Gongfu Sipdown (2519)!
As such a lover of all things pineapple I was very skeptical of this smooth and medium bodied oolong, but it quickly won me over. Though I can’t help but wonder how much of this was suggestion bias, I really did get a lot of pineapple notes from this tea along with basically all of the other named tasting notes from the packaging: charred and roasted peanuts, and a hint of malt. There was also some gentle floral character to the undertones, and the fruit and floral duo in particular made me nostalgic for some oolong blends I fell in love with in my early tea drinking years that I miss quite dearly. But backtracking to the pineapple; what I tasted was specifically a rich and golden grilled pineapple note where it’s succulent, sweet and just a little caramelized. The kind of pineapple that kind of falls apart and melts in your mouth. Certainly not as intense as the real deal and with a lot of accompanying mineral and roasted notes more typical of an oolong. Very impactful and authentic to this tea’s namesake, bias or not…
Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/C25n4zPuEjY/?img_index=1
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGdu0KNNRYg
This sounds delicious, although at first I read it as “Golden Boloni” and now I just can’t unsee the cold cuts :)