Oriental Beauty Premium Grade

Yesterday I had the pleasure of visiting Radiance Tea House and Books in NYC! This is the tea we chose to have there. No preparation details as it was lovingly prepared in house.

1st infusion:

Amazing golden apricot color and the fragrance was so sweet. Honey, honey, honey! I couldn’t believe the rich honey notes I was getting from this tea. Each sip was heavenly. I’ve never had a tea, yet alone an oolong tea, with so much sweet flavor. I feel like I’m doing an extraordinarily poor job of describing this tea – I think it must be experienced!! It went so well with the buttery tea crackers with black sesame seeds that were served with it. This was my husband’s favorite infusion.

2nd infusion:

This one was heavy on apricot. Slight honey notes and some of what I associate with “oolong” flavor coming out – and a fine oolong flavor it was. I’ve never had anything so fine. We had this pot with our dumplings and entree (me: Teriyaki Salmon rice bowl with mushrooms and bok choy, Husband: Rice bowl with shrimp and avocado) This was my favorite one and it was PERFECT for food.

3rd infusion:

More fantastic tea flavor, slightly floral, not as sweet, not as fruity. Still delightful. We had it with more tea crackers. It was a great finish to the meal and perfect for digestion.

Photos here:

http://www.flickr.com/groups/steepster/pool/

and a couple more of my day here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jackiemania/sets/72157623565672780/

A few friends gave me a lovely gift of assorted teabags from Radiance. Oriental Beauty was included in the box. The aroma is wonderful- honey and floral.

Just like the previous poster, I am surprised that it has such a sweet flavor! Honey is the predominant flavor, and I also taste some apricot. This tea is very soothing, and gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling! I’m not getting much ‘oolong’ flavor though, since the honey is so strong. I will try another infusion to see if that changes. Still a lovely tea.