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drank Poobong High Mountain (Summer) Darjeeling Oolong Tea by Teabox
894 tasting notes

I’m finally digging into my Teabox order from Black Friday, even as I continue to work to log it all in my cupboard (probably about 40 teas to go?)

I thought I would start off with a Darjeeling oolong, which is something I don’t think I’ve tried before.

The steeping directions recommend 2tsp, 80-90C water and 5 min. I tend to prefer my teas steeped a bit shorter, so I went with 85C water for 3 minutes.

The dry leaf is medium brown and irregular sized pieces. It smells slightly creamy, with a fruity note.

Steeped, this has a very distinct flavour that I’m coming to realize is a characteristic of Darjeelings. Not just the muscatel, but a slightly acrid char flavour (or maybe it’s a mineral note?) It’s not bitter or unpleasant, though it’s not my favourite flavour either, but it seems to be a common thread amongst many of the Darjeelings I’ve tried.

There’s also a lot of fruit – primarily apricot and peach, with some grape, and a bit of vegetal tang that’s on the grassy side. Very smooth and easy to drink.

This is quite nice. I’m not sure if I would have been able to identify it as an oolong – Darjeelings are so distinctive and different from other teas. I probably would have guessed a green on a blind taste test.

I’m looking forward to further developing my palate for Darjeelings.

Flavors: Apricot, Char, Grapes, Grass, Mineral, Peach, Smooth, Tangy, Vegetal

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 3 min, 0 sec 2 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML
2 comments
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Kittenna
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Poobong? Not the most appealing of tea names I’ve heard…

Fjellrev
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Sounds like a very questionable toking apparatus.

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Comments

Kittenna
Delete

Poobong? Not the most appealing of tea names I’ve heard…

Fjellrev
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Sounds like a very questionable toking apparatus.

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Bio

I grew up drinking jasmine green tea with meals, but really fell in love with tea on a trip to Britain in elementary school. My first great love was Earl Grey, and I still adore it and all its variants.

I discovered the beauty of loose leaf tea much later, when, on impulse, I picked up a few teas that were on clearance at a home store. My introduction to loose leaf teas were Masala Chai and Provence Rooibos by the Metropolitan Tea Co and an unknown brand of kukicha and gyokuro (little did I know what a precious treasure I’d stumbled onto with that.)

At the time I was lucky to live in a place with multiple tea shops and several places to have afternoon tea, which is a delight I still miss.

Tea is part of my daily ritual and a nice, affordable way to appease the collector in me.

I enjoy distinctive whites, greens and oolongs, flavoured blacks, and herbals that are heavy on the citrus, lavender or mint.

Rating rubric, to give myself some consistency:
0-15 Yuck, not even drinkable.
16-30 Disappointing, not really inclined to give it a second try.
31-45 Disappointing, but maybe there’s potential? Worth one more try, prepped differently.
46-60 Mediocre, not terrible but not memorable.
61-75 Not bad. I’ll definitely finish what I have and might buy again.
76-90 Very enjoyable. Tasty, complex, it’ll keep me coming back.
91-100 BEST! I love everything about it and I will drink it forever.

Beyond tea, I’m a sex educator, polyamory activist, and radical queer. I love backwoods camping, abstract painting, baking & cooking, nail polish, cats, ceramic sculpture, and home nesting.

Location

Winnipeg, MB, Canada

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