Rare Orchid Oolong

I really need to have more oolong, it’s becoming one of my faves. This one is from the Steepster Select box. It has a sweet, floral scent I can’t quite place. The flavour is honey, mildly fruity, and some orchid. I rather like it.

I’ll have to try it again when I’m not having oatmeal.

This was very delicious! It had a sweet finish as well as smokey floral notes. I was very pleased with this tea. Will buy more!

Rare Orchid Oolong is quite the experience. Because of it’s ability to re-steep, this oolong continues surprising long after its first infusion. It is distinctly floral with mentionable sweet undertones. The flavor evolves as it is re-steeped, certainly a great investment for those who like exploratory teas and flavors!

Lovely—if I don’t rate it at the tippy top, it’s because I try to rate my teas in such a way as to make it easier to know which ones to buy again, so my favorite gets 100, and the next 99 and so on. Of the Oolongs I’ve tried, the only ones I liked as much or more were Sweet Silk, Big Red Robe—and my favorite tea of any I’ve tried—Oriental Beauty. Rare Orchid I’d definitely order again. It’s honeyed, silky smooth and fruity, but in subtle very drinkable ways that aren’t overwhelming. That’s just with the first steeping, I haven’t had a chance to try others—but it’s wonderful right from the top.

From my Steepster Select box March 2014. You’re gonna hate me for saying this, but all oolongs taste alike to me. WELL…all GOOD oolongs taste alike to me. I don’t notice a difference between this guy and the Iron Goddess we sell at Tea Hugger. Mayhaps the Fuijan Provence is steady in its water/soil quality so teas out of that region are similar. Mayhaps tea is complicated. Mayhaps I should have tasted our Iron Goddess side by side with this little Orchid. (Though “should” is the dirtiest of dirty words there is, y’know.)

Anyway, my tips are:
Don’t oversteep
Add a sprinkle of sugar to bring out the sweetness of the leaves

This was my favorite in the March 2014 ship of Steepster Select. My husband agreed – it really did live up to the tasting note it came with: “Silky mouthfeel with fruit and honey overtones.” Wow! The instructions said it can be steeped up to 5 times, but I thought it lost all the flavor by the 4th brew. But still, it had a lot of flavor.

What a lush and decadent tea
This feels like silk in your mouth and the fragrance
of the tea when your are drinking it is a subtle, floral, Heaven .
This has a divine, but not overpowering fruity flavor
with hints of honey.
The entire experience of my nose in the teacup inhaling deep & slow…
to holding the liquor in my mouth savoring each mouthful,
is delicate, yet intoxicating.
This is a Truly Exceptional tea.
Highest recommendation ;-)

Whoa! This rivaled my favorite oolong teas and really opened me up to something new and worthwhile! There were so many layers to this tea, it took me through quite a journey through 5 steepings! I brewed it gongfu cha style in a gaiwan for 1:30, adding 30 seconds each additional steeping. The aroma overall is of vanilla and a really sweet dewy floral. There are forest notes in there as well.

Steeping notes:
1. Floral and nectar tastes dominated the brew and it ended in a fruity peach or nectarine taste that lingered quite a while.
2. Now the overall flavor is of honey, a slight vanilla hint and with a slight astringency
3. More of the nectar flavor, lighter and sweeter than any of the steepings before with a hint of fruit flavor and a dry finish.
4. Even sweeter now and very mellow! There’s a lingering aftertaste like cantaloupe.
5. Sweet all around, toasted sugar and nuts.

This tea is simply wonderful. The diverse bouquet of scents and flavors is just tantalizing. There was so much diversity from one steeping to the next, and though the only downside in my opinion was the slight astringency in a few of the brews, overall this tea was very enjoyable and very unique.

I don’t enjoy most oolongs and hate the charcoal taste that most of them have when they’re inexplicably roasted. This one, however, isn’t roasted and retains wonderful flavors and aromas, even when steeped for a 3rd and 4th time.

Nothing new to share. I enjoyed this one during the early evening. It was my reward for the official ‘start’ of this year’s garden. I inventoried all of my seeds, took a garden walk while making a to-do list, & then picked one thing to do, which was pruning my apricot tree, & I did it. I feel pretty good!