I feel like I’ve probably had osmanthus before, but if I have, I don’t recall it.
The dry leaf is small rolled balls of green oolong sprinkled with small bits of orange flowers.
Steeping, I was hit by an intense sweet caramel fragrance, that I initially thought was contamination from last night’s caramelly tea, till I realized I made that in a different steeping basket.
Along with the rich caramel fragrance, there were also notes of peaches and apricots.
The tea brewed up to a clear gold colour, and on the palate tastes of peaches, apricot, hay and that vegetal note that’s unique to minimally oxidized oolongs. A sweet floral note is present in the first steep and became much bolder in the second.
There’s a slight buttery quality to this tea which makes it smooth and creamy. Not a bit of astringency.
A delightful and unique (to me) cup. I used about 1/3 of my sample, and I look forward to trying out the rest brewed in my gaiwan, and with the aroma cup.
Thank you to Tea Ave for the free samples and lovely tea set.
Flavors: Apricot, Caramel, Creamy, Floral, Hay, Peach, Smooth, Vegetal
