Oolong Raspberry

Ummm…. this is absolutely delicious! Thanks for passing some of this along as well, momo!

The tea in my baggie looks like a dark rolled oolong, even though the picture shown here definitely looks like a green oolong. Hrrrrrm.

Anyways, this tea smells like candy. Like really delicious, sweet, fruity, yummy candy. And that is exactly how the flavour is too – all candy-sweet and delicious atop a lovely creamy oolong base (so this is probably a green oolong that’s perhaps a bit old? Idk.) You know, this actually kind of tastes like cotton candy, in a way. I think I’d be hard-pressed to say that this is raspberry… it’s certainly a sweetened raspberry, if it is, because raspberries are usually more tart. It does have raspberry-ish tones to its fruit flavour, though, especially lingering in the aftertaste.

Regardless of accuracy, I’m really enjoying this tea! I haven’t had as many tasty flavoured oolongs as I would like, and this one is certainly filling a gap in there. I don’t think this is the first tea that I’ve really enjoyed from ZenTea; may have to look into trying more teas from there/making an order at some point! Thanks again momo!

ETA: Oooh, picking up some bitterness in the re-infusion, although it’s still tasty. Less candy-like, as other reviewers have mentioned. As with many teas, this one would be best with infusions done a bit closer together than 12+ hours, IMO. The leaves still had some aroma after this infusion, so we shall see if I end up re-steeping them again (possibly not; I have at least 6 other teas waiting their turn for an infuser downstairs, and I think 2 western-style infusions for most teas is pretty good!)

ETA again: I think I lied. Pretty sure the above re-steep was actually Leslie Grove Strawberry Patch. Drinking the proper infusion now, and I pretty much have the same opinion, except there is no astringency :) Also, it tastes more like raspberry.

Thank you to DaisyChubb for sending me some of this Oolong! This is quite nice!

The Oolong has a buttery taste to it, and I don’t know if the flavoring has just really brought the buttery flavor into focus more, or if it is just a very buttery Oolong. The raspberry is stronger in the aroma than it is in the first few sips, but now that I’m about halfway through the first two (combined) infusions, I notice the raspberry much more. I like the way the buttery tones of the Oolong and the raspberry notes play together.

Quite a pleasant cuppa. Thanks again, DaisyChubb!

Tea #20 from the ‘Here’s Hoping’ teabox.

I am slowly becoming a fan of raspberry especially when paired with Oolong. With the first steep of this tea (3 minutes) the raspberry flavor was so light it was almost floral. It was sweet and soft while just hinting at juicy berries. Combined with the buttery flavor of the Oolong the tea was delicious. The second steep (5 minutes) gave a tea that was all raspberry with almost no Oolong flavor to be found. I was kind of surprised at how strong the raspberry flavor was, but it was still wonderful. I may do a third steep later tonight just to see what happens.

I decided to make this after my failed chai and it did not improve my mood (also ladybugs faking death on your nightstand doesn’t help). Opening the bag was like being hit with a raspberry, which is totally acceptable, because it smells amazing.

First steep: I steeped it for 3 minutes and it hardly tastes like oolong. It tastes like it’s trying but it’s just overwhelmingly raspberry, but not a good kind of flavor. Kind of artificial.

Second steep: Upped it to 4 minutes. SO MUCH BETTER. This is how I like a flavored oolong. The oolong is there, and the raspberry fits in much better now. It’s a green oolong, and I get more of a vegetal taste from it, not much in the way of floral notes, although they could just be hiding with the raspberry flavor.

I wish it tasted more like real raspberries, but considering I basically bought this for $2.50 I am not going to complain too much.

thanks again Dinosara for the trade! First, I must mention there are too many tea companies with the word Zen in them. I am getting confused. (But I must also mention that my very favorite is Zentealife.com!) Also, suddenly I have so many oolongs to write tasting notes for! Where did they all come from?
This one is good! The leaves smell like a sweet ripe raspberry (my favorite!) The first steep was three minutes. The raspberry tastes like a raspberry candy, rather than a tart raspberry. The oolong is hiding! I really can’t taste any. With the second steep (at five minutes), somehow the raspberry tastes more genuine, but maybe that is the oolong helping with that. The oolong flavor is much more present this steep. It is very vegetal but sweet. Not very floral or peachy. I’ll have to try this one iced…

Thank you thank you thank you Dinosara for this generous helping of deliciousness!

I knew I had to have it tonight, despite it being the evening. It’s 9:12 and I should stop steeping but… it tastes so so good.

This great buttery taste pairs with the raspberry flavour, that isn’t milky or creamy per se.. but it’s.. full flavoured and yummeh!
On the first steep the raspberry overwhelmed the rest of the flavours, but as I steep more I get a different balance of leafygreen oolong with just a hint of raspberry flavour. Delicate. Delicious.

I had a groupon for this tea company that was expiring in about a month, so I went ahead and bought the tea while I was already buying tea from other places. So expect a lot of new teas here for a while, because I have a ton of stuff to try!

Before my travels, I was really getting into oolongs, so a lot of my new teas are oolongs. I’ve always wanted to try the Raspberry Oolong from AC Perch’s, which is supposed to be awesome. Funny, that there aren’t very many raspberry oolongs out there from any tea company, but this one happened to have one, so I had to get some. The dry leaf pretty much hits you over the head with berry aroma. Sure, raspberry, but also just tons of all kinds of sweet-tart berries. There doesn’t seem to be any berry pieces in the dry leaf, but there is some kind of pinky-red petal in there… possibly hibiscus or rosehips, which is a bit surprising. Nibbling on a dry petal makes me think hibiscus. There aren’t very many of them in there, so we’ll see how they affect the steeped tea.

The tea brewed up really light yellow (no pinkness), and it smells tart-fruity and a bit floral. There’s also a bit of that green oolongy aroma in there. Despite the light color, the taste is pretty full. I’m enjoying it, but I do think it’s a tea that might not be for everyone. The raspberry flavoring is quite strong, especially as it cools, and it kind of drowns out the oolong itself, though I feel that it’s definitely lending a floral character to the fruit. And I can’t decide whether the flavoring might taste a bit artificial. I don’t get any hibiscus or that it’s too tart from this. Actually the aftertaste is rather sweet. Nevertheless, I am enjoying the pot and I will have no problem drinking up my ounces of this.

Smooth raspberry deliciousness. Tastes like the smell of a strawberry shortcake doll or a scratch and sniff sticker. I don’t usually go for the flavored teas, but when in the mood this hits the spot. Not too sweet or artificial.

The smell was tart and sweet, the raspberry very present in the scent. The taste was first a bit bitter and tart, but then turn to a smooth sweetness, which was a nice relief from the first surprise. For someone who has a sweet-tooth, this would be good transition tea.