Long Life Oolong

Today's post is Long Life Oolong by DavidsTea (Organic Shui Xian oolong tea, peach pieces, apricot pieces, almond slices, orange peel, safflower petals, natural and artificial flavouring)

I'm steeping this little bugger how all Oolongs should! NUMEROUS TIMES.

So, I started off boiling the water on my tea kettles 'oolong' setting (190F), then into my pot I scooped two spoonfuls with my David's Perfect Spoon (because this tea has just as much fruit/nut in it as tea leaf itself) straight into the pot I use specifically for Oolongs (it has a mini strainer in it, so it catches most of the tea). No other pot will do!

On the first steep the Oolong sticks out the most, with a slightly peachy aftertaste. The almonds are lost in the first steep. It smells fantastic. Like dried peaches. Looking forward to the next steep! It can only get better!

The second steep is so much better. The Oolong is much lighter and less imposing, which allows the peaches to poke through a bit more. If the first steep could be exactly like the second steep, then it would be perfect.

But, in my opinion, the point of a good Oolong is to not only enjoy many cups, but to enjoy many cups with friends. You don't make a quick cup to go, you make a pot over conversation, then another pot.

I never got to a third steep because I don't think I physically could drink 12 cups of tea in one sitting.

All in all, I say if you like peaches, you may be a bit underwhelmed on peachy flavor, but...just add a few extra dried peach bits to your tin?

Overall, a pleasurable experience that was brought to me by Zachs family for Christmas.


-Laura

Salted Caramel

Salted Caramel had me super excited.

Super. Super excited.

ALLERGY WARNING: ALMONDS

I love caramel. I mean love it. I'd eat it alone if I had the chance not that I've done that before.

I steeped the 1.25 tsp to 1 cup of boiling water for 6 minutes per directions. I JUST WANTED IT TO BE PERFECT CARAMELLY

It smelled exactly like caramel when I opened it up, with a slight hint of black tea behind it. I was very excited! Can you tell how much I love caramel yet?

But when I tasted it, it was bitter. Let me know if you guys have had the same experience? So, to offset the bitter, I added milk. A quick fix!
Once I added milk, it had a light caramel flavor, and was a little creamy, and you could still taste some of the black tea! Overall, the balance wasn't bad at all, nor was the flavor...but it just wasn't caramelly enough for me!



If I am drinking something called Salted Caramel, I want to drink it and think "this reminds me of salted caramel!" not "Well, I guess this kinda sorta might make me think a little bit about caramel..."

Good, but not the best. So, I'm not getting it again. I'll stick to my caramel apples!

Enjoy your teas, everyone!

-Laura

Long Life Oolong

Long Life Oolong from DavidsTea
(Look at that huge-ass piece of apricot! YUM!)

Ingredients: Organic Shui Xian oolong tea, peach pieces, apricot pieces, almond slices, orange peel, safflower petals, natural and artificial flavouring.

I like taking my own pictures of the teas so you can see what a totally random spoonful can get you from a tin. So far, I am incredibly impressed with what I get!   Anyway. On to the review!!

I was really excited about this tea, mostly because of the peaches. I have a soft spot for peaches and nectarines (I blame Labyrinth and the sexy sexy David Bowie - if you don't know what I'm talking about, SHAME!)

I don't know how to describe the smell of oolong without making it sound gross, but an earthy almost milky scent is the best I can do, and it IS lovely. And with the peaches and apricots, mmm! Actually it reminds me slightly of just plain popcorn in smell. It's unique and annoying the hell out of me that I can't explain it. I know this... just... shut up.

Ew, inside picture due to nasty weather change.

Very subtle flavour. Nice and delicate. Tastes exactly the way that it smells, so that's a bonus for all of you in-store shoppers! I brewed it for seven minutes when it was directed 4-7, so if you like a really potent tea, I would recommend more time and a little more than the perfect spoonful from DavidsTea (I LOVE this measuring spoon, it's actually perfect). Seven minutes was good enough for me, but for you lovers of ass-kickingly strong tea, maybe try 9-10 minutes! Even though I got an incredible amount of fruit in my spoonful, all I can really taste is the oolong and the almond, the peach/apricot is just too subtle when I was hoping for so much more.

This would be fantastic cold with a muddled slice of peach! And with pop. Honestly, guys, I'm fucking addicted to adding pop to home made iced teas. It's delicious. TRY IT! DO IT NOW!

In all, this is a good tea. I quite like it for something delicate on the palate. It's a must have -or at least try- for oolong lovers.
But it needs more peach!! Get on this, DT. If you are going to put flavouring in the tea, then make it taste more like fucking peaches! Peaches are amazing. Add more peaches. That would be perfect. I like this tea, now make me LOVE it.

Now let's Magic Dance!



Happy Steeping,

-K



IF YOU HAVE A SPECIFIC TEA THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE REVIEWED JUST COMMENT AND WE WILL SEE WHAT WE CAN DO.