Golden Phoenix

This tea has sure taken me on a ride. First of all, the dry leaf smells intoxicating. Swirls of fresh orange zest with a squeeze of grapefruit, topped with a pinch of cinnamon. It’s exactly what I’m looking for in an orange spice tea.

The cinnamon comes out more once steeped. But the real confusion happens with the flavour.

First couple sips, alright, it’s citrusy, a little spicy. I was actually expecting more cinnamon but that is not a complaint.

But as this started to cool off, there was something in here that reminded me of something else. What is it? Is it a vegetable? I think it’s a potato or something. No, no it’s not. It’s something I get at a Japanese restaurant. Huh. Halfway through the second cup, I was getting warmer. It’s something with tempura batter on it. Eureka! It’s broccoli tempura. That semi-green base must be playing mind games with me.

I will see when I drink this next time if this bento box lunch special will be jumping out of my cup again.

This is one of very few flavoured pu’erhs that I can throw a scoop of into the bottom of my travel mug, top with water, and let it go all day, topping up the water as it gets low.

I was really excited that it contains grapefruit, I LOVE grapefruit, but have few teas with it in them. It gives the tea a different citrus kick than the usual orange or lemon, and the extra tang really cuts through the earthy pu’erh to make the cup feel fresh. The cinnamon is subtle in the steeped cup, and intensifies with time.

I usually throw it in the bottom of my Timolino, fill with water, and then it takes about an hour with the top off to be able to drink it. So I’m going to write the following bit as if each steep is about an hour:

First: the grapefruit really shines in the first steep. It’s sweet but tangy, lightly spiced, with a really rich finish. It reminds me a bit of breakfast. Half a grapefruit with a cinnamon bun and cup of ceylon. I feel like the pu’erh is lighter than most in my collection, and tastes like a slightly earthy, slightly malty Ceylon, and I think that’s why I love it extra much.

Second: the grapefruit is still there, but milder, the pu’erh is a bit bolder, more earthy, more malty, more like my other pu’erh. The cinnamon really comes out in the second cup. Reminds me of Christmastime, and those oranges with the cloves poked into them. Really comforting cup!

Third and beyond: more of a cinnamon pu’erh, the citrus is almost gone by the third, and totally gone by the fourth. The pu’erh has softened again, and is back to feeling like a mild black. I like to add a splash of oat milk at this point, and it looks like chocolate milk in my cup! haha! I usually squeeze about 5 cups out if I start with the leaf in the bottom of my cup first thing in the morning.

If anyone is interested in a sample, I have LOTS (probably 250g right now) and since I work up the block from the shop, I can always go get more with very little effort, so I’m happy to send a couple cups’ worth :)

I’m drinking my last serving of this, the one I bought maybe 5 or 6 years ago. It still tastes good, although a bit dusty, and I’m wondering how the new stuff will compare! The puerh is in the background, isn’t fishy, isn’t too strong. The cinnamon is there and sweetens the tea. The citrus (which I could still smell when I scooped the tea out this morning!) elevates it beyond a simple cinnamon tea.

This is definitely a comfort tea. I used to drink it every day at work, when I had a contract position at an office that resulted in me responding to maybe 2-3 phone calls and up to 10 emails per day. Yeah, that was a simple job. I listened to a lot of podcasts, and drank a lot of tea. Here’s hoping I can find another contract like that once I finish in April, so I can focus on my theory class and my research assistant/admin work in my off hours. Yes, I will need the three jobs to pay my student loan back. The numbers frighten me!

This one always smelled like sour cinnamon to me and I’ve never been able to make up my mind on how I feel about that. Separately, I am both a huge citrus and cinnamon enthusiast but putting them together is a hurdle I had to jump in order to appreciate this tea.

The basic tastes do some impressive acrobatics here: sour-sweet-spice, a hint of sweet-salt, potentially from the calendula flowers, and even a bit of bitter (or more of a bit if you don’t steep it properly)… Wow. Despite all the crazy shenanigans I feel the cinnamon dominates and draws the most attention. There’s a lot happening to distract the unsuspecting casual sipper but the oolong is there underneath it all.
The result of this crazy collaboration is a warm, invigorating tea with a lot of spirit. It just takes a couple sips to get into the rhythm.