Mmm, so much love. This was a big hit with my coworkers when I brought it in today. The dry leaves smell very richly of buttered popcorn, buttered popcorn jelly bellies to be exact. In fact, it smells just like the time my fiancé toasted pieces of fresh coconut flesh and ate them with caramel drizzle. Once you cook the flesh, it takes on this really incredible nutty, buttery flavor.
I was a little surprised at how light the coconut flavor in the tea actually was once I steeped it, but I appreciate that it wasn’t too strong and artificial. This definitely doesn’t taste like any sort of fake coconut candy, it’s nutty, buttery, and ever so slightly sweet. The buttery-ness is a fantastic complement for this oolong. I like the thin, light body in spite of the rich flavor. I had a vanilla scone with the second steep, which was a great complement. The richness of the vanilla brought out the almost savory popcorn flavor of the tea. By the 3rd steep, the toasty flavor of the coconut was starting to become even more subtle and it seemed more like an unflavored oolong (but still tasty as hell), a little more vegetal, not quite as sweet, but still nutty.
I shared 4 steeps with my coworkers, and they all enjoyed it as well. :)
