Moonlight Osmanthus

I am going to keep this one brief since I am NaNoWriMoing! I’ve flung myself head-first into it and am currently at 7,456 words… on day 2. And it’s not even over. I am amazed at myself! I keep double-checking in case I calculated it wrong. But unless Word is telling me terrible lies, yup, almost 7,500 words! Hooray! However, it’s not a “new” project: it’s a book that I’ve been wanting to do for months, so I suppose having the scenes planned out makes the writing part smoother.

Anyway, this tea! I love osmanthus but I’ve only had it with green or oolong tea. So when I saw this at Lupicia it was really what pushed me into a big order. I’ve loved all of my teas so far, so definitely a happy purchase!

This blend is GORGEOUS. The osmanthus flowers are whole and look like little stars in the black “sky” of the tea. I definitely know why it has the name ‘Moonlight Osmanthus’, it’s like nighttime in a cup. The smell is very faint but has that distinct citrusy-floral tang. Interestingly enough, this tastes almost like a green tea. In fact, when my bf tried some he almost didn’t believe me when I told him it was a black blend. It does have some soft malty black quantities, but it’s a very soft and gentle tea. The osmanthus is nicely citrus-y but soft, like… well, moonlight! Such an evocative name for an evocative tea. The interplay of floral and citrus is perfect, and so so delicate. If you like lightly flavored/scented teas this will probably be right up your alley, it’s an elegant and dainty cup.

Alphakitty thanks so much for a bit of this!

At first sip it was sweet and almost like a candied-flower if that makes sense. The end sip on to the aftertaste doesn’t taste ‘sweet’ more floral and as it cools or gets to almost cold the floral aftertaste does morph to a bit of a bitter-floral aftertaste…but nothing I can’t handle.

This is lovely! LOVE the color! Neat Morphing Flavors, too!

What a lovely surprise! I love osmanthus but I had no idea this contained osmanthus. The Japanese description on the packet said it was blended with “kinmokusei” that bloomed in moonlight. My Japanese is bad so I didn’t know kinmokusei = osmanthus… :P But when I lifted the tea bag out from the packet, it definitely had that familiar sweet floral fragrance of osmanthus! I was thinking, “Wow this seems to be as good as osmanthus!”… it was only when I googled kinmokusei that I realized that it was indeed my favourite flower (for cooking) :P Haha…

Sweet osmanthus plus black tea – you just cannot find fault in this winning combination. A very soft and mellow tea with a lovely fragrance that will attract bees from your garden. :) Best enjoyed under the moon!

Thank you to Cameron for this sample!

I don’t know what osmanthus tastes like, but this tea (which I steeped hot) is giving me vibes of iced tea (not southern sweet tea, but more black tea steeped with a hint of sweet and lemon). There’s a definite sweetness, but it’s soft. There’s hints of lemon as though I squeezed some in fresh along with subtle floral notes. There’s also an almost tropical-esque vibe. This tea is a bit difficult to describe, but complex and ultimately delightful! I would consider ordering this one.

Sipdown! (4 | 4)

Another nice tea from Lupicia… ❤

I love osmanthus, and here it has such a sweet and fruity apricot-esque flavor. There’s a nectarous quality to it that reminds me of honey, but in a very subtle way. Delicate, yet ripe and juicy at the same time. The black tea is nothing to write home about, but it’s smooth and slightly earthy, and mellow enough to let the flavor of the osmanthus shine.

I will say, I think I prefer osmanthus paired with oolong, as it just meshes a bit better in my opinion. So I’m not sure if I would reorder this tea because of that, but it is a wonderful tea. :)