea on my blog, but man, this is a delicious tea!

Read the rest of my review plus pictures over at my blog! http://bit.ly/foeM5u

Leaves smell nice…
Tea smells like oolong…
Tastes like both and it blends in really nice. I like this one. A good oolong. Sweet and smooth…

Golden Moon makes gooooood tea, and this is no exception. I love this as a dessert tea, as it’s deliciously sweet, but subtle too. The ‘sugar caramel’ doesn’t overpower the oolong at all. Actually, I’d describe the sugary taste as coming in as an aftertaste and the lovely green-oolong as dominant. My husband thought this tasted like ‘a cup of cotton candy’, but he doesn’t realize how much simpler this blend is than most of the flavored teas I drink…. or does he? Anyway, this was just a sample, but I think I’ll have to get some more of this one.