Ginseng Oolong

I find this tea pretty groovy. It’s sweet and woodsy and comforting and refreshing… And for some reason I really like the sound the little pellets make as I toss them into my teapot. It’s so cheerful and tinkly. How do they make those little pellets, by the way? And why is it only ginseng teas that are pelleted?
4.6g/9oz

Some quick impressions (typed up between stolen moments at work):

Scent: Faintly like fresh hay and green leaves. Some sweetness.
Taste: Sweet and refreshing!! Very root-like with some fresh green earth. This has been steeping for awhile in my travel mug, so the taste is a bit toasty too.

I really like this tea—I like its sweet earthy green-ness. And it looks strangely cool also—like little dusty green pebbles of tea. They stay predominantly pebble-y while brewing too, with just a couple here and there gaining the courage to unfurl.

I was somewhat worried by this tea…my only experience with “ginseng” and tea was a Stash’s Ginseng Tea disaster. I was pleasantly suprised by this tea. Its very light..in fact I’m not getting much, if any ginseng. Perhaps a slight, little tingle after the fact.
The visual appeal of this tea is lacking…rabbit pellet tea, that’s what one co-worked called it; but, the taste is a nice, mild oolong. A bit of vegetable in the flavor, but not grassy.

Hmm….the pellets look like rabbit pellets. The blend contains licorice. But the licorice is not noticeable AT ALL. This is a mild oolong. Others have said it is woodsy. And it is. There is a vegetative aroma this tea. Smooth. Not bitter.

The pellets don’t look too appealing, and during the steep they don’t do much more then expand a little.
The aroma is sweet, and the taste is new to me, and quite pleasant. But I can’t place it. Maybe it’s the ginseng, or maybe it’s the tea. I didn’t taste any licorice.

I was able to get about 15 infusions in my gaiwan with this tea. Not going to lie, I probably could’ve done a few more, but I ran out of water (of all things). Has the perfect amount of sweetness and zero astringency. Leaves did not unfurl as much as I’d hoped, but still a lovely flavor and aroma nonetheless. Definitely recommend this to anyone and everyone!

I am glad I took time to have a cup of this tea today.

Delivering mild elements of unripe stone fruit and honey, Teas Etc has taken what may have been a shallow and relatively uninspiring oolong and deftly rounded out its flavor profile with just the right amount of ginseng (and apparently licorice root powder)

I don’t often drink flavored teas but when I do I drink Ginseng Oolong.
Stay thirsty, my friends.

PS: Bust up the pebbles after they’ve steeped for a while for a MUCH headdier cup.

When I first opened this, I was terrified! I thought something had gone wildly wrong between the time I bought this and the time I opened it, years later.

What a relief to see the picture on this page and read other notes that talk about the pellets!

I am doing the compulsory short steeps in the gaiwan starting at 15 seconds.

I know of ginseng only as an herbal supplement that is supposed to do various things for you and I certainly couldn’t tell you what it tastes like. But this tea has the following attributes:

Dry smell: wood
Steeped smell: wood and rocks
Flavor: wood and rocks

I taste no licorice, by the way. Though the fresh aftertaste is reminiscent of the effect in the mouth after chewing anise seeds.

The color is a light amber.

I’m glad I tried it. It’s tasty enough — a little toasty in with the wood and rocks. I might even keep some around just for the entertainment value of spooking myself every now and then with the pellets. (Why are they pellets, anyway?)

But the flavor doesn’t bowl me over.

Will do notes later.