Six Summits

terrible. I’m not sure why, but I could barely finish the cup. In fact, I would have tossed half the cup down the drain if I hadn’t been on the bus and wanted to put my steeper away without spilling anything all over my stuff.
It was fruity and green like but was missing something, something I cannot pinpoint! blegh.
Rating: 70

Okay……so, yesterday my Teaopia opened as Teavana, so I went in and looked for something to try with my lunch, and this is what I ended up with after smelling many a very fruity and weird oolong tea. This smelled nice and clean and a little sweet from the berry fragrance (this one was sans berry in the mix btw), and after my ginseng oolong from the morning, I was left feeling unsatisfied in the oolong part of my heart, so I wanted an oolong.

I got this unsweetened, since I can take some straight oolongs unsweetened, but I definitely think this would have had more wow if it had been lightly sweetened. Oh well. I can’t say it was horrible…I did pick up the raspberry scent, but really, I found the tea rather unremarkable. Not good for my first Teavana experience (aside from the genmai cha I got many years ago, but really, it’s hard to fudge up a genmai cha).

I’m fearful of the new changes. I hope to high heaven I find something there that I like. I don’t have a DAVIDs in my mall, and my other options are Starbucks and TImmies. I do often bring my own tea into work, and sometimes I have pre filled sachets as well, but I like being able to go to the opposite end of the mall for a tea break, and…the most of the staff knows me and I am friends with a few of the girls there.

Cons, while the staff are still super friendly and helpful to me there, the cost has gone up on the tea bar items. I was told it was better quality tea than before, but when most of the teas are littered with heavy fruits, I don’t know that the quality of the tea is gonna really shine. Some of those blends are so incredibly complex, I just don’t know what to think.

I think I got this from Tamm. Not sure. I’ve been doing so many swaps lately and just tossed all my samples together. I suck.
The looks really pretty. Dark green against bright red. Lovely. I wasn’t expecting much from the taste since that was just too many dried berries in there. I added extra leaf so that I’d taste the tea. This tastes mostly like tart freeze dried raspberry… I think this is one of those teas that Teavana formulated so that it only tastes good sweetened. When it cools, you can detect the floral and slightly vegetal oolong base. It’s a shame about the berries because I think the oolong would be a lot tastier without them. And the berries would be a lot tastier in my cereal.
I may try this cold brewed for my husband. :) I think it would work better that way.

I received this one from Tamm Smells pretty nice when I opened up the bag. However I’m baffled that there seems to be multiple versions of this tea…with and without berries. Kind of like Special K with and without berries. It’s not bad…but I’m not seeming to get a whole lot of flavor…Oolong or raspberry. For the price they have on Teavana’s website I guess I’m expecting more. Maybe that’s just me.

Looking back at this, apparently I have never rated it though, it isone of the first teas I bought from Teavana. Long story short, I finished up this sample today/yesterday because one of my friends bought way too much of it at Teavana on Wednesday (so I inherited some). I did not combine the samples, as I normally would have because they are the same tea, because Teavana decided to “revamp” this tea recently by removing the raspberry flavor and adding actual little pieces of raspberries.

The original tea itself was just plain oolong with no pieces of fruit added, there was some strange essence of raspberry within the tea though. The aroma was faint with the dried leaves, but with the hot brewed tea, the aroma was definitely there. The flavor was mild, it tasted like a slightly fruity oolong. The raspberry flavor was not really describable, you tasted some sort of fruit, but it was not tart or bitter like some of their other fruity teas, instead it was sweet and gentle.

The old batch I rate at a 70.

This “new and improved” formula has little pieces of raspberries in it. You can see the pretty little chunks mixed amongst the darker leaves. The fragrance of the dried leaves is still gentle, but it is definitely stronger in the brewed tea. Also, the liquor is a slightly different color, a little darker than the previous version. The flavor is about the same though, it was really just an aesthetic upgrade.

I was gonna say “wow I think this is my favourite Oolong yet!” and then I read about it a little more on the teavana website and realized there’s actually raspberry flavouring in it.. soo, not actually a straight Oolong.

Either way, I really like this tea. Yeah, you can taste the raspberry, but before I knew it had it in it I didn’t even really notice it. I noticed the sweetness, and that kind of berry/floral taste, but not anything that jumped out like crazy artificial flavouring.

My favourite thing about this tea is the kind of woodsy taste it has to it. It has the same floral notes as the last Oolong I tried (Thai Mountain from Teavana) but not as strong and more subdued by the woodsy flavour and the added sweetness from the berry falvour.

