Vanilla Silk Oolong

So after we all got together and decided to do a cheap Christmas this year (my brother dealing with a big move this past year, and we had the cruise coming up and down to one income), my sweetheart of a brother not only decided to give us six months of The Whistling Kettle’s tea of the month club, he also sent us two tins of tea, Vanilla Silk Oolong and Orange Ginger Oolong. I’ve already had two cups of this beauty this morning. It’s lighter and creamier than its DavidsTea counterpart. I daresay I like this one better! I’m about to go resteep the leaves for a third time, we’re definitely going to get a lot of use from these leaves. They’d fill up a gaiwan beautifully. The leaves in the tin are whole, not crushed or broken down and I just wanted to watch them uncurl. This was a great gift indeed and the taste is just as it promises, vanilla creaminess with some silky smoothness and a hint of citrus to keep it from becoming too rich. Yum.

I had this one iced last night as a parting treat from The Whistling Kettle. What a treat it was. It sort of reminded me of Lucky Charms marshmallows! In a good way – like a walk down memory lane to Saturday morning cartoons. Which were always watching with a big bowl of Lucky Charms. Very smooth and silky too. I need to try this one hot soon.

Sample sipdown!

This one, brewed, smells slightly buttery with strong notes of marigold and vanilla. I’m also picking up some lemon notes. I’m not thrilled on the marigold being so pronounced… but we’ll see.

Taste: I’m definately getting a lot of the floral marigold and vanilla aspects in the taste. There is a slight citrus thing going on as well. There’s a buttery taste in the very beginning of the sip that disappears into floral/vanilla very quickly. This is a VERY smooth cuppa, but unfortunately I don’t think it’s for me. It isn’t undrinkable, I just don’t think the flavors are working for me. The vanilla, in my opinion, is a little artificial tasting, even though the ingredients are supposedly natural. Maybe it’s the vanilla and the citrus together that is making me get this taste. Also, the marigold/floral taste is more pronounced than I was expecting. Finally, the creamy taste I was hoping for is limited to the beginning of the sip. While very smooth on the tongue, the flavor just isn’t showing up for me. =(

Overall, it’s not a favorite. I wouldn’t say it’s undrinkable. It just isn’t my cuppa. Vanilla can be hit or miss with me sometimes, so I wouldn’t blame the tea. Maybe if the person really liked vanilla/floral teas and was looking for something smooth they would enjoy this one more than I.

This tea has been keeping me company throughout the day today. The first steep was creamy but far too floral for my liking. The second steep is better – less floral, still creamy – with more smoothness coming out as it cools. Probably not one I’ll restock once my sample is gone, but it’s pretty tasty!

I love this tea. It feels so smooth in your mouth and not at all astringent like most black tea. I didn’t use much so the flavor wasn’t over powering but just enough- delicious. Creamy is the best way to describe it, although I know that’s not a flavor. Yum, going to re steep now

Two or so day ago, I went to go have breakfast at The Whistling Kettle and decided to try out a tea I’ve had my eye on for a while – the vanilla silk oolong from this fine place. The price was around $3 or $5 for a pot but well worth it.

It was a great choice and went well with my sandwich. As I always do my reviews while drinking said tea, I’ll have to do this one from memory so this isn’t going to be as descriptive as I desire. The tea was of very nice quality, normal for the Whistling Kettle, and was a very light and floral taste. The vanilla taste was not very prominent but it was pleasant because you could tell it was very delicately flavored with very good quality flavorings. However, the vanilla was there regardless. The oolong they used was also very yummy. I wish that I had some of this myself so I could give this an entire rundown like usual, but this will have to suffice.

Everyday I take a travel mug of oolong with me to work. I usually drink a light oolong, often Alishan. I received a large container of it from a taiwanese student. Each morning, I put 1-2 tsp of tea in my mug and then fill it with hot water. I drink it throughout the morning, putting in more hot water at lunch and then some more during the afternoon. So, I look for teas that I can resteep in such a fashion and do not get overly bitter as they stew in the water. This one is a perfect example of this! It stayed nice tasting through three steepings.