Blue People

Big thank you to Makers Tea for the sample!

I was pretty excited for this one since I have never had an oolong blended with ginseng before. I used the whole sample (approx 1 tbsp) in my cup, and went for light, gentle steepings so the licorice notes wouldn’t overwhelm.

The taste reminds me of a Chinese Wellness tea that I have – in fact, it tastes exactly like it! It’s a cold/flu tea with a lot of different herbs, but it’s in a tea bag. I much prefer this to the tea bags!

That said, it’s still a taste that is quite unique and not very shy! The licorice root is mild and definitely adds a sweetness, but not at all cloying. Very gentle and a nice offering – I’m glad I got to try!

My only “complaint” is that the samples came via regular mail, so they were quite crushed – however they were free samples and I have no doubt that an order would come protected. Just something to note!

Very interesting. Tastes like an oolong for sure. Then after about half a cup I started to get an odd sweet aftertaste. The sweet definitely does linger. Raritea is right – there is a slight numbing sensation. I didn’t come back and read the description before I tasted this so I didn’t remember what to expect. I would not have identified what I was tasting as liquorice root but yeah, after reviewing it is definitely liquorice.

Personally, not my preference and I won’t be keeping it in my cabinet, but it is precisely what the description says it is and it seems to be of decent quality so my rating is based on that and not on whether or not I’ll order it. If you like oolongs, you’ll probably like this one.

Dry leaf smells peppery. Fragrant with hints of milk oolong scent. Also, a herbal mix smell that you might experience when entering an apothecary (for example).

I used one tablespoon of dry leaf for approximately 0.75 of my aquaovo tumbler.

The brewed liquor has a distinct Camellia Sinensis scent to it. Some sour notes as well. Milk oolong scents are peeking out among the stronger notes.

On the first sip, I am getting a fruity taste mixed with a creamy milk oolong flavour. The milk oolong is more present at the end. The liquorice is coming through, less as a flavour and more of a numbing/sweet sensation near the tip of my tongue after every sip. I am able to make out the liquorice root flavour a few seconds after the end of the sip.

As the tea cools, on the end of the sip I am getting more of a full mouth sensation of the liquorice root. The liquorice flavour seems to really take over with only a slight hit of the milk oolong taste at the beginning of the sip leading into the full mouth sweetness. Very sweet and a kind of sweetness that doesn’t have a artificial unpleasant trailing aftertaste.

Overall, an interesting tea tasting experience. The liquorice root sensation is something unexpected that I think I would need some getting used to.