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Any of my tea peeps out there fans of Futurama? Remember that one episode where Zoidberg goes all mating frenzy and tries to woo fellow Decapodian, Edna using some serious Cyrano de Bergerac skills. Well, there is one scene where he asks her how her day was and she goes into detail ‘well first I got up and had a piece of toast, and then I brushed my teeth…’ and it just goes on!! Well, that is kinda how my day was, pretty run of the mill, though with pizza instead of toast.

As you all probably know, I was at the Midwest Tea Fest last week (more on that tomorrow) and I picked up a tea I had a great desire to try, Single Origin Tea’s Orange Blossom Oolong. This tea is a blend of highly oxidized Taiwanese Oolong, Orange Blossoms, and a pinch of Orange Essential Oil, this tea was sourced from a tea shop in Edinburgh, Scotland, specifically Anteaques Tea Shop, which is pretty cool. I wanted to try this tea because I have a weakness for oranges and orange blossoms mixed with my teas, I just love it, especially since I cannot actually eat oranges, I get my cravings satisfied with these teas. The aroma is a Florida explosion! A blend of fresh oranges and orange blossoms evokes the groves of citrus country along with sunlight and warmth, it is very comforting. There is a tiny hint of loam and cocoa underneath the well balanced blend of oranges and blossoms, adding a bit of depth to the aroma.

Into the gaiwan the leaves and petals go for a nice happy steeping, and of course my whole tea area now smells like orange blossoms and oranges, it is rather heady and very enjoyable. Sniffing the now wet leaves reveals there is more to this tea than just citrus and flowers though, there are also notes of toasted sesame, chestnut, cocoa, and a woody finish. The liquid is so citrusy! So much orange, even a bit of tangerine, it is like a citrus party in my nose, and now with woody undertones, and of course delicate heady orange blossoms.

Yum! Yum! Yum!! This tea is really quite yummy, with a start of sweet oranges and a finish of sweet orange. The midtaste is a blend of sesame seeds and walnut shells, with a delicate heady blend of orange blossoms and a touch of hyacinth. The mouthfeel is pleasantly smooth, no dryness at all, and the aftertaste starts with gentle oranges and just lingers for an eternity. The sweetness does not ever reach levels of cloying, which is a huge plus.

The second steeping has a pleasant orange aroma, though it is a bit diminished this time around. This allows the aroma of walnut shells and cocoa to shine more though, along with the delicate orange blossoms. Tasting the tea, it starts off smooth and sweet, with notes of cocoa and woodiness, and just a hint of orange blossoms. The midtaste has a rich maltiness and sweet orange that starts off delicate and builds into a juicy intensity at the finish. If you let this tea cool it becomes very sweet and rich, me thinks I might have to cold steep this at some point.

For the third steep, the aroma is a mellow blend of oranges and orange blossoms, with an accompaniment of cocoa and a tiny hint of nuttiness. The taste has mellowed out a good bit this time around, it seems that the shining light of this steeping is the orange blossom, heady and sweet with a joining note of cocoa. The finish is that of honey and it lingers. I loved this tea, but I love oranges and orange blossoms, so no surprise there!

For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2015/06/single-origin-tea-orange-blossom-oolong.html