Sometimes I wonder whether or not the individual responsible for packing the free samples offered by Harney & Sons has an intuitive understanding of my tastes and selects samples that run counter to them. I recently posted a negative review of their Organic English Breakfast and then received nothing but sample sachets of Organic English Breakfast with my most recent order. Prior to pulling the sachet of this flavored oolong out of my sample pile last night, I had been wavering on trying this one for nearly a month. I decided on it mostly because I wanted a cup of tea and couldn’t think of anything else to try. I didn’t care for it, so here’s hoping that my next Harney & Sons order does not contain a pile of Pomegranate Oolong samples.
Brewing flavored oolongs always kind of perplexes me. I almost always reinfuse oolongs. As a matter of fact, I tend to favor brewing oolongs gongfu style. For some reason, that never really feels like the right thing to do with flavored oolongs. I prefer brewing them Western style. Harney & Sons recommended a single 4-5 minute infusion in 205 F water, so that is the method I used for this tea. I ended up steeping the sachet in 8 ounces of 205 F water for 5 minutes.
Prior to infusion, I noted that the dry tea leaves gave off a wonderfully pronounced pomegranate aroma underscored by a hint of grassy, vegetal character. After infusion, the pomegranate aroma was much more muted. As a matter of fact, I primarily noted mild aromas of butter, cream, custard, and sweetgrass emanating from the pale golden tea liquor. In the mouth, I noted a subtle pomegranate note that was quickly overwhelmed by flavors of cream, custard, vanilla, sweetgrass, butter, and plantain. I also noted a slight floral quality in the mouth, almost like a mixture of lilac, honeysuckle, and saffron. The floral and pomegranate notes were a little more pronounced on the finish, as were the notes of vanilla, custard, and sweetgrass.
It ended up being a good thing that I decided to go with a one step Western infusion for this tea, as I really was not impressed and had little desire to press on with additional infusions. I generally do not care for flavored oolongs, so I am not certain what I was expecting from this tea. To me, it seemed like Harney & Sons muddled a perfectly acceptable Tieguanyin with the addition of pomegranate essence which fought the base tea’s more savory and vegetal characteristics.
Flavors: Butter, Cream, Custard, Floral, Fruity, Grass, Honeysuckle, Saffron, Vanilla
Drinking this one right now, actually! It tastes different than a standard tie guan yin, but the pomegranate is effectively a ghost of citric acid.