Peach

This is a free sample that I won in a Facebook giveaway by Teaves Tea Company. I have held off trying it until my tastebuds were more cooperative because I wanted to give it a fair and thorough tasting.

The aroma of the dry leaves is not simple peach. The very generously sized package says this is oolong tea, osmanthus flowers, jasmine flowers, and natural flavors. I pulled a white chunk out of the dry mix and popped it in my mouth. Mmmmm, pretty sure that was a dried peach bit and it was delicious. But there is something else here, something extra that I can’t put my finger on because I am not as brilliant with flavors as so many of you are. At first I thought it was a hint of vanilla, then I thought chocolate, then BRANDY! I don’t know if I have ever had brandy – I don’t drink because I tried it when I was young and it REALLY wasn’t a good idea for me, LOL! But this is what I imagine a rich brandy would smell like, and I can imagine pulling someone from dangerous frigid waters and pouring this very thing down their throat for immediate comfort and warmth.

Because the sample is so large, I want to try it hot even though they say it is typically enjoyed iced. The first steep is dark for a oolong. I am drinking it from my double walled tiny glass cups and the color is just beautiful. It is a peachy orange amber, so clear and shining. The peach flavor is the dominant one, of course, and I would say this tastes like a hot, bubbling peach cobbler, freshly baked, rather than like a peach just picked off the tree. The jasmine is light and comes across as a sweetness, but it isn’t strong enough to be off-putting to people who don’t like jasmine.

The second steep is fabulous! The color is a little lighter, I would call it a golden peach amber now. And the taste is a little lighter on peach now and the osmanthus is stepping forward and making this taste lemony – a fresh lemon taste, not a tart, puckery lemon taste. It reminds me of the hard candies that come in a little round tin at our local German grocery. A hint of dryness makes me think this would be fantastic for pairing with food.

This was really great! Thank you, Teaves, for the opportunity to try your tea! I plan to try it iced as well, because there is more than enough here to try lots of different ways!

I won this in Teaves October giveaway, and they sent me a really big sample! I brewed up a cup this afternoon while Rayn and I watched some Avatar episodes and we both liked it. The flavor is right on the nose a big, juicy, ripe peach! I also tasted a little hint of lemon in the background. I think this would make a fantastic iced tea – in fact, I think I’ll do that.

A generous sample sent my way from Ashmanra. The scent coming out of the press is peachy keen (stop groaning). This is light to medium bodied. It reminds me of Hedley’s Peach Apricot. That one has a black Ceylon base that is obvious in the mix. This one has no apricot and an oolong base. The oolong in this first cup stays mostly hidden. I guess it is the osmathus and jasmine that are responsible for what I am detecting as apricot. This is nice and light with a long lingering peachy aftertaste. The more it cools the more peach it becomes. It has just a touch of drying astringency.

On the second cup, the strangest thing happens. This turns into lemon drop tea. Ashmanra advised me this would happen. It is still sort of peachy but this now tastes more lemon flavored. This is cool – two teas in one. It’s like Indiana weather. Give it five minutes and it will change. Can’t wait to see if there is a third cup in this leaf.

Cup three when hot is straight lemon balm. As the cup gets cold the peach comes back in to play. I could catch the tea base every now and then. I thought this on the second cup but did not mention it – the oolong base tastes like Darjeeling to me, or maybe like the tea sold by Charleston Tea Plantation. I don’t mind. The point is it does not taste like any oolong I have ever had. This tea keeps me guessing and that makes it interesting to me. I like it.

Finally got my first order of Teaves tea in the mail. I ordered this peach oolong as well as a sencha reserve and I have to say that both of them were pleasant surprises. I don’t like to try new companies often because I don’t like change, BUT I think I should change that about myself. I gave this company a try because the site looked appealing and I am interested to see what other companies have to offer. This peach oolong tea is the best one yet. Offers a great balance of fruit flavor to tea flavor ratio and I’m a sucker for oolong’s and peach so they had me from the start. Packaging is interesting and unlike any I’ve seen yet. It’s a very clean and simple look with all the necessary directions and information that should be on a package. I’m definitely checking them out again to see what else they have to offer. So far so good!