Opéra Blue

Adventaggedon Day 4 – Tea 1/6

This was a really pleasant surprise this morning, and on a few levels! Firstly, it was nice seeing an oolong in the advent because I’m pretty sure that Mariage Freres has a relatively limited oolong selection and I definitely think of them as focusing much more largely on black and green teas…

Secondly, it was a surprise because of the butterfly pea flower in the tea! I had just assumed that the “Blue” in “Opera Blue” came from the oolong tea base, which is sometimes called blue tea. So imagine my shock when it started steeping blue! I would have assumed that butterfly pea flower would just be a bit too gimmicky/novelty for a company like MF that seems to take themselves very seriously – but I guess it’s made it enough into the mainstream that they’re using it. Ultimately the tea wound up really coming out more of a green colour than anything else, though…

The taste was nice! Forward vanilla notes with a floral undertone, I think largely from the greener oolong that was used but maybe also in part from the vanilla flavouring itself. It’s also fruity, and while it’s hard to pinpoint exactly what the fruit was I’m leaning more towards it being a sweet orange but it does have some red fruit-ishness to it as well. I was probably influenced by the colour, but it reminded me a little bit of blue curacao. Smooth, soft and delightful overall.

I think this is something I would actually order – but in loose leaf instead of sachets!

Advent Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/CIZC-u1gDbW/