I have been pining for Golden Moon Tea’s Coconut Pouchong for a long time now, but they are SO far down on my “to buy from” list (it’s just in order of stuff I have tried samples from – but between various samplers, promotions, and being distracted by 52teas /shakes fist at Frank, I keep putting it off)
Also, I am cheap. And poor.
So of course when I saw that Vices and Spices (to which, if you recall I had a $50 gift certificate courtesy of the BEST MUM IN THE WORLD) had a coconut pouchong, I decided to try it, knowing full well of course that it will probably not be as delicious (unless they are secretly sourcing from Golden Moon, but…I don’t know!)
I actually brewed up a bunch in my teapot rather than a single serving in my ingenuitea. Sadly, the water I used was too hot. I have recently switched over to a stovetop kettle as the wiring at my new place is…not that great and I have so far managed to blow a fuse twice – both times using my electric kettle. Anyway, I still have not figured out the new kettle’s “moods” regarding water temperature so I just let it boil. I could really tell that the water was too hot, because the leaves tasted kind of burnt and vegetal at first. As the tea steeped longer and cooled, it finally settled on that nice borderline oolong taste. Hurray!
Now, at this point, I do not really remember how Golden Moon’s Coconut Pouchong tasted, although I do recall being very pleased with it. I was very pleased with this as well. (well once it cooled) The coconut milk is not overpowering and goes well with the oolongish taste. I got three (giant doom coffee) mugs out of Ivan last night and was very satisfied – especially since each mug seemed better than the last. I love a nice forgiving tea that doesn’t mind how long it steeps!
I think I shall go grab some tea lights so that I can activate Ivan’s “pretend samovar” mode and keep this nice and warm for afternoon drinking.