Coconut Oolong

Thanks to Auggy for this sample! I still haven’t gotten through all of them, but I am getting there! 

I love oolongs, but I have generally had bad luck with flavored oolongs. This one smelled so good and the leaves looked so beautiful that it made me rethink my disdain for most flavor oolongs. I put a smile on my face while I scooped out my leafy green leaves for my cup. The coconut scent was mouthwatering but it completely covered up the oolong scent. 

While it brewed it gave off delicious coconut smell. It was a very creamy scent. The resulting brew was a light yellow color, that held on to the coconut scent. The flavor was the problem. While tasty, it wasn’t quite what the scent promised. The coconut was there, but not quite as creamy as one would expect. It felt incredibly light and somewhat planty. I found the oolong flavor, but rather than collaborating with the coconut, I felt that the flavors were competing for protagonism. I sweetened the tea with a bit of rock sugar and I found a tiny bit of the creamy goodness that the scent promised, but it still was  more watery than creamy. It reminded me of a honey and milk flavored candy that I would get in Ecuador as a kid. Tasty, but not quite what I was expecting. 

I will happily go through the generous sample that Auggy sent me, but I don’t think I will purchase any on my own. I will try it with a dash of milk next time, maybe that is what is missing for me to achieve the creamy sensation to complete the deliciously creamy scent! 

This is a very lovely Oolong. The coconut rests in the background – it is not overly pronounced, but the Oolong tastes so lovely, that the coconut doesn’t need to be stronger. I think it’s a really nicely balanced set of flavors. Smooth, rich, and delicious.

Thank you to TeaEqualsBliss for sending me a bit of this tea!

Yay for coconut! I luf coconut. And I luf pouchong. So when I saw this tea, I knew I had to try it. I actually got this from the Spice & Tea Exchange in the Stockyards when my SIL and her boy were visiting but, after doing some digging, figured out that they source their teas from Rishi. So I’m putting it here.

The smell of the leaf is delightful – creamy, buttery, coconut. Totally delicious. Though, hmm, the liquor smells less creamy, decadent inner coconut and more dark, fiber-y outer coconut. But it’s still coconut so that’s good, right?

The taste is more in line with the smell of the dry leaf, which is good. It’s a little thin feeling which makes me feel like the flavor is too mild, but it really isn’t. But at the same time, there is something… sad about the flavor. Perhaps it is at the beginning of the swallow (vs. just when I’m holding the tea in my mouth): where I want pouchong thick, rich happiness, I get… water. Almost metallic water? Then there is a nice coconut-ish musky aftertaste that I enjoy but my brain keeps saying, “But the water/metal taste at the end of the sip is sad! Yummy coconut aftertaste can’t make up for metal-sip!”

As the tea cools, I’m getting more pouchong taste (and I wish my Mac would stop autocorrecting pouchong to pouching) with an undercurrent of mild, unsweetened coconut. Honestly, I’m liking that more than when the tea was warmer, but I still am getting a weird little dull metallic note when I swallow. It’s distracting.

I want to like this, I really do. But that taste that pops up when I swallow just makes me sad. This tea makes me sad. Sad Auggy. :(

The second steep (3:30) is better. Or at least not as sad. The metallic sharpness has moved to a flash right at the end of the swallow (instead of the beginning, which was more distracting) and is much quieter. However the coconut flavor is quieter, too, and the pouchong tastes boiled/wilted. So the tea no longer makes me sad but it’s not all that great.

Sigh. At least the leaf smells awesome. (And go me, back into Steepster for the second day and already I’m bucking the trends since it seems everyone else adores this tea… Maybe when straight from Rishi this tea is happier? Let’s blame the Spice and Tea Exchange, okay?)

Mmmm, very tasty. I never used to like coconut much, but the coconut oolongs are definitely converting me. This is a little stronger than I recall Golden Moon’s Coconut Pouchong being, but they are similarly real and well-blended flavors.

I got this with Rishi’s oolong sampler, so the other 3 will be up in the next week or two as I get to them.

The packaging suggests using 190˚F water, though the description here says 175˚. I’ve steeped it a couple of times now, and either seems to work fine. I found the higher temp gave a stronger flavor, lower was sweeter.

The first thing I noticed when I went to drink this tea were the directions on the side of the sample package I had. They said to empty the contents of the package into eight ounces of water and steep for three to four minutes. I have to raise issue with this as there is enough leaf in the sample package to satisfy an eight cup teapot at three to four minute steepings. That being said, I chose to not follow the directions and instead used about half a teaspoon of leaf in my small gaiwan (six ounces or so).

