Grapefruit Oolong

I dialed down the steeping time and this tea doesn’t taste as woody – I’m found out what the taste reminds me off. You know the temperate rainforest on the cost of BC (and Washington, Oregon)? The tea makes me think of wet cedar bark, slowly decomposing in the moist climate and covered with a thick layer of green moss. Or that might just be my inner Ecologist showing. ;)

I’m also picking up the spicy note a bit more clearly, it tastes like a mix of cloves and pepper. The grapefruit is just a subtle flavour in the background.

So I didn’t go to bed until nearly 5am because of a Formula 1 race, and then I had a weird dream where you could go to McDonalds and have Adagio tea. Because if you could sit down and have tea, a fast food place is the spot to do it.

I’ve been meaning to try this sample for awhile now, it smells amazing, but the taste is…very off. It tastes like pepper. Pepper and just a little citrus. It’s so definitely the oolong that is making it taste like pepper. And it’s kind of gross. I’m hoping letting it cool off will make it better.

It’s disappointing because I just picked up a six pack of San Pellegrino’s grapefruit soda for $1.50!! I don’t understand why it’s being discontinued because it tastes so good that I am drinking a second can today while drinking grapefruit tea and now I want a legitimate grapefruit.

My jaw is absolutely killing me tonight, and I don’t know what happened. I’ve had a problem that I’m sure is TMJ since I had braces and they put some robotic looking thing in my mouth to try to pull back an overbite. I’ve complained to my dentist before and I’m “too young to have jaw problems.” So if I end up at an urgent care place tomorrow because I’m crying we’ll see how that goes. There are periods where it’s feeling like it’s trying to separate from the rest of my skull, not even kidding.

Now it’s cooled and I still get the strong pepper notes. It’s not that terrible but I’d like just a bit more grapefruit from it.

For my Oolong today, I thought I’d try this tea from Adagio. I love grapefruit… I love Formosa Oolong, so I am thinking this has to be the bomb, right?

The aroma is nice… woodsy, slightly smoky even, with light floral notes and of course, citrus.

The flavor reveals a hint of buttery smoothness which I’ve found to be typical of greener Oolongs, but not so much of the darker Oolongs. I can taste the deeper, natural peachy notes of the Oolong which blend quite well with the bright, sunny taste of the grapefruit. The grapefruit is soft in this blend, but not quite as soft as I found the grapefruit black tea from Adagio Teas to be. Perhaps the softer flavors of the Oolong allow for the grapefruit flavor shine through.

A decent Oolong, and I look forward to another infusion!

Smells amazing! You can really smell the orange they added to it and it mixes very well with the scent of the grapefruit.

The taste is that of fruity pebbles. It makes for a great breakfast tea and I could see that with maybe a little sugar it would make a nice dessert tea.

Sipdown no. 188. The rest of the sample.

Still my favorite among the flavored oolongs. It is staying on the wish list. The grapefruit gives it a crispness that’s quite tasty.

Another from the box o’ tea I bought from LiberTeas a long time ago. I am surprised I didn’t drink this one up right away, actually. Grapefruit is something I really enjoy (though I am selective about it). I’ve only had grapefruit flavour in tea once or twice before so it is something I am interested in. Unfortunately, this is a sample that picked up weird odours in storage and I am not getting any grapefruit in the dry leaf or steeped aroma. I think this one might be a write-off.

I tend to enjoy dark oolongs though, so I persist with the knowledge that this probably won’t be an accurate tasting. The liquor on this one is yellowy orange and doesn’t give off a scent I can identify. I think the buttered popcorn from 52Teas might have gotten into this one, based on the smell.

Tastes give a slight sense of citrus and a hint of oolong at the end, but otherwise there is just some vague and undefinable sweetness and warm water – this is definitely a case of bad sample storage (Whoops). No numerical rating on here, I think I’ll just toss the rest of it. This would be a prime example of why I should not buy any more tea until I finish all I have!

Okay you guys… so… I went to a tearoom here in Milwaukee called Anaba Tearoom.

Very cool place! (Top floor is a greenhouse, main floor is a garden room, and basement is a beautiful teahouse.) I did my typical cafe/restaurant thing, and asked if they had anything excellent/unique that wasn’t on the menu. Sure enough! I ordered two of the options I was given…
-First Flush Houjicha (glorious)
-Grapefruit Oolong (magnificent) (especially paired with the ginger-apple-peanut butter sandwich that I had)

So I asked my server where this mystical Grapefruit Oolong came from. Adagio? Adagio! That’s what she hinted toward at least. So I’m not certain, but I believe it was an Adagio tea. Loved it!

I’ve had a grapefruit oolong once before. It was a blend of a Chinese green oolong (bao zhong probably – it was very crisp), orange blossom, and natural flavouring. It was good, but not nearly as good.

So I’m wondering…

Has anyone had the Adagio Grapefruit Oolong… or any other grapefruit oolongs (or similar teas) that you would recommend?
I’d adore your help! :)

Needed some tea for writing cover letters. I plan on making a celebratory tea order when I get a job, that should be motivation right?

I’m not sure why I got this, I’m not a huge fan of grapefruit. I like it, but won’t go out of my way to have it. In any case, this is really good! It’s got a nice grapefruit taste that doesn’t overpower anything. If it was stronger I’m not sure I’d like it. Citrusy and a bit sweet, nothing added to this at all. Very smooth, no astringency. I’m still new to oolongs so I don’t know a whole lot of what to look for but this is very tasty. Second steeping was just as good as the first.

Oh Grapefruit… Such a delicious fruit! So delicious, that for the longest of times I actually was positive it was called “Greatfruit”. I finally found out the hard way that it is actually grapefruit when I ordered “Greatfruit” and had a rude waiter stare me down and ask “Which great fruit???”. Hahahaha… Ooops…. So, once I got over being embarrassed and some reading later, I found out that the fruit got its name in 1814 when a botanist saw the Grapefruit clusters on a tree and decided that they looked like grapes. Vivid imagination I guess… Also, I found that the Grapefruit tree is an evergreen (I did not know that…)! Ok, back to the tea…

The small dark leaves that make up this tea are unimpressive at first glance. Broken leaves all a monotonous brown do not make for a beautiful blend. Thankfully, what it lakes in visual attractiveness it makes up in smell. It is sweet and citrus, perfect grapefruit aroma with a subtle woodiness from the oolong. Very appealing.

I brewed the usual 2 teaspoons of tea per 16oz of water. The liquor was a golden brown. The vapor rising from the tea carried whiffs of citrusy goodness.

The taste lived up to the smell. Sweet grapefruit (reminded me of pink grapefruit, which I can’t get in Ecuador…) with just the right amount of citrus, not quite enough for it to be sour which was perfect for me. The Oolong base worked really well with this flavor. The slightly woody first impression and the sweet smooth finish that Adagio’s oolong base has was a great compliment to the grapefruit. A little brown sugar highlights the grapefruit and dials down the woody (which isn’t overwhelming to begin with).

I really enjoyed this cup. It is perfect to go with breakfast it you aren’t in the mood for something creamy!

I only have a sample of this tea, but I believe I will be ordering more the next opportunity I have to put in an order from Adagio!

Also, I still think Grapefruit should be called Greatfruit instead! ; )

This one is actually a pretty delicious oolong, particularly in the summer- and it’s divine iced. I’m enjoying how the lightness and even clean feeling of the oolong combines with the brightness of the grapefruit. And sniffing the pouch is a kind of aromatherapy. I keep accidentally oversteeping this one, and then it starts to taste cardboardy- where is my mind these days?