And so it ends, Winter holiday that is. Yes, my sweetheart is returning to his classes and I am left home alone all day. This of course means I can go back to listening to (at times really bad) loud music without my taste disrupting other people. I decided that today was 90s Grunge and 80s New Wave day in contrast to yesterday’s 60s-70s Classic Rock. I wonder what tomorrow’s music will be?
Today’s tea, Caramel Apple Oolong by 52Teas represents a staple of Autumnal festivals. Oddly I am not a huge fan of caramel apples, I had an accident involving an apple and a tub of caramel which ended with me having a strong dislike of caramel. I have since gotten over my aversion to most caramels, though I still cannot stomach the caramel dip for fruits. This tea is a blend of Fujian Oolong and Fuji Apples, which is a great combination of ingredients, especially in the naming department. The aroma of this tea, oddly, is nothing like caramel or apples, the aroma is strongly of melons. I hate melons, there are few foods that illicit a grimace from me like melons. It is sweet, cloyingly so. The aroma of the tea is pretty off-putting, but I am willing to try it out…sometimes aromas can be surprising.
The brewed leaves still have a bit of melon, but I am also noticing the sweet yet tart aroma of apples and the burnt sugar aroma of caramel. The liquid is rich and sweet with notes of apple and melons. Why are there melons?
I am going to start this by saying I like the Oolong base, it is rich and sweet with caramel notes (ok that actually could be from the caramel) and a bit of of a woodsy flair. However the flavorings added to the oolong fall flat for me. I think the apple flavor is sour and artificial (apple is one of those flavors I tend to be really hard on though, so it could be me just being picky) and there is that taste of melon that snuck in from somewhere. The finish is sweet and caramel-like, which is good, I am glad the aftertaste is not melon or sour apple. This is definitely one of those teas that I can tell is a good tea that I just didn’t like, so I will recommend it to people who like sour apples and inexplicable melons.
For photos and blog: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2014/01/52teas-caramel-apple-oolong-tea-review.html
Aw, I’m sorry you didn’t like this. :( It sounds like it would be absolutely scrumptious – I’m a huge fan of sour apples.
Aw, I wish I still had some left, I would send you some to try.
That’s okay, thank you for thinking of me though :)