I managed to nab Caramel Apple Oolong for Halloween. I’m glad I did because by the time I blinked, it was sold out! The aroma of this tea smells exactly like caramel apple lollipops (a melange of jolly rancher apple sour hard candy and caramel so sticky it pulls out your fillings). This is a nostalgic smell for me because it reminds me of my childhood. Caramel apple lollipops were my favorite candy especially around Halloween. I would dig through my trick or treat bag and pick them out leaving the copious amounts of sweet tarts, chocolate, starbursts and peanut butter cups behind.
Apple dominates the flavor and aroma of this tea, you can see huge fuji apple chunks in the dry leaf. The brew is a gorgeous amber color similar to aged whisky. The smell is divine, the sour apple candy smell dissipates and you get crisp and tart green apples and apple blossoms. I get hint of floral which I thought was interesting. There is an undertone of something sugary sweet but it is not recognizable as caramel. To my surprise, I don’t get the creamy caramel as I expect with most caramel flavored teas. I first get hit with apple. After the apple leaves my taste buds, I get carmelized brown sugar like the crackling top of a creme brûlée.
I am obsessed with Caramel Apple Oolong and I will be very sad when I get to the bottom of the bag. Caramel Apple Oolong makes for an amazing dessert tea. The subtle sweetness is perfect, no need for additives.
