Caramel Apple Oolong

Ahhhhh Caramel, Apples, Oolong. Wish I had ordered this when it came out. Thankfully I have some since LiberTeas and I split a monthly subscription.
This is really good!
The apple could be more prominent but that is not from lacking apple in the blend. I got a huge chunk in this steeping.
The caramel is lovely and the oolong base quite good.
I won’t be reviewing on SororiTea sisters or making a huge note here due to that it is no longer in stock and I don’t see the point as it is merely a teaser for those who could not get it and those like me who would love more but can’t get more.
Bummer.
Great blend however kudos to 52Teas!

After eight infusions with my gaiwan … curiosity got the better of me, and I just had to brew this in my Breville. Now, I don’t usually brew any Oolong in my Breville because I don’t feel that the Oolong leaves get enough of a chance to really do their thing in the breville. But, after trying this in the gaiwan (infusion four and on are awesome in the gaiwan … the first three are not as great, but, once you get past them, the flavor is really good), I was very curious about how the tea would fair in the Breville, and to be honest, I wanted apple flavor, and I didn’t get a lot of it from the gaiwan (I got some by the fourth infusion, but still not as much as I wanted from a tea called Caramel Apple) so, I thought I’d see how the Breville would do with the tea.

And I have to say – with an huge amount of shock on my part – that the flavor is BETTER with the breville than it is with the gaiwan. Now, this does NOT happen with pure Oolong teas, but with this flavored Oolong, it did happen … and no body is more surprised by it than me.

I taste apple and caramel and slightly smoky, roasty-toasty Oolong. This is fantastic! Seriously! The flavor of the apple is a bit lighter still but, it all works together well. Sweet and tart, it tastes like jonagold apples (rather than the green apple that is in the photo) that have been dipped in a sweet, creamy caramel. If anything, that is the note that I’d like enhanced a bit, maybe, the creaminess. I taste more of the burnt sugar caramel note, but not so much of a buttery, creamy caramel. It’s still incredibly good though.

And the Oolong is PERFECT for this… it is toasty and warm and this is the perfect taste for this cold, wet day. (And I increased the rating because I like it so much better in the Breville)

Drinking this tea while listening to this: http://youtu.be/My0HQ0QkGLQ

I should probably give this more time to meld but I don’t care, caramel apple! I have been waiting for this since it was posted!

It probably does need more time, this is one dark oolong. Definitely not something I would normally drink. When I saw Fujian, I was thinking a regular tie guan yin but this has a pretty dark brew…actually it resembles caramel very much.

I can taste the caramel apple underneath the oolong though, but the oolong is pretty woody with some honey. As much as I wouldn’t like it normally, it seriously works with caramel apple.

Even with just 2 weeks since this was probably blended the apple flavor just tastes so good. It really lingers after each sip too. I can’t wait to try it again in a few weeks…it may change my mind about roasted oolongs!

Surprisingly delicious in a travel mug today. Just like a caramel apple, and a great contrast to the straight teas I brought to work today.

thank you kittenna! I was lucky enough to get a cup’s worth to try of this one from her over the weekend and i’m glad i did. This is one of those 52 teas that i wasn’t sure if i should have been kicking myself for not picking up. It’s an oolong, but it was also caramel apple. Having tasted it, i’m happy to say that the cup is all i needed :) Not that it’s a bad tea but it wasn’t quite what i wanted from a caramel apple tea. The oolong is fairly nice and the apple flavour is present and not too shabby. But the caramel…aaah the caramel. This is just not caramelly enough. Especially when i think about the caramel beurre sale that my parents brought back for my other half from paris…now THOSE are caramels! Still though? I satisfactory cup of tea tonight :)

I totally forgot I ordered this tea. I remember looking at it but I have no memory of adding it to my cart. So I was quite surprised to find it in my order today. But I had a caramel apple tea from sTEAp the other day that was super good so I must have wanted to see if this was as good.

It isn’t. It’s okay. But it pretty much just tastes like one of those caramel covered apple suckers that we always ate in middle school. But only once all the caramel has been eaten off the sucker. So it still kind of tastes a tiny bit like caramel if you really concentrate, but mostly apple candy. The caramel flavor in the caramel cheesecake tea was so good I was hoping this would have the same, but its barely there. Disapointing.

