Maple Pecan Oolong

After drooling over other people’s tasting notes for month, I’m finally getting the opportunity to sample some of A Quarter to Tea’s offerings, thanks to Emilie’s generosity (thanks for the awesome swap!) People have been comparing this company to Butiki, so Maple Pecan Oolong (which is a flavor Stacy also offered) seemed like a good place to start. And I was not disappointed! This one tastes just like I hoped from reading the description: a hint of sweet maple and lots of nutty goodness with just a hint of smokiness in the aftertaste. If this blend is representative of their other offerings, I can foresee this company becoming a fast favorite!

I loved this one. It tastes just like it says it will, with sweet maple flavors and roasty nutty flavors. This is probably TMI but while drinking this I burped and it tasted just like I had eaten a pecan

Tasty but not my favorite offering from A Quarter to Tea ( hands