Cranberry Chestnut Singbulli Oolong

Will try to get this done before child number one takes my tea from me. She is excited to play with the marbles. This is an interesting blend. A tribute to a ta garden in India mixed with two flavors that generally go well together with sweets. I appreciate the usage of the garden name in which the tea was harvested. It’s an important aspect of sustainability that often gets overlooked in blended teas. Perhaps it’s because these are lower-grade leaves. This blend is very meh. Earthy in a bland way. With the chestnut only really tasteful in the aroma. The cranberry is almost nonexistent. It’s there, just not nearly as strongly as I wish it would be.

AJRimmer Advent Day 8

What a fun, unique tea! I’d never heard of Singbulli Oolong before, so it was definitely interesting to try an oolong that had such a similar flavor profile to a black tea. The oolong is really the star here, with the other flavors coming across quite subtle. I do get some fruitiness (not sure it’s really reading cranberry for me) and some nutty undertones. Overall, this isn’t a tea I love, but I’m glad to have had the opportunity to sample it!

I mostly just taste oolong, which isn’t my preferred tea base. After refrigerating this, more fruit flavor comes out, and I like it a little more. I’m not sure it’s distinctly cranberry, but it’s close enough. I don’t really taste any chestnut. I prefer fruity teas on an herbal or green base, so this one isn’t really for me, but it’s not bad. If you go in expecting an oolong with some subtle fruitiness, you won’t be too disappointed.

2022 Spring Tea Swap – Day 3
From Emilie!

Interestingly enough, the first thing I noticed when I opened the pouch is that it smells like cacao shells. But I don’t think there’s any chocolate in this blend. I don’t taste any chocolate in the finished cup either so that’s strange. Not sure where that came from. The tea is light in color and flavor but definitely on the fruity side. I’m not sure I would have guessed cranberry though and I don’t taste any of the chestnuttiness. To be fair though, I’ve never had an actual chestnut so I couldn’t say what it even tastes like. Aside from being nutty. I wouldn’t have guessed oolong either, but the description mentioned Darjeeling so maybe it’s leaning more toward a Darjeeling black for me.

(52teas (Anne) 2022: 7)

I’m not sure what I think about this one. I could taste the cranberry flavouring, which is similar or the same to that used by AQTT, and which doesn’t actually taste like cranberry to me at all (haha), but I wanted more chestnut, and I think I wanted more of an oolong base instead of the black/darjeeling. More thoughts to come later though; I drank this long enough ago to be foggy on the details.

Twelve Days of Tea 2021 – Day Five (better late than never)

This one is lovely! I’m almost not annoyed that there’s no green oolong this year (plus my French advents more than made up for that.. although the offerings were generally less impressive than the ones Anne tends to create). I also kind of regret not picking up more of this in the store because it’s so unique (completely sold out), but Darjeeling teas, of all oxidization levels and styles, are something I prefer in small, sparse amounts.

Tart cranberry notes and buttery chestnut give me the impression of a luxurious, festive variation on a PB&J. The choice of a Darjeeling Oolong as a base is so perfect and well-crafted here – offering complex but complimentary base notes. I can’t think of a better combo.

I’m sad to see this one go and hope it pops up again in future advents or as a featured wintertime reblend.

Steep Count: 3

I’m going to need to try this one again, as I’m having a hard time remembering specific flavors. But, I remember it being sweet and fruity, and slightly nutty. Really tasty and festive.

52Teas 12 Teas of Christmas: Day 5!

I’m a day late reviewing this one and thus don’t have all the sensory details top of mind. I quite enjoyed it, though—it’s a refreshing departure from generic warming holiday spice blends, yet the cranberry keeps it seasonally appropriate. I wanted a bit more tartness from the cranberries, but maybe I just didn’t get enough of them in my scoop.

The base was light and fruity and exceedingly drinkable… quite cozy overall!

52Teas 12 Teas of Christmas Advent: Day 5
I need to try this one again but I remember getting at least two nice steeps out of it. The oolong base was pleasant but I don’t remember tasting cranberry at all. I remember finding it nice but missing that cranberry flavor. Definitely need to re-try this and review it again after the holidays.

It’s the 5th Tea of Christmas! After my supplier gave me a sample of the Singbulli Oolong, I knew I had to have some of it. I know that there’s some debate on whether or not a “Darjeeling” can be an “Oolong” and/or vice versa. I personally do not care if you choose to call this an Oolong or a Darjeeling (or both). But my supplier calls it a Singbulli Oolong so I’m going with that.

And whatever you choose to call it – it’s delicious.

The flavor of the tea – without any flavoring – it’s crisp, lightly sweet & fruity (similar to a Darjeeling) with a slightly thick & creamy texture (similar to an Oolong) so my first two thoughts when it came to blending the tea was that a fruit note would be nice – as would be a creamy flavor (possibly a nutty flavor) – so I brought both of these ideas together with this blend.

The cranberries are tart & tangy – but that tart edge is softened from the chestnut notes. I love the creaminess of this tea, as well as the light, fruity notes. It’s really a lovely combination of flavors – I wasn’t sure exactly how it would turn out when I first blended it but I absolutely loved it at first sip – I didn’t even need to tweak this or anything else – it was perfect right after it’s first cure.

I only wish I had ordered more of the tea at the time – because there are extremely limited quantities of this blend! I suspect this one will go quickly.