Pineapple Oolong

Both pineapple and coconut are flavours that can be very difficult for me to appreciate (see how brave I’ve been this time around – melon, lychee, pineapple and coconut; I’m taking on all my taste nemeses) and in the bag, this is all piña colada, with an emphasis on the coconut. No bland, artificial coconut, though, but one that takes me straight back to a coconut farm I visited in Ben Tre.

Steeped, the scent mellows considerably, but there’s still an emphasis on the coconut – which is surprising, as I thought this would be far more about the pineapple. In the sip, though, the fruit comes through and balances the coconut very nicely. I can’t help thinking, though, how perfect this would be with a little almond or vanilla thrown in for added complexity.

As the tea cools, the flavours come out more and more, but the balance remains excellent – again, surprising, as I thought the pineapple would take over completely.

This one might just grow on me, too, which could get expensive in the long run – all I want to do now is google island vacation spots.

[From my Lupicia spree at Westfield Valley Fair in Santa Clara, October 2013.]

Sipdown of the day…
I decided I wanted to try this as a cold brew last night and I’m having it today with my lunch. Pineapple seems like a difficult flavor to “get right” in tea but I do enjoy this whenever I have it. Probably will be a restock someday, but I might wait until I have finished off some of the other oolongs I have first or tried a few new ones.

This is my first review on anything at all, especially tea, so here goes!~

They smelled very sweet already and the smell of pineapple was very strong as well.

With a spoon-tip-full of sweetener, the Oolong came to life.

The floral flavors burst out onto my tongue, I savored the creaminess as it flooded my mouth, and after I swallowed, the taste became very buttery and silky, leaving a aftertaste of sweet pineapple and sugary butter.

Tea #7 from Another Traveling Tea Box

I wish there were more of this in the box, because this is very good.

It’s a light, floral oolong with some deliciously juicy pineappleness. As the tea cools, the floral note is very easily noted as orchid (yum!), and I pick up a little bit of coconut.

The best piece here is the pineapple. It’s sweet then subtle-y tangy at the end of each sip. And honestly tastes juicy. Just like biting into pineapple.

I’m going to put the wet leaves in my thermos and see if I can get a cold brew out of them too. (So much for it being too cold for iced tea, I guess).

Pineapple tea was something that struck me a strange, so I wasn’t sure I’d like this, but it was a pleasant surprise.

Sipdown! Delicious. My favourite pineapple oolong of the ones I’ve tried.

I’m going to try to start getting through some of this drawer full of samples that I have! This is the first one that I saw today when I opened my tea drawer. It’s a pretty tea, with little rolls of green tea and small chunks of pineapple. The dry leaves smell lightly tropical, with sweet pineapple and coconut. The tea itself smells like fresh pineapple and coconut. The flavor is very mellow. I can detect a smooth buttery coconut flavor with just a little hint of slightly sweet pineapple at the end. I added a little sweetener thinking it would bring out more of the sweet pineapple, but it kind of just smoothed out both the pineapple and coconut flavors so that they flow together. The tropical flavor becomes a little sweeter as the tea cools. I’m glad that this one has the coconut in it as well, as I think that it would be a little too plain with just the pineapple flavor. I think this tea would be a good cup in the afternoon, as it is very light and calming. Thank you, Mercuryhime, for this sample!

-Dry blend has rolled green tea leaves with small chunks of dried pineapple.
-Dry leaves smell lightly of sweet pineapple and coconut. Tea liquor aroma is of fresh pineapple and coconut.
-Tea liquor is a clear very pale yellow color.
-Buttery smooth coconut flavor with a slightly sweet pineapple finish.
-Best with sweetener.
-Very good tea. A smooth and tropical cup with hints of pineapple and coconut. Best as an afternoon tea.

Huuuuuuge thanks to Sil who sent this my way! I’ve been drinking this practically nonstop for the last two days. A glorious 3.5L later, it’s about damn time I get around to writing up this tasting note.

To sum this tea up: sweet, juicy pineapple and buttery oolong with a flavor that will outlast your ability to keep drinking.

I thoroughly enjoyed four steeps of this tea (adding 1 min each time). The first tasted of sweet pineapple juice with a somewhat light oolong flavor in the background. With successive steeps the pineapple calmed down a bit but was always detectible in the flavor. The oolong really came to life in the second or third steep as its flavor came to the forefront. This is an excellent tea that I could see becoming a staple in my cupboard.

Prep: 3 tsp. leaf, 500 ml. water, at below parameters.

I always like Lupicia teas when I’m drinking them, but for some reason they aren’t my first choice when I look in my cupboard. It’s a shame, really, because they are SO GOOD.

This is from my Lucky bag (like, from 2+ months ago) and I’m just now getting around to trying it. I was super wary about this blend because pineapple and coconut just aren’t flavors I like combined. I know I’m in the minority where this is concerned, but there it is. However, the buttery oolong base in this makes it phenomenal. Pineapple and oolong show up more in the taste at first, with coconut finishing off the sip. Their brewing parameters surprised me (boiling water for an oolong?!) but I’m glad I trusted them because despite the temp, this was a very smooth brew.

I am drinking this hot and without sugar, but I think iced (and probably a little sweetener) will be the way I have the rest of it. The boyfriend gave it a sip and concurred, which is good because he’s going to have to help me drink it. :)

Super tasty – now the real test will be how it holds up iced!

Tea #24 from Another Traveling Tea Box

I wasn’t sure how I would feel about this one, while I am a huge fan of oolong, I’m not really a fan of pineapple or flavored oolongs. It ended up being quite delicious and I expect it would make a really nice iced tea in the summer, something I’ll have to keep in mind. The pineapple blends beautifully with the floral flavors of the oolong and it’s subtle, something I notice at the end of each sip. Just enough for me to know it’s there, but not enough to overwhelm the oolong.

This tea also resteeps well, I’m just starting on my third steep although the leaves have been sitting all day since I had to run errands.

So, I have been EXTREMELY impressed with all of Lupicia’s fruit-flavored blends I’ve tasted so far. This one is no exception! The loose leaf smells like a fresh pineapple, none of that dried or candied stuff. Fresh pineapple being one of my favorite snacks in all the world, you can imagine how happy that made me. It’s so much better than eating candy. :3

Anyway, this tea is immensely satisfying as a dessert tea. I’m actually missing the oolong flavor just a little, so I’m going to re-steep this to see if maybe the oolong comes out a little more (it being a Taiwanese oolong really intrigues me, even though it’s not a very dark one). This tea gets two thumbs way up!