I’m not sure when I’ll ever be in the mood for this tea, so if anyone wants it, I’ll swap it out.

And so it ends, Winter holiday that is. Yes, my sweetheart is returning to his classes and I am left home alone all day. This of course means I can go back to listening to (at times really bad) loud music without my taste disrupting other people. I decided that today was 90s Grunge and 80s New Wave day in contrast to yesterday’s 60s-70s Classic Rock. I wonder what tomorrow’s music will be?

Today’s tea, Caramel Apple Oolong by 52Teas represents a staple of Autumnal festivals. Oddly I am not a huge fan of caramel apples, I had an accident involving an apple and a tub of caramel which ended with me having a strong dislike of caramel. I have since gotten over my aversion to most caramels, though I still cannot stomach the caramel dip for fruits. This tea is a blend of Fujian Oolong and Fuji Apples, which is a great combination of ingredients, especially in the naming department. The aroma of this tea, oddly, is nothing like caramel or apples, the aroma is strongly of melons. I hate melons, there are few foods that illicit a grimace from me like melons. It is sweet, cloyingly so. The aroma of the tea is pretty off-putting, but I am willing to try it out…sometimes aromas can be surprising.

The brewed leaves still have a bit of melon, but I am also noticing the sweet yet tart aroma of apples and the burnt sugar aroma of caramel. The liquid is rich and sweet with notes of apple and melons. Why are there melons?

I am going to start this by saying I like the Oolong base, it is rich and sweet with caramel notes (ok that actually could be from the caramel) and a bit of of a woodsy flair. However the flavorings added to the oolong fall flat for me. I think the apple flavor is sour and artificial (apple is one of those flavors I tend to be really hard on though, so it could be me just being picky) and there is that taste of melon that snuck in from somewhere. The finish is sweet and caramel-like, which is good, I am glad the aftertaste is not melon or sour apple. This is definitely one of those teas that I can tell is a good tea that I just didn’t like, so I will recommend it to people who like sour apples and inexplicable melons.

For photos and blog: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2014/01/52teas-caramel-apple-oolong-tea-review.html

I got this in a swap with TastyBrew (thank you!) and I think in my brain I was expecting a lighter oolong as the base. So to see a roasted oolong kind of threw me initially. I had my doubts.

The tea smells a little like dirt and Jolly Ranchers, with more emphasis on the Jolly Rancher part.

The woodsy-earthy-caramel flavors of the oolong lend a base that surprisingly works well with caramel apple.

The apple taste here is fresh and light and just there enough, I wanted more caramel though. It runs through as an undercurrent that isn’t quite enough to satisfy and just leaves you wanting more.

A touch of brown sugar definitely made it more, well, sweet. But the caramel I was looking for became more like caramellized sugar than actual caramel.

Close enough.

I managed to nab Caramel Apple Oolong for Halloween. I’m glad I did because by the time I blinked, it was sold out! The aroma of this tea smells exactly like caramel apple lollipops (a melange of jolly rancher apple sour hard candy and caramel so sticky it pulls out your fillings). This is a nostalgic smell for me because it reminds me of my childhood. Caramel apple lollipops were my favorite candy especially around Halloween. I would dig through my trick or treat bag and pick them out leaving the copious amounts of sweet tarts, chocolate, starbursts and peanut butter cups behind.

Apple dominates the flavor and aroma of this tea, you can see huge fuji apple chunks in the dry leaf. The brew is a gorgeous amber color similar to aged whisky. The smell is divine, the sour apple candy smell dissipates and you get crisp and tart green apples and apple blossoms. I get hint of floral which I thought was interesting. There is an undertone of something sugary sweet but it is not recognizable as caramel. To my surprise, I don’t get the creamy caramel as I expect with most caramel flavored teas. I first get hit with apple. After the apple leaves my taste buds, I get carmelized brown sugar like the crackling top of a creme brûlée.

I am obsessed with Caramel Apple Oolong and I will be very sad when I get to the bottom of the bag. Caramel Apple Oolong makes for an amazing dessert tea. The subtle sweetness is perfect, no need for additives.

I used up the last bits of my sample! This is super delicious! The brew was a nice, light-medium amber brown. The scent was amazing. It smells exactly like caramel apple! The oolong was a nice base because it didn’t overpower the taste. This is a great blend!