Mandarin Silk

This is one of my favorite teas! I’ve had very hit-or-miss experiences with flavored oolongs, but I really enjoy this one! The pouchong base has a very creamy and smooth mouthfeel, and the flavor of the tea is sweet and decadent, reminding me of lemon chiffon cake. It has a lot of sweet vanilla notes, with some subtle citrus in the finish. The tea resteeps well, and I find that often on my second steep I’ll get much stronger lemon notes in my cup. This tea is great both warm and iced, and I’ve even made tasty frozen pops out of it sweetened with honey! My mom didn’t care for this one (she didn’t like the vanilla flavor), but I can’t get enough of the silky vanilla citrus flavor.

Full review: https://teatimetuesdayreviews.wordpress.com/2017/06/13/tea24/

Backlog sipdown…I’ve really been depleting my stash at this rate! This one took a few months to get through, and right back on the wishlist it goes. It’s a perfect example of a green oolong that is greatly enhanced by the blend into something decadent but still refreshing. Though, my desire for greener teas has been plummeting as the weather gets colder, so maybe I won’t look for this one again until sometime next year.

I’m pretty sure this one came my way from ifjuly! I’ve had it at work forever and lost track of it. Found it today and steeped it up. It’s a nice, smooth oolong with vanilla and a bit of citrus to it. I think I prefer Tea Merchant’s Silk Dragon but this is a pretty nice option and I wouldn’t turn down a cup. :)

Thank you QueenOfTarts for a sample of this one a while back! As I expected, I’m pretty sure this is the same blend as The Tea Merchant’s Silk Dragon. Same ingredients, same taste. Not a bad thing! I have a bit of the sample left of that one, and I’m happy to have a bit of this one left. It’s a nice oolong with a hint of lemon and vanilla. This blend seemed to have less vanilla, but maybe the Tea Merchant’s blend was as fresh as possible when I first tried it. It’s a nice one! I just wish it had more lemon or tasted more like creamsicle like another tasting note mentioned.

When I asked my sister to smell the leaves, the first thing she said to me was, “It smells like Fig Newtons!” I’m not sure if I agree with that sentiment, but it does remind me of something. Creamy and lemony, this tea smells like sugar and cream. However, once it’s brewed, much of that flavor isn’t really present. You get the first hint of a creamy texture in your mouth, with hints of a lemony feeling, with a stronger flavor at the end. It’s a bit odd, honestly. I enjoyed it, though, once I put a little sugar in. I’m not usually a sugar-in-tea sort of person, but this tea felt like it called for it. Overall, it’s not something that I’ll be re-purchasing. I might try cold-brewing it, though, and see how that turns out… It’s not that it’s bad, it’s just not a flavor profile that I enjoy.

I first tried this at Siptea out in downtown LA. It was so good, I bought a couple ounces to take home with me. The vanilla smells absolutely amazing — every time I introduce a new friend to this, the usual reaction is “whoa.”

A very caramelly, creamy Oolong with hints of citrus and floral tones. If I didn’t know it, I’d almost think it was a coconut Oolong. It smells divine dry and steeped, and tastes as good as it smells.

Drinking a pot in bed on this overcast afternoon.

Crisp and Creamy.

I always loved oolongs. This tops the bunch. I didnt think I could pull notes from a tea like this before.