Organic China Oolong

I have always been a big fan of Oolong tea, but, I like some better than others. I didn’t expect to really like this one as much as I do, because it’s a darker Oolong, and most of the darker Oolong teas that I favor tend to be the Formosa Oolong teas. But this one really surprised me.

It is surprisingly light … and yet rich. It starts out very light, and as the sip progresses the flavor develops, starting out with sweet, subtle fruit notes and then slowly changing to a more roasted, even a charcoal-ish type of taste toward the tail of the sip. There are pleasant nutty tones toward mid-sip, and an undercurrent of honey-esque sweetness throughout.

Very nice, it reminds me of fall, when the weather starts to change and you can smell the aroma of wood and smoke coming out of the chimneys and filling the cool, crisp air. Then again, it could be that I’m just longing for autumn that everything is reminding me of my favorite season.

Thanks to Liberteas for this one!

This is pretty good! It’s a darker oolong but not charcoally. It’s crisp but not really woodsy. It’s a bit nutty, but a sweeter nut flavor.

I had a half cup hot and the other cold and I really like both! YUM!

Full review tomorrow April 5th on http://sororiteasisters.com/ but here are my snippets:

Oh yes, this is an oolong after my heart! Organic China Oolong from Whittard of Chelsea has every bit of that smokiness I adore in a dark oolong and a berry sweet note that drives me wild! The aroma alone is intoxicating, I would wear this as perfume, not that it tastes like perfume at all but it smells so dreamy!

The cup steeps into an amber vision of beauty with a clear view to the bottom of the cup. The first note I pick up is a light honey note, with a backdrop of maple, and wood. This is a very sweet cup considering its dark smoked nature.

I also get a brandied candied flavor in the tea, a brothy sensation in the mouthfeel that is welcoming and warming.

This tea does not really conjure up feelings of sitting by a campfire as much as it does feelings of walking in the deep woods sipping a hardy grog from a chalice or a canteen perhaps. It makes me feel more like Robin Hood than Roy Rodgers!

Hi all! Yet another Whittard tea but this time, because I was looking for something to replace my Milky Oolong, and I had the chance to visit a Whittard of Chelsea in Cambridge that stocked this tea. (The staff there are lovely, I recommend a visit!)

Some months ago the gentleman in the Covent Garden Whittard store gave me some of this to smell and it smelt gorgeous, at the time- alas, I wasn’t looking for another oolong for my collection! The leaves are large, a roasted dark brown, whole; again, it’s difficult measuring out quite how much I need of this when the leaves are like that. This time I gave myself a heaped teaspoonful or so, enough to make an acorn-brown brew. And wow… it smells suspiciously like ho-ji cha. I’ve had some bad run-ins with ho-ji cha, as tasty as it is, so already this makes me a little worried…

And… what do you know, it tastes remarkably like ho-ji cha! Thankfully it’s mellower to the end of the sip, a fruitier finish, but the immediate taste is definitely all from roasting. The further I get into this the more flavours are coming clear (slightly floral more than fruity, a mild earthiness like pu-erh, a warming, soft astringency developing)… Sadly, though, I was expecting something a little lighter and the initial ho-ji cha flavour has stuck. I miss my Milky Oolong dearly— I’ll just have to get some next time I’m in London!