This is a much overdue note on this tea, which came as a sample when Tea Ave first opened. I’m not sure why it has taken me so long to get to this, but I think it is in part that I was in a pu erh phase for a while, and then green…and it has been green for a bit, probably because of the summer. I’ve also been trying to have less caffeine teas. But as summer has faded, and fall in fully here, along with the rainstorms, it seemed like a good time to break out a nice roasted oolong tea, and so, last night, it was the right time. I had gotten soaked and drenched and all other related words on my way to work in the morning. My shoes and socks were still wet when I got home, and a small bit of my pants by my ankles was still damp. I decided it was the night to have soup (winter squash and mascarpone with lima beans) and toasted bread (raisin, cranberry, and walnut) for dinner….this tea seemed up to the job in comfort, and seemed like a good match.
I admit that I’m not the hugest connoisseur when it comes to straight teas and deciphering subtle notes, but I want to say that this was nice and roasty, maybe with some bittersweet cocoa notes. It’s hard to say. It basically tasted like a nice roasted oolong, and I don’t really discriminate straight oolongs. I very rarely find one I don’t like. This was no exception. It was quite tasty, and it fit the bill for what I was looking for.
This was drunk without anything added. which I don’t usually do…I usually add a small amount of cane sugar to most teas. I also brewed this western style. As I had this later in the evening, and fell asleep at 8:30 or 9 and didn’t wake up til after 1, it was the only cup I had. Future use should allow multiple steeps, as I had intended this serving to be, til I fell asleep.
I am grateful that this is one of the samples that I was sent, because I do really like darker and roasted oolongs.
