Osmanthus Oolong

Mastress Alita’s Sipdown Challenge – A Favorite Tea

And it is a sipdown. A sad one because I can’t replace it, but someday when the cupboard is smaller I will try one from another company and see how it stands up to comparison with this one.

There was such a tiny amount of leaf and the most of the dried flower bits I have seen, but it was three steeps of delight. Amber gold in color, rich and full bodied, with floral taste that is not sweet and cloying, just beautiful.

Enjoyed in a sunny spot with Kuhflecken candy bar. Ahhhhhh.

Cold-brewed every bit of what I had – just what I had bought this for. It is summer…

I had only one Osmanthus Oolong before – three years ago, belonging to the Tao of Tea – and I didn’t take to it because of my newb-ish tendencies to overleaf in a Western teapot. It came off as overpowering and sour, turning me off from Osmanthus Oolong. (I’m in no way bashing the Tao of Tea’s blend since the manner in which I prepared theirs was due to improperly brewing it.)

I decided to give it another shot this late-spring and try 25g of Tea Ave’s – without sampling beforehand. At that time, I thought that I should have checked the base tea before purchasing it, and before the package arrived. Jin Xuan. I don’t like Jin Xuan. I can’t stand how buttery it tastes. It makes my stomach feel ill. I had this variety from three different companies and ended up not changing my mind.

That was infusing Jin Xuan in hot water. Of course, I was willing to give Tea Ave’s Osmanthus Oolong a shot. Live and let live. This time, I would only be cold-brewing it. At first, I first noticed what I dreaded: the heavy buttery quality. But it was more muted. I continued to drink my first glass without a problem.

The more I drank, the more the more I tasted Jin Xuan’s floral flavors, and the buttery flavor blended with the osmanthus flowers. The cold-brewed Jian Xuan produces a full-bodied, very flavorful, and thickly creamy liquor. I think I was able to withstand it even more because the osmanthus was just as strong. Not to say this Osmanthus Oolong is strong – though full with flavor, it feels refreshingly delicate.

Overall, this is tasty and very, very refreshing on ice. I enjoyed every sip. If a floral oolong has Jin Xuan as the base, I won’t hesitate to try now. Additionally: Osmanthus Oolong now rivals my love for Magnolia Oolong, which I consider to be my favorite, go-to cold-brewed summer tea.

I have tried another Osmanthus Oolong since. I concluded that Tea Ave’s is more high-end. Theirs is more expensive than others I’ve researched, but it shows in the quality of the Jin Xuan. However, it is still affordable. I look forward to buying more next year. If you want a more special floral oolong, you can go for this one.

The first sip of tea sent me straight to heaven. It had a creamy mouthfeel and fruity flavor that reminded me of peaches covered with fresh cream. It was absolutely delicious and definitely the type of tea I find myself craving during the hot summer months.

You can read the rest of the review on my blog:
www.notstarvingyet.com/index/2015/6/30/tuesday-tea-osmanthus-oolong-tea-ave

I don’t know that I’ve ever tasted osmanthus before, but it is a distinct floral if this tea is very accurate in flavor. I really enjoyed it – the oolong gave a creamy base, which cut the floral a bit. It also had a bit of fruit flavor. I was able to get 3 strong steeps out of this before I got tired of it and gave up for the session.

In other news, my stomach is in knots – I have a job interview next Tuesday in Virginia, about a 5 hour drive away. I am super anxious for the drive, the interview, and making sure the dogs I am pet sitting for get cared for during this really inopportune time haha. Interviews always seem SO critical to me, as they are important, but I already feel myself getting insane tunnel vision feeling anxious about how much my future rides on this…failing to remember that even if a contract job doesn’t happen for this fall, there will be other interviews for other equally great jobs. Yay anxiety?

I also managed to get my tea to live only in my setup in my tea cupboard and on my dining room table, and off the section of the floor. Yay drinking more tea than I acquire for once?

Thanks again for the samples, Tea Ave! I was a little hesitant to try this one, as I know nothing about osmanthus, so I have no idea how to know what I’m tasting. But this is delicious. Whatever the osmanthus is, it is definitely present in the flavor, as this isn’t a typical tasting oolong. I’m noticing the osmanthus a lot more than I was noticing the rose in the rose oolong, and I actually know what that should be like. I see little orange pieces in the oolong which I imagine is the osmanthus. The osmanthus is paired so deliciously with this oolong — but I can only describe it as a little fruity. The color of the mug is a deep yellow, so I might have brewed this a bit stronger than I should have, but it tastes fine to me! A deep, buttery, savory, floral oolong. All three steeps were almost identical, very strong flavored, while not being at all overbrewed or astringent. I’m glad it didn’t end up being a bad thing for Tea Ave to send me the osmanthus. If I enjoyed this oolong, I would imagine I’d really love the other offerings from Tea Ave… they all sound so delicious!
Steep #1 // 2 tsps. for 12 ounce mug // few minutes after boiling // rinse // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // few minutes after boiling // 2 min
Steep #3 // just boiled // 2-3min
TeaAve.com

Thank you so much for this sample, Tea Ave!