Boil water, rinse the leaves, steep for thirty seconds, pour into the fairness cup, serve. Repeat. I was pleasantly surprised by this tea. Based on past experiences with coconut flavoured teas, including other companies’ coconut oolongs, I did not have high expectations. In general, it seems that most companies take a mediocre oolong or black tea and douse it in artificial coconut flavouring. This one, on the other hand, got it right. The initial taste is of oolong. Plain and simple. But then the flavour of coconut kicks in, and it does not taste fake! Rather, it tastes a bit like coconut oil, and provides and delightfully sweet aftertaste.

I enjoyed this tea very much. On my personal enjoyment scale, I give it an 85/100 and would definitely recommend it to lovers of coconut flavoured tea.

Interesting tea. From the smell, I expected a darker and richer flavor. It’s surprisingly green. BUT, it’s really good. The coconut is not artificial, but just smooth and rich. Yum.

Yummy! This is a really good oolong with just a hint of coconut. It almost reminds me of coconut oil. Not that super sweet candy-like flavor we are used to but a nice lingering sweetness.

Very nice. Nutty, a bit roasty, with a hint of vanilla. Mild coconut flavor that tastes natural and lets the tea shine through.
(at Bubbling Well Tea & Tonic bar, Wisnton-Salem 6-1-12)

I am not usually a fan of coconut, but I do love myself a coconut cream pie. And sweetened, that’s exactly what this tea gives me. It’s mellow and creamy and delightful. Without the sugar I do find that the coconut is more of an undertone than in prominence, but then the sugar is added and this is just perfect for me. I’m glad my friend send me this one to try!

Fantastic Oolong, excellent coconut taste. It steeps up light in color but the taste makes up for it. This tea really tastes of coconut.

God, this was tasty. It was a very nice earthy oolong, not too floral, and the coconut added a sweet note to it without taking over. I was expecting more of a coconut tea with an oolong kicker, but it was the other way around, which is awesome. This was just delicious. I wish I had more!

Another one of their new teas. Whereas this Oolong is a great Oolong the Coconut isn’t very noticeable.

Earthy and nutty, with a subtle coconut flavor this is not too sweet.

Unfortunately this seems to leave coconut flavor residue in my Breville, so I’ll have to steep this in the cup unless I want to clean it afterwards, but it’s worth the extra trouble.

Mmm, so much love. This was a big hit with my coworkers when I brought it in today. The dry leaves smell very richly of buttered popcorn, buttered popcorn jelly bellies to be exact. In fact, it smells just like the time my fiancé toasted pieces of fresh coconut flesh and ate them with caramel drizzle. Once you cook the flesh, it takes on this really incredible nutty, buttery flavor.

I was a little surprised at how light the coconut flavor in the tea actually was once I steeped it, but I appreciate that it wasn’t too strong and artificial. This definitely doesn’t taste like any sort of fake coconut candy, it’s nutty, buttery, and ever so slightly sweet. The buttery-ness is a fantastic complement for this oolong. I like the thin, light body in spite of the rich flavor. I had a vanilla scone with the second steep, which was a great complement. The richness of the vanilla brought out the almost savory popcorn flavor of the tea. By the 3rd steep, the toasty flavor of the coconut was starting to become even more subtle and it seemed more like an unflavored oolong (but still tasty as hell), a little more vegetal, not quite as sweet, but still nutty.

I shared 4 steeps with my coworkers, and they all enjoyed it as well. :)

haven’t stopped by for awhile, but I’m here now! Had this last night with dinner at a great local restaurant, IZA, alongside a fatty curry. I liked it. Enough said…xo

This is the tea that really got me into oolongs. The coconut smells a lot stronger than it actually tastes. It is very smooth, a perfect afternoon tea. Light and gentle on the stomach, not too much caffeine. I will definitely be getting more of this in the future!

This is by far my favorite tea from Rishi Tea. It is heavenly tasting! The Bao Zhong used is good quality and the toasted coconut flavor is perfect. The coconut does not overwhelm the flowery notes from the Bao Zhong.

You can steep this a number of times (3-4). I think this tea tastes best chilled but it’s also lovely hot.

This tea— milky, creamy, smooth, light, subtle— is to me what I’d imagine sunlight to taste like on an Island morning. I am not even joking. Nope. No exaggeration here. Literally, it is that good. A wonderful representation of a scented Pouchong! A world-class ambassador for flavored teas.

Mmm! I love the coconut! The tea has a light perfumey background, and a slightly creamy texture. The smell is amazing! I love this as a desert tea, or when I just want to relax. Very soothing. I always want more of it. I will probably order more. I prepared it gongfu style, with a gaiwan.