Overall, a good cup of tea! But disappointed it wasn’t actually straight like I thought it was when I ordered it.

Note: I should add that there are different versions of this tea. The one I had has no berries in it.

Last night was surprisingly cold for Quito, Ecuador. It rained all afternoon and it got so cold at night that I actually put on a jacket inside the house! (We have no need for air-conditioning or heating because it never actually gets THAT hot or cold. In a way, that really convenient, but also I really miss the cold and snow…) I was really happy for the cold because it meant I had a great excuse to curl up in a blanket and sip a hot cup of tea!

I decided to go for this tea. I had tried the version with no berries in it a few years ago (and I am happy to see that the berries have been once again taken out of the blend!), but ordered it last time I got tea from Teavana and I was super sad to see that it was full of berries. Almost as many berries as tea leaves… My first reaction was shock. I couldn’t believe that I had payed that much money for 50% oolong and 50% raspberries… I wanted tea, not fruit… Oh well… After getting over my disappointment I tried to figure out how much dry tea I should use for my usual 16oz of hot water. It was hard for me to figure out because the amount of berries in each spoonful looked so much more plentiful than the tea. I decided to go for 3 teaspoons to make sure enough oolong made it in to my cup.

I steeped the first brew for 2 minutes in boiling water. I haven’t mentioned before that since Quito is at such a high altitude (3000 meters above sea level) water boils at 194F. Which means that all my temps are off by a bit when I talk about boiling water.

The brewed tea was a nice pinkish color, probably all due to the ridiculous amount of raspberries in the leaves. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I actually did smell oolong and raspberries in my cup!

The taste was better that I thought it would be. My complaint would be the added sour sensation that came with the fruit. After I got over that, there was a delicate raspberry flavor followed by a tiny bit of woody ending a sweet oolong afertaste. I love that I still had the oolong experience in my cup! It could have been much better if the tart, sour pieces of berry weren’t there to interfere.

The second brew (3 minutes) was more oolong and less berry, which I approved of. There still was a bit of tartness that felt out of place, but the oolong was tasty enough to keep me from focusing on it. Thankfully. The first flavor I got was tiny bit grassy, which I wasn’t expecting, but enjoyed. The sweet aftertaste to this oolong was stronger in the second brew.

I had a third brew of it this morning (forgot it brewing so I have no idea how long it brewed… ooops…). Even though the leaves steeped for a while, I didn’t get any bitter. I enjoyed it just as much as my second cup.

So, to sum it all up, it was good, but could be better. It is a decent oolong and as far as flavored oolongs go. I don’t think I will be paying for it again, but I will enjoy it while it lasts. : ) Maybe one day I will decide to try the non-raspberry pieces added version again… Maybe.

Hello and good morning Steepster! I’ve come to notice that despite threats of snow I have stayed clear of the white stuff. My landlord just took out my ac unit that was blocking the window in my living room. I feel like my house is less of a cave now! :)
This tea was something that I snagged 4-6 oz of for free. Teavana was giving this stuff away like candy so I have quite the amount. The one that I am drinking is the version with dried raspberries in it. I think that my favorite thing about oolong is the leaves. The beautiful curled leaves become humongous as they unfurl and they are so pretty!
I’m a little out on the availability to re-steep this. The dried fruit pieces actually look kinda blah after using them. Maybe in a bit I will try taking out these pieces because I know that the actual tea could probably withstand at least 2-3 more steeps.
The brew does not really smell overtly fruity to me. In fact to me it seems like the suggested temp (195) is a bit high. The flavor is actually pretty nice. It’s not going to blow my socks off, but it’s light and slightly floral. Which is what I’ve come to expect from oolongs in general. The tongue feel is very smooth! I think that is what I enjoy about this one the most.
This is a decent brew. I don’t think it would be something I picked on a regular basis, but it is very relaxing. I’m going to try to re-steep this later. :)

Steep Information:
Amount: 7 tsp
Water: 1200ml at 195°F
Tool: Breville One-Touch Tea Maker BTM800XL
Steep Time: 5 minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: vegetal
Steeped Tea Smell: berry, toasty
Flavor: berry, bitter, toasty
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: berry, astringent
Liquor: translucent orange-brown

It seems to have had it’s recipe altered over time and then gotten discontinued.
I believe I purchased it because it was nice iced. It’s not bad, but not remarkable.

Resteep:
1200ml at 195°F for 6 minutes
slightly bitter raspberry, still nice and toasty, smooth, a little nutty

Rating: 2/4 leaves

Blog: http://amazonv.teatra.de/2013/01/23/teavana-loose-lea-oolong-tea-six-summits-oolong/

I got this lovely tea today at the sale. The aroma of the dry leaves is buttery and sweet. The flavor is buttery and slightly floral with light berry notes. I actually really enjoy it :) the flavors work well together.

I’m a huge fan of this one. It’s got all of those awesome layers that come with the territory of being an Oolong tea, which I’m greatful for. If you pay attention, you’ll really get into the deeper flavors, which are awesome. There’s definitely a lot of dark berry flavors (blackberry, pomegranate, etc) on the down-low.

I also love the fact that you can steep this tea multiple times. It’s got great “replay value”. You can tell from the first sip that it’s a really high-quality tea.

I had a small cup of this this morning, and had planned to resteep all day. But I must not be in an oolong mood because I sure haven’t continued one with it! It was kindof berry flavored, at least. I’m blaming the weather. I’ll have to have something iced this evening.

This oolong from Teavana is a new one for me. Despite a fruity scent to the dry leaves and dried raspberries blended into the mix, this tea doesn’t really smell like raspberries and it doesn’t taste fruity at all. I certainly enjoyed what seems to be a good quality oolong with a very rich, nutty flavor, and I’ll be drinking this again. It’s a quality oolong regardless of fruity essence or lack thereof. Haven’t yet tried multiple steepings, but I think this tea would hold up well to multiple infusions. Thumbs up, Teavana!

This is the tea that made me like tea. The “original recipe” (green oolong and raspberries) was the perfect subtle balance. It didn’t specifically taste like raspberry, but there was definitely a little something extra to the leaves themselves.

If you’ve tried the “new version”, I’m sorry. Teavana has added strawberries to it, and has shredded the fruits instead of leaving them as whole dried pieces. It looks like Special K, and just about tastes like it too. Luckily enough people have complained, and in October or so it will be going back to the original!

My ratings are for the “old” version. It’s light, and less floral tasting than a Tieguanyin, but with the flavor of dark green like a forest after rain. The smell is very clean, with just a little sweetness at the end.

Just talking about it is working up my appetite. After I finish this mate I’ll have to go fire up my Yixing for this tea. :)

I purchased 5 oz. of this tea because it was on sale after the holidays and it smelled like raspberries. Who could pass up a delicious smelling and cheap oolong at the mall? Not this guy!

My version did not have any actual dried raspberries in it (as some have seen) but retained a pleasing raspberry aroma. I was told by an imposing swarm of hawkish Teavana sales staff this was a “natural” flavor and no raspberries or artificial flavor were added to the tea. I think they were confused by this tea as well.

I’ve had a lot of Six Summits to get through so heres the bottom line. The raspberry flavor lasts fleetingly for the first steep. Okay. So its flavored oolong… I wish Teavana would just flat out call it “RASPBERRY FLAVORED oolong” and not skirt around the issue here. Beyond the raspberry flavor (which is enjoyable, adulterant or not) lies a fairly tame oolong: slightly floral, mild vegetal musk, not unpleasant just thin and somewhat unremarkable compared with the rest of the field. Multiple infusions don’t bring out a whole lot more from this tea, I never felt compelled to go beyond 3 or 4.

Overall, the raspberry and mild oolong character lends itself well to blending with other teas – hot or iced – which is always a plus and cannot be said of every oolong. I’m glad I purchased this tea on sale, its tasty, but pretty thin once the novelty of raspberry wears off. Aside for blending, my remaining Six Summits has taken a back shelf to some of the more complex and full bodied oolongs out there.

You know, I normally really like Oolongs, and I was excited to try this one. But…it just really doesn’t taste like anything.

Six Summits is a first time Oolong for myself. It has an earthy taste. I compared it to green tea, but it is unlike green tea in the sense green tea tastes more like a vegetable.

Very good for a flavored Oolong. A light roasted Oolong similar to a tie kwan yin. Lightly scented and flavored with raspberries. Great aspect is that the raspberries don’t detract from the tea itself. Probably one of my favorites from Teavana.

How I love this tea. The raspberry is the perfect complement, and it’s a true raspberry flavor that doesn’t totally overpower the oolong. A very nice light, refreshing, beautiful tea.

A good Oolong, It had a bit to strong of a floral note for my taste, But I would definitely recommend it to someone who like a subtle sweet taste, I did see that others who had bought it thought it was supposed to have raspberries in the tea but what I was told was that the tea trees grew in what was once a raspberry field and that is were the taste comes from.