Too much cocoa. In that sense, this reminds me of the kinds of Chinese black teas I don’t really like—it’s lighter and less malty (although still quite malty for an oolong, I think) than those teas, but still. I’m not even sure I would’ve been able to identify this as an oolong if I hadn’t known; although it does have that light, refreshing oolong aftertaste it also has a lot of characteristics I tend to associate with black teas. In addition to the cocoa, there’s also some honey. There’s not much in the way of florals or roasted notes, which is a minus point for me as I love both those kinds of flavors in oolongs. For reference, I brewed this western style (as I brew most everything).
I got this sample from either Nicole_Martin or Fuzzy_Peachkin —thanks to whichever one of you it was, and thanks to both of you for letting me try some of Teavivre’s teas—although this wasn’t a huge hit, many of the teas I’ve sampled from them have been, and I’m looking forward to placing an order soon.
