Arum Tea

I don’t think I’ve come across a black tea quite like this before. For starters, it’s appearance reminds me more of an oolong. The leaves are black/brown in colour, but they’ve been rolled into oolong-like pellets, complete with leaf stem! The scent also puts me in mind of a dark roasted oolong – it’s rich and kind of earthy, with a metallic tang. I guess these characteristics could describe a black tea too, but I personally associate them a lot more with darker oolongs, as I do the leaf preparation. Still – we shall see! I used 1 tsp of leaf for my cup, and gave it 3.5 minutes in boiling water. The liquor is a medium golden-brown, so I made no additions.

Read my full review here: http://sororiteasisters.com/2015/09/20/organic-black-tea-arum-tea/

Backlog:

The appearance of the dry leaf reminds me a lot of an Oolong pellet. It’s a different color, of course, most of the ‘pelleted’ Oolongs are greener in color and these are chocolate-y brown, but they are still tightly wound into pellets. They have a warm, nutty aroma that’s slightly sweet and slightly earthy.

A very rewarding flavor. It is reminiscent of a Nilgiri tea. Somewhere between a Nilgiri black and an Oriental Beauty Oolong. In my full-length review of this tea: http://sororiteasisters.com/2014/10/14/organic-black-tea-from-arum-tea/ I mention that I get the texture of the Oolong while I taste a smooth, malty flavor of the Nilgiri.

A really lovely Black. I enjoyed it.

Backlog:

The dry leaf reminds me of an Oolong, although the aroma is different. The flavor is also quite different.

A very flavorful green: sweet, notes of vegetable, butter, notes of flower. I also pick up on notes of melon.

A pleasant, light, refreshing green tea. Here’s my full-length review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2014/09/27/organic-green-tea-from-arum-tea/

Never had a green tea that tastes like floral before, so this one is a first!
It’s still mostly grassy, but it definitely has floral notes in it. It looks like it could be an oolong because the leaves are wrapped up in little balls, so even though the name had the word “green” in it, it still threw me off a bit. xD
If it had been more floral and less bitter, I’d have liked it more. But always glad to broaden my tea horizons! Thank you, LiberTEAS for the sample! :D

Light Oolong. A very fitting name!
This one is really really light. Soft floral notes. A nice tea for tonight (:
Thank you, LiberTEAS for the sample! (:

Backlog:

I tried to time my sampling of this and the Medium Oolong from Arum to be fairly close together so that my memory was fresh. I wanted to see if I could taste the difference between the Light and the Medium.

The dry leaf looks very similar. But the brewed liquid is different – this one definitely has a lighter color and the flavor is lighter also.

The tea begins very delicately, but as I continued to sip, the flavors developed. Light, earthy, with subtle herbaceous notes. A smooth tea. It’s not really buttery or creamy, but it has a smooth silky texture and flavor. Distant fruity notes. Floral notes that develop as I continue to sip.

Later infusions became even smoother, more seamless.

The biggest differences between the two: the medium was more of a nutty, honeyed flavor while the light has more fruit and flower notes. Both are really good and I recommend exploring both! Here’s my full length review for the Light Oolong: http://sororiteasisters.com/2014/09/15/organic-light-oolong-tea-from-arum-tea/

Hmm…this one is interesting. It’s definitely woody. But not the normal woody. It’s like a softer wood flavor. It’s not actually as bad as the usual wood flavor I get.
But still…Wood. Not a fan. xD
Thanks for the sample though, LiberTEAS!

Backlog:

This was the first Oolong tea from Indonesia that I can recall having tried. The dry leaf looks a lot like a TieGuanYin, the leaves have been wound into pellets. So, I brewed it similarly to how I would steep a TieGuanYin.

My earliest infusions had a floral aroma and a sweet honey flavor. Beneath the honey tones I noticed flavors of nut and flower. The floral flavor lingers into the aftertaste. Later infusions were still sweet but a little crisper and a little more astringent than the first couple of infusions. I still get quite a bit of honey flavor – in fact, the last infusions were more honeyed than the first – and still a strong nut and floral taste.

A really delightful tea to explore. Here’s my full-length review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2014/09/04/organic-medium-oolong-tea-from-arum-tea/

This is a 50% oxidized oolong from Indonesia! Organic too!

This oolong has a nice silky texture with plenty of roasty nuts notes (chestnut walnut) and honey flavor. Later steepings I got yellow squash and bread flavors. A little bit of dryness in later steepings as well. I found this tasted similar to a Dong Ding, but with more roasty richness.

Full review on my blog, The Oolong Owl http://oolongowl.com/organic-medium-oolong-arum-tea-tea-review/