An impulse buy it was. There are a lot of bulk teas at Wegmans ( a large American grocery store chain) and from time to time I try them hoping against hope to discover a hidden gem : they are very inexpensive and you can get as little as you want.
No luck this time as well. This tea as all the previous ones I tried proved to be rather meh. It has large twirly leaves that look decent but the only flavor they give off is of roasting. The taste is pretty basic, with heavy roast and smoke pre-dominating and very subdued notes of baked bread, berries and honeyed sweetness in the background. The aftertaste is VERY lingering but it is just intense roast that is not particularly pleasant at all.
But wait, there is more: the second steeping (western style) came out still pretty dark but lost almost all of its taste and was pretty close to a typical tea bagged generic Chinese tea.
It is a very one-dimensional and rough at the corners tea that manages to successfully misrepresent Wuyi Oolongs. I am afraid that quite a few people that have had not anyprevious experience with Wuyi Oolongs will never even attempt to buy any other tea labeled as Wuyi after trying this one. Sad.
Flavors: Berries, Bread, Honey, Roasted
