Mmm, this tea is really lovely.
When I opened the package it smelled like maple candy (as someone else described in their review) and I loved it. I do wish it was as good as it smelled in the package because then I’d give it a 100.
I smelled it while it was brewing and almost gagged and got really worried. I didn’t like the smell while brewing at all – very vegetal.
Now I am drinking it and it’s very nice. It has a background flavor of caramel and it’s very delicate. I’d actually like the caramel to be stronger in it. I may have too much water for this amount of tea in the sample (there were not any instructions about the amount of tea that this sample makes).
Being a novice to oolongs and recently having learned to rinse oolongs in hot water before brewing, I was a little confused about this one. Since it has flavor I wasn’t sure if rinsing it for 10 seconds in hot water washed away some of the caramel flavor. I’d be curious to know if other people rinsed and whether this is recommended or not for this tea.
Update – second steeping is grassier and has less caramel flavor.
Hmm I am on the fence about whether I’d like to order that.
I just ordered some samples because I was also on the fence. Free shipping with code ‘steepster’. Just be aware that the samples appear to be one cup per sample (I was not aware).