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Woah. This tea is one of the more interesting ones I’ve had in a while! COURTESY OF AUGGY, who is amazing, if you didn’t know this already. Seriously amazing. Tea goddess. Not lying.

So I had a rough night last night, and as a result, I probably only got three hours of sleep. Can you say, “BRAAAIINNS?” Yeah, nearly comatose. I needed a pick-me-up. And since Auggy’s Citron Oolong was just sitting here, looking sad and neglected, I figured I’d steep some up. Cause that’s what we do at Steepster. We steep tea. Then think we’re important enough to log our thoughts. I don’t know where I’m going with this.

Anyway, I measured out the required 1 tbsp (and my eyes bugged out at how HUGE the tablespoon looked this morning – read: I AM NOT AWAKE) and dumped it into my IngenuiTEA. The leaves are little crackled-up balls, like someone made tea spitballs and then threw them into the mix. And there are lots of flowers. Lots. They’re very cute and delicate. The tea, overall, is very pretty dry. The smell was really citrus-y but light. Not like Lysol or a cleaning agent. I can’t really describe it.

Anyway, the tea did its little dance, and boy did the oolong do its dance. The leaves wasted no time unfurling and wriggling and becoming their gorgeous, russet-and-green selves.

The tea ate a lot of water. Because when I poured, my cup wasn’t as full as it usually is. But no worries! This might be one tea that actually smells better WET than dry! Mmmmm. It smells like the iced lemon cookies (those soft, squishy ones) that I sometimes have. Bake-y and buttery in a delicate lemon way.

The buttery really comes across in the smell of the infusion itself. The smell is mostly pure lemon, with this intense butter note. Hesitantly, I took a sip.

Okay, I can completely see the Fruity Pebbles comparison! Because now that I’ve read everyone’s comments, yeah, Fruity Pebbles, in sort of an awesome way. But I definitely taste delicious lemon notes, with a floral undertone. There’s a bit of orange in there too, but it’s hiding and it only really comes out if you concentrate on it with every sip. As for the oolong part… I’m not sure if I really taste it. Then again, I have little-to-no experience with oolongs, but I’m not tasting anything that rings soundly of teaness. Other people have mentioned that the oolong doesn’t really come through completely in this tea, and I’d have to agree.

I’m almost not minding that, though, because the tea is waking me up with its clean freshness and assertiveness. For all the citrus, it really is gentle, mild, and coaxing. Nowhere near the aggressiveness of something like bergamot. It’s not even really that sour or tart. No puckering here! Nor is it astringent, which is surprising, because sometimes citrus completely dries my mouth out. I’d have to say that this tea is female.

This is really, really interesting. I don’t think it’d be a daily drinker for me, but it’s fun, fresh, and eye-opening. I’m more awake and wired now than I ever was before, and I did it while drinking an awesome tea from Auggy (who is 3 for 3 with tea sent to me [that rhymed, lawl])!