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Oolong tea is a perfect balance of oxidation between black and green tea that produces a strong cup of tea that includes a sweet aftertaste in the mouth. This take on the traditional Earl Grey tea combines premium loose leaf Fermosa oolong tea with bergamot orange for a new twist on the classic. With the addition of Jasmine flowers to balance out the blend this is a nice taste alternative to the black tea based versions of Earl Grey. This smooth but yet intense flavor makes Oolong Earl Grey a real hit with tea lovers of all kinds.
Thank you to TeaEqualsBliss for sending me some of this tea! Yay for Oolong … Yay for Earl Grey!
I’m liking this a lot. The Oolong is a Formosa Oolong, which has peachy undertones and I like the way they accent the flavor of the bergamot. It tastes light and crisp, lighter than a typical black Earl Grey would taste. It has a diaphanous taste to it: not as solid as the background in a black tea (because this is an Oolong), but, it is smooth and sweet and quite nice.
I think this may have been the only EG oolong I have ever had. If I had others…I can’t recall them at the moment. I will say this is quite impressive. I was hesitant not because I don’t like an interesting EG but because I was wondering just how it would work with an oolong. This is really amazing tho! It’s everything you would WANT in a EG and awesomely done with an Oolong! It’s one of the darkest infused oolongs I have ever tried liquor-color-wise but the over all experience was quite special. I will say I am a fan!
This was the first Earl Grey variant I encountered that didn’t taste like something other than Earl Grey. Most bergamot-scented alternates have a flavor “like” Earl Grey, but still retain some of the trappings of whatever base was used; a White Earl Grey still tasted like a white, a Honeybush Earl Grey still tasted like honeybush. With bergamot. Good but not Earl Grey.
This was an Earl through-and-through. So much so that I didn’t even taste the Formosan oolong base. Jasmine flowers were added to this as well. Why? I dunno. But they add a mild floral touch to the bergamot…but only minor.
It’s a splendid afternoon Earl. I should know. That’s when I had it…in my pajamas.
Full Review: http://www.teaviews.com/2010/11/30/review-red-leaf-tea-oolong-earl-grey/
I agree that this might not be an EG but the experiment is fantastic, although sometimes I’m an orthodox with EG. It’s woody, straight up without any sweetener or milk. Perfect amount of bergamot.
Mr Red Leaf, you make goooood Earls.
Seriously. I don’t think I’ve had a bad Earl from them yet. Anyway. More crappy junk food, more oolongs to counter it. This was a very, very tasty discovery from the uncharted depths of our tea stockpile. First steep was just a hint bitter, I would do less than two minutes for a nice balance of Earl and oolong, because it’s a very, very strong bergamot flavour, and it stick around for multiple steeps.