I have never tried an Osmanthus Oolong before, and honestly, I was a little nervous that this would be a really flowery tea (flowery teas can be hit or miss with me…). However, upon opening the sample packet, I was hit with this sweet honey stone fruit fragrance. Jammy and sweet!
The liquor is a really gorgeous golden yellow. I followed the instructions on the pouch for gaiwan brewing, using 8grams. If I were to do this again, I think I’d use less leaf. This tea is so flavourful that I really think I could personally use less leaf and still get a perfectly lovely session out of it (just a note to myself for next time).
The steeped tea itself is really wonderful… creamy, buttery mouth feel with honey, fruity loveliness. It may only be 16F outside, but I have spring in my cup. :)

The second steep yielded a darker, deeper liquor with a more vegetal base (spinach and kale, like)… this steep was almost roasty.
I truly love the finish of this, too… it’s so sweet and lingers for quite some time.

I love finding out that I like something I would’ve thought I wouldn’t… Osmanthus, you’re pretty great. :)

I’ve never had osmanthus anything so I was surprised when looking for this tea on Steepster how many Osmanthus oolongs there are!!

I brewed this gong fu using water temp at 200F. They recommended boiling which seems way too high for me. I usually do oolongs at 190 and I think when I brew this next time I will stick with my 190.

The brew was a bit on the clear gold side. I could definitely pick up the creamy milkiness of the oolong. From the aroma cup I could pick a floral scent. The osmanthus came through as a peachy flavour—very delicate and as all TeaAve scented oolongs, it combined well with the flavours and scents of the oolong instead of overpowering. I would have liked the osmanthus to be a little bit stronger as I really liked it. I was also getting a roasted flavour from this oolong which is strange since it’s a jin xuan oolong….

By the third infusion I wasn’t getting much osmanthus at all but it was still a good oolong. I think I need to try something different with my brewing method as others have have loved this.

I feel like I’ve probably had osmanthus before, but if I have, I don’t recall it.

The dry leaf is small rolled balls of green oolong sprinkled with small bits of orange flowers.

Steeping, I was hit by an intense sweet caramel fragrance, that I initially thought was contamination from last night’s caramelly tea, till I realized I made that in a different steeping basket.

Along with the rich caramel fragrance, there were also notes of peaches and apricots.

The tea brewed up to a clear gold colour, and on the palate tastes of peaches, apricot, hay and that vegetal note that’s unique to minimally oxidized oolongs. A sweet floral note is present in the first steep and became much bolder in the second.

There’s a slight buttery quality to this tea which makes it smooth and creamy. Not a bit of astringency.

A delightful and unique (to me) cup. I used about 1/3 of my sample, and I look forward to trying out the rest brewed in my gaiwan, and with the aroma cup.

Thank you to Tea Ave for the free samples and lovely tea set.

Ever since Tea Ave sent their amazing samples for review, I was eagerly awaiting their online store opening. That day, I placed a good-sized order with them, including 6 oolongs, 4 of which I hadn’t tried yet, and two tins. My order came in 2 days! Warp speed oolong! In addition, Tea Ave added some free goodies, including a couple extra tins. Awesome, right?! I knew I wanted to put the Wenshan Boachong and Ginger Lily oolongs in my tins, but I thought I’d wait until I tried the other oolongs to see whether they deserved the tin treatment. ;)

This one may have earned a tin. Seriously.

I’ve never had an osmanthus flavored tea before….I didn’t even know what osmanthus was! Apparently it’s a flower and its scent is likened to an apricot or peach. I used a small amount of leaf, about 3g, which is smaller than Tea Ave recommends for gong fu brewing, but it resulted in deliciousness with their samples, so I’m gonna stick with it!

Omg, it smells like peaches and brown sugar! It tastes like peaches and brown sugar! Like a peach crisp! I might be in heaven right now! Slightly juicy in texture. Not in your face flavor, but subtle and delicate. The sweet juiciness sneaks up on you, playing with your tongue between the middle and the end of the sip. It’s a little vegetal and a little floral. The peach flavor lingers in your mouth after you’re done sipping. Delicious! Another winner, but I’m not surprised. :)

This is a sachet sample from TeaAve. Thank you!

I enjoyed this tea at work today. I have never had anything Osmanthus before. This was a citrusy, sweet flavor that blended very well wit the base oolong. The oonlong at first at slight roasty notes that made me actually think the base was the TGY. This was a much stronger flavor than the other two flavored oolongs I tried from TeaAve. the Ginger Lily and Cape Jasmine. This is very enjoyable, but I think I would want to try this one again before purchasing a larger amount. Of the teas I have tried from TeaAve. the Ginger Lily and the Oriental Beauty have been my favorites.

I logged on to TeaAve’s site on Sunday and debated an order, but quickly saw the shipping price and threshold. EEKS!!!!! TeaAve will have to wait a few months or for a shipping sale.