Lion select Send Message

I have had a few Osmanthus oolong teas before and while I enjoy the fragrance, I had trouble enjoying the flavor. They were cloyingly sweet. That said, I’m going to give this one a chance and see what happens.

The dry leaves in a warm gaiwan smell heavily of sweet flowers and bright orange fruit like oranges or apricots. There are also hints of milky cream scent from the Jin Xuan cultivar used in this tea. Orange cream-sickle anyone?

I am using a Taiwanese aroma cup set to enjoy this tea. The scent is even more decadent coming out of the aroma cup, very creamy and fruity, very sweet and honey-like.

The first infusion is pale yellow. Surprisingly, the flavor that comes through the most in the drink is the creamy taste of the oolong itself. The floral sweetness comes in as a refreshingly sweet aftertaste. The mouthfeel of this tea, just like all the others I’ve tried from Tea Ave so far, is exceptionally smooth and clean, very crisp, not drying at all.

The aroma from the second steeping is really just impressing me to no end. Is this really osmanthus tea? Haha. It smells like oranges and cream. I am melting a little bit every time I sniff it. The liquor is a little more yellow this time, but still on the pale side. The flavor is wonderfully sweet and mellow. There is nothing cloying about this tea at all, nothing soapy, nothing bitter, nothing that tastes artificial. Wow!

By the third infusion, I almost can’t imagine having this tea without an aroma cup. The way the scent lingers in there and is just so rich and concentrated… it’s incredibly invigorating and relaxing both at once. This is great. Sure the scent is good off the drinking cup too, but it’s a little different, and not as potent. The flavor this time is incredibly rich and smooth. Wow.

Tea Ave, you have made a believer of me. I look forward to trying your entire selection of loose teas. I think this company could really go far! Osmanthus is a tea I haven’t even liked in the past, and of the three samples you’ve sent, this one is my favorite! Wow! I am just so impressed! The flavors of the oolong and the osmanthus flowers really complement each other, a perfect yin and yang. I don’t taste one more than the other. This is brilliant. Kudos to the farmers and staff who produced this tea!

I was going to end this review here, but made a 4th infusion while I was finishing up, and goodness, I can’t take how good this is! Few teas put me in a tea frenzy like this. This is good stuff! The sweetness lingers in your mouth for such a long time.