All right, I’ll admit it, this tea is nothing special. The aroma of the steeped tea is very much like Lipton’s orange pekoe, although, being pregnant, my sense of smell may be off. Can’t really smell any of the green or oolong at all (even though I can VERY clearly see them in the tea bag—one thing I do have to give this tea props for is making you visually aware of what’s in it, if that counts for anything). However, the teas that they included in the blend must either be not very fresh or not very high quality… or both, I suppose. I tried to steep it at a lower temperature this time, to see if the green/oolong flavors would come out a little more. I gave it a scoop and a half of sugar, but nothing else.
As it cools, I do begin to smell a little of the green tea. Still no oolong.
In the first few sips, I get a bit more of an English Breakfast instead of orange pekoe flavor, with some Dragonwell-like astringency in the aftertaste. I’m glad that it doesn’t taste as Lipton-y as it smells, because I would probably throw it out if it did. As it cools, I can detect a few whispers of oolong here and there, but not enough to say that it really becomes present. It’s kind of like the middle child of the three—surrounded on both sides by the tasty and lovable youngest and the responsible, take-charge eldest. It can be hard for the middle child to get noticed sometimes, and I sympathize completely. However, these teas didn’t blend themselves, and since the middle child is actually my favorite of the three… I’d like it to shine a little more.
Since this tea was a Christmas gift from some cousins of mine, I’ll definitely drink it without complaining. Overall, it’s a rather satisfying, if rather run-of-the-mill, experience. Sometimes I’m not picky about complexity of flavor or quality, and when those moods strike, this will be the tea I go for.
