2021 Spring Harvest
I don’t normally go for oxidized/roasted oolong, and was actually kind of leery when I realized that’s what I got here. This feeling of unease was confirmed on the first sip, which tasted like soapy roasted waffle cone, and then was abandoned on the proceeding second sip where it the cup became a lightly sugared waffle cone – minus soap (acceptable). I’m still not in love but I think the GABA style gives this a sort of fun sweet potato/stone fruit flavour on first steep. It keeps me amused and is growing on me as I sip away.
In summary: this tastes like a waffle cone, with sweet potato incorporation, and light sour cherry drizzling (also a hint of lime and cranberry). It’s sort of creamy so feels like vegan ice cream. If this had rosemary it could make a super convincing imitation of one of my ice cream favourites from Victoria’s Cold Comfort – Rosemary and Sour Cherry. It’s killer and here are all of the ice cream flavours they’ve made (many of which I think should become tea): https://www.coldcomfort.ca/flavours .
Western Style Steep Count: 4
Third Steep @ 2min30s: Starting to pick up cacao mixing with the stonefruit. Waffle cone is plain malt now. It’s tart and creamy. Still believe it’s begging for the herbaceous rosemary and think it’s partway there already with the more bitter notes. As the cup continues to cool, a huge dose of sweetness comes through that’s pretty fancy – it’s almost like cantaloupe. The sweet syrup disappeared when it reached room temp.
Flavors: Cacao, Cantaloupe, Cherry, Cranberry, Creamy, Fruity, Grain, Lime, Malt, Pastries, Powdered Sugar, Sour, Stonefruit, Sweet Potatoes, Tart
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I never thought about waffle cone as a flavor descriptor before, but now that you mention it, it makes sense!
It’s what my brain defaults on every time I have a roasted oolong no matter what I do! I often feel like I rank them on the quality of waffle cone (is it stale?) + and also “would I place the oolong’s other flavour notes near waffle cone” :)
I never thought about waffle cone as a flavor descriptor before, but now that you mention it, it makes sense!
It’s what my brain defaults on every time I have a roasted oolong no matter what I do! I often feel like I rank them on the quality of waffle cone (is it stale?) + and also “would I place the oolong’s other flavour notes near waffle cone” :)