Pomegranate Oolong

received this in my march tea swap. Just brewed it up on my break. the liquor was a light yellow green, which was unexpected but welcome as I expected the liquor to be a red color due to the pomegranate. The fact that it was not red most likely indicated that it was not full of artificial colors. It had a subtle sweet smell and a mild taste. It tasted like an oolong, but the pomegranate was there, lingering in the background. I had it with a little honey, but think I will enjoy this one more once I get back off the mountain dew (it has a way of ruining your taste buds and making everything else taste less sweet. Darn high fructose corn syrup water). Overall, glad I got to try this one, and I will drink the other packets I got, but not one I would go out of my way to drink. I am pleased with the quality of Harney and Sons so far, but like Paris much more than this.

This classic specialty blend sachet of Pomegranate Oolong formerly known as Ti Quan Yin oolong is infused with Pomegranate.

It is sweet and liquor like, a very soothing drink. I like it very hot with nothing added; as this was a morning cup of tea, needing a little more flavor with my oolong. I don’t find this to be roasted in flavoring or robust even; just sweetly and liquor like because of the pomegranate.

I am sorry that I only purchased on sachet when I spotted this at The Map Room Cafe at the BPL, Boston’s main library.

I was surprised to have found Harney & Sons being sold as individual sachet. Another novelty to be in awe!

Normally I toss some extra sachets of random teas into my bag so I always have at least something on hand. This was one of those teas for me today.
When my sis got me this one to try, she told me it was one of her favorites so I was really excited about it. It just doesn’t do it for me though. I can’t exactly place it as pomegranate, although it does have a fruitiness. There’s also a bit of… butteryness??? Idk, is that even right? I don’t have much experience with tea, let alone oolong specifically to know what I’m supposed to be tasting, versus what I’m actually tasting. whoops.

I had this tea at a Barnes & Noble. I was looking to buy the opera “Atys” on Blu-Ray. Sadly, it was more expensive than I thought, so I’ll have to resort to Amazon.

Leaf Quality:
Though in Sachets, the leaves were entirely loose. I couldn’t see any pomegranate, but definitely smelled it. I assume the dried leaves were scented by the pomegranate, rather than thrown in with pomegranate chunks. It smelled nice.

Brewed Tea:
The color of the brew was a pale yellow. It smelled like a flavored candy, like PEZ to me. I was hesitant at first, with the smell. However, the tea proved to be much better than the scent itself. I did notice that much of the floral attributes of Ti Guan Yin (Ti Kuan Yin) had been lost to the pomegranate flavoring. That is what mostly threw me off. Aside from that, this tea wasn’t too bad. It isn’t my favorite from Harney & Sons, though.

I think I’ll try it iced next time. It should be more refreshing as an iced tea on a summer’s day.

I’ve spaced on logging this a few times, so I’m going to do it before I forget again.

This is another occasion where the Harney and Sons has managed to impress me on their flavoring prowess. What with the surge of pomegranate’s popularity in the tirade of fruits and berries being pushed at us for their antioxidant/detox/cancer-fighting/etc. properties, it’s no surprise that the presence of pomegranate in tea has also seen a significant nudge in use.

In the midst of all the pomegranate madness, I’ve gotten my hands on a few pomegranate teas, and this one is so far leading the race in terms of matching up to the true flavor of pomegranate. For the most part, the others tasted very much like, you guessed it, hibiscus. [With all the hibiscus knocking I’ve done, I should stress here that I don’t dislike it. It’s simply a case of too much of a decent thing becoming boring. Additionally, I don’t consider straight hibiscus to be an acceptable substitute for whatever touted fruit flavor I’m supposed to be getting out of a tea.]

So, here’s the thing about this tea. The pomegranate flavor is definitely welcome. The tea on the whole is very light, and I enjoy this to a certain extent, but I can’t taste the oolong. It could be because I don’t drink a ton of darker oolongs and am not fully accustomed to the flavor. However, it could also be that, light as it is, the pomegranate is drowning it out. Taking all of this into consideration, I’m still not sure where I stand with this one, even after making my way through almost all of the sample. I think that I find it mostly enjoyable, but maybe this is why flavored oolongs are considered “taboo” by some people.

I am usually disappointed by fruit teas—some will smell so wonderful, then taste like kool-aid (unsweetened), but I was lured by the packaging, the pomegranate, the discount…Turns out to be a decent tea, pretty mild, with a little fruit, not too much, nothing fake about it. It’s a bagged tea, a good choice to keep in my office for days when I don’t have time to fill the big travel mug at home, or when I need a little something to make it through the afternoon.

Didn’t pay attention to the steep time (although I’m sure it was more than the recommended 3 minutes!) and used the electric kettle at work when I made this, so maybe I’ll keep track next time and re-visit this review.

The hubby pulled this one out for a post-dinner tea this evening. Sitting here waiting for the water to be hot, I took a good whiff of the teabag. I kinda wish I could smell the oolong, but all I get is the pomegranate (which smells quite juicy and enticing, don’t get me wrong). :) My sense of smell has not QUITE recovered from the sinus funk I was struck with last week, so the subtlety could very well be escaping me.
At last! it is steeped. And now it smells really floral to me… which only seems to confirm that my olfactory sensors are just bonkers right now. I’m still liking what I smell, though, so I guess that’s good! The oolong smells really fresh. And I love how transparent and good-quality the Harney tea bags are- you can see the leaves unfurling just as well as you can in a loose tea infuser. :)
Wow, I will be resteeping this one! The pomegranate and oolong are so well-balanced in the flavor. So yummy! Definitely worth your money; a very mellow and unassuming flavored oolong.

The scent of this tea is a little strange. It’s a bit like a berry bush, but with leaves and roots included. I’m glad that the taste is not as weird. It takes a moment for the flavor to develop on your tongue. Tangy, earthy and fruity. I’m a little disappointed that the flavor doesn’t taste like true pomegranate to me. I detect familiar flavors that I’ve tasted in Harney’s other fruit teas.. it reminds me of Cherry Blossom, but more earthy. Definitely drinkable, but not the best.

It has a very sweet aroma. The Pomegranate flavor is very light. It almost has a flowery taste. Not strong enough for me, personally.

Just as VariaTEA said “This tea isn’t offensive in any way but it also isn’t anything special. I don’t get any pomegranate flavor, just slightly sweet vegetal oolong.” If you’re expecting something special, it’s a letdown. If you’re expecting an oolong, it’s not too bad.