Ginseng Oolong

I tried ONE ginseng oolong a while back and I LOVED it. Very unique from the get go, as they look like little stones. I said before they look like the toy I had when I was kid, the rock tumbler where stones have the coating disappear an they turn into fake gems. I love it! Each piece of oolong is actually coated with ginseng and licorice in a green color that seems unique only to ginseng oolong. I’m not usually a fan of licorice, but I do love this tea!

Steep #1 // waited a while after boiling // 3 1/2 minutes
The oolong is hardly unraveled so far.. the ginseng/licorice has dissolved. Amazingly, the oolong flavor shows through anyway. And it is amazing! It’s a great oolong, and the ginseng/licorice adds a smooth sweetness to it. At first sip, I was wishing I had the money to order every tea that Single Origin Teas has. I’m so glad they offered these samples or I would never have heard of them. 3/3 teas are amazing so far. One more to try! It’s so good when you want an oolong but you want a little something extra with it. And I love the ginseng for when I want some extra brain power and I’ve already had too many black teas (like I could ever have too many black teas).

Steep #2 // a few minutes after boiling // 3 min
The flavor is still the same! So silky smooth! There is no astringency here, even though the temp and time is kind of high for an oolong. I can’t tell if the oolong is more like floral, fruity or milky though. I think it’s an oolong of its own flavor!

Steep #3 // right after boiling // 3 min
This one has less ginseng/ licorice.. I guess it disappeared with cup two. But the oolong is still going strong. I can’t believe I didn’t know that oolong didn’t burn at boiling before now… at least this one doesn’t. I’d stock up on this one!

So, this is the second time I’ve tried ginseng oolong, the first one from Teavivre. I figured it wasn’t for me as Teavivre is pretty solid. When I saw Single Origin Tea sent me some to review and I was like “Doh! Not this tea again!” So, I decided to break up the black tea blend train I’ve been on today and give ginseng oolong another go. Maybe this one is different? The look of ginseng oolong is really cool and I like the concept of it being sweet and healthy like.

As I sip it, it tastes good – a nice light floral oolong vibe. I felt hopeful. Then it hit me end of sip – that sweet, lingering licorice tongue coating flavor that makes me want to sandpaper my tongue so I can’t taste it anymore.

Nope, 2nd time and still ginseng oolong isn’t for me. I’ll try it one more time (someother time) to fully try out ginseng oolong. It’s totally personal taste why I dislike this type of tea. Though, if you do like licorice teas you should really try this tea out.

I got a package from Awkward Soul!! Yay!! Sil & I are splitting this box, so I might as well get started on them, then I can send her half along when the BBBB comes. I’ve never had a ginseng oolong. I used to enjoy dehydrated Ginseng slices a long time ago. Anyway, this is pretty nice. The tea is an olive drab colored nuggets, basically a coating of ginseng & licorice (one of my most favorite herbs ever). So the first cup is sweet from the licorice, & really quite nice. The oolong was lightly present, but most of the flavor came from that coating. The re-steep featured a little more oolong, a little less herbs, & left my throat feeling a bit scratchy. Cup #3 is more straight oolong, & there is a slightly fishy aroma to the leaf. :p
Thanks Awkward Soul!

Slightly belated b-day tea time. This did just come today.

Think I used too many pearls, I’m not used to that type of tea yet. Anyway, this smells so good. The flavour is kinda sweet, and floral. Not sure if I’ve anything ginseng before, but this is really good.

I love these little tea pebbles. It’s such an unusual gray green color from the licorice powder. The leaves unfurl into very crumpled but whole leaves.

The tea is sweet and mellow with a really silky mouthfeel. There’s a floral herbal note that must be from the ginseng. I’ve avoided ginseng containing teas in the past as they are usually sold as being medicinal which both annoys me and doesn’t bode well for the flavor. After multiple steeping the oolong flavor starts coming out and the licorice and go sing starts to fade.

I love oolongs and this is no exception. The dry tea is more like pellets than leaves and look to be coated in some kind of dust. The brewed tea doesn’t have a strong smell, but when sipping has great flavor. It opens with the taste of juicy plums and hibiscus, then blends into the earthiness and warmth of ginseng. It is very well balanced and naturally sweet. The cup is smooth with no astringency.

At first I tried 1 teaspoon of tea to a cup, but then I upped it to 2 teaspoons with multiple re-steeps. This tea holds up well to re-steeping.

Thank you Sil for the tea you’ve so delightful and accurately described as looking like rabbit turds. (233)

Well, believe it or not I actually enjoyed it. It was a dark and roasty oolong and the ginger was strong but not overwhelming. The roasty/ginger was actually a pretty good combo.

I’m happy I tried it, but I doubt I’d buy it. I’m not that much a fan of ginger.

I’ve never tried any Ginseng Oolong before and it looked interesting, like little green rocks and ginseng is supposed to give a person energy right so I requested this one to sample from Single Origin Teas. Thanks Single Origin Teas for the free samples but this tea doesn’t agree with me. There was enough to make a few cups to try but I just cannot get into it. It’s the – licorice – for sure, and sadly I’ve never liked it much but didn’t think it’d be strong as it is. I think if you like that taste, it’d be a good tasting tea for you because the oolong smell and taste is nice as well.