Osmanthus Oolong

OMG! This is good. I love Tao of Tea… have I said that yet? This Oolong is so good.

I can’t talk now.

Must enjoy tea.

Apparently I need to dig deep in my tea pantry every so often because I forget what all I have. I just rediscovered this one, something sophistre sent me ages ago that I managed to hide from myself behind other teas. Which is a shame because it smells lovely – a little woody with a floral sweetness that makes me think of candied (but not super-sugary) flowers. Hopefully it will taste as good as it smells, because after accidentally dumping my meatloaf into the bottom of the oven, I need a little pick me up.

Four minutes seemed like a long steep so I went with three. The smell is gentle and woodsy and alternates between nectar-y and honeyed. There’s a little fruitiness that reminds me of Samovar’s Royal Garland, too. All signs point to happy tea-ness.

The taste is thinner, higher and sweeter than Royal Garland but it’s still really good. Very fruity on the front end, making me think of a papaya-flavored drink I had once. There’s an end taste that is cleanly woody and an aftertaste that is very fruity. Once again I’m thinking of papaya but that fruity taste is what I’m guessing the tasting notes are calling apricot, which I can totally see (though more dried apricots than fresh). The eventual aftertaste (after not sipping for several minutes) is an almost bitter/sour astringency that actually makes me think of sencha. It’s not desirable, but it’s not icky either. All in all, a very pretty tea. I’m glad I dug it out of my pantry!
^4g/8oz

Where have you been all my life?
Ahhhh! This is AMAZING!

I received a bit of this from LiberTEAs and I’m considering placing an order already!

This smells floral but also sweet and sugary and fruity! Almost like a combo of Apricots, Apples, and Grapes! LOVE the aroma of this!

There is a smooth-sweet taste and gentle floral notes on the tongue. A nice nutty/buttery aftertaste that makes me crave more!

A wonderful Oolong!

TY to ToiToi for a sample of this tea! Was nice to meet you at our Steepster meet!

OMG YUM! I ran this tea through my gaiwan and wow! It’s light and floral. The floral has this sunny citrus side to it, as well as a bit of sweetness. Second infusion the fruityness is mellowing out and I’m enjoying the wave of floral. The teeny yellow flowery Xs look very cute too!

Hmm, I may have to acquire more of this tea, or at least try another osmanthus oolong. Shoot, I’m supposed to be making dinner!

I bought tea advertised as “Osmanthus Oolong” by Tao of Tea, but the leaves I got are definitely a green oolong, not like the picture of the more deeply oxidized leaves! Mine are tightly rolled green leaves sprinkled with dainty little osmanthus flowers! I drink this pretty often since I got a big sack of it. I’m pretty relaxed about steeping times and temperature – I give the leaves a quick rinse to open them up, but then I use water that’s been boiled and has cooled off for a bit.

The first infusion, predictably, packs the most osmanthus flavor. The osmanthus combines with the oolong to create a bright apcricot inflected brew, with a sweet, fruity sparkling citrus quality and a lightly green floral tone. The apricot flavor reminds me more of dried than fresh apricot. It has a slightly astringent, sort of sour aftertaste, but that’s not necessarily a strike against it, as it seems in keeping with the fruity osmanthus flavor.

Subsequent infusions lose a lot of that sparkly quality and steer closer to the smoother, rounder flavor profile of a typical green oolong, but with a lingering fruity-floral finish. I usually get a good three or four infusions out of this tea before I move on! I like this tea in the mornings because of its refreshing, sunny flavor.

This one surprised me. First time I brewed it, I didn’t like it at all – way too flowery – reminiscent of rose hips. Maybe a month later, I tried it again, and was very pleased. This is by far the most floral Oolong I’ve tried. You should really drink this one very hot, since the aroma and floral bouquet decay into a mundane, but never bitter cup of tea. Probably best Gongfu style.