well, now, this is NOT what i was expecting! while i’d usually consider most oolongs i’ve tried to be light, ethereal, floral, this one is none of those things. not that this is a bad thing, mind you. i went ahead and rinsed once, since i was suspicious of the dry leaf smell (which is not light, ethereal, or floral, but instead earthy, sandy, soil-y. but not in the pu-erh soil-y way), so my second and now third steepings of this are quite deep, reddish-brown colored, a beautiful tea really. the flavor is definitely not based in the scent, the way other oolongs are or can be. this one i just what it is. down to earth, honest-to-goodness, tea. no bitterness, this is quite smooth, which just a bit of astringency making it quite nice. not as heavy as a black tea, not as earthy-mushroom-y as a pu-erh, just basic. i quite like it, although i like others quite a bit more, so i’m not sure i’ll replace this once it runs out.
195 °F / 90 °C
2 min, 45 sec
2 g
12 OZ / 354 ML
american tea room does a very unexpected on as well: almost a spiced red wine plum chutney. not my favourite- but a creative approach.
ok that sounds really good to me, so i may have to try it!
=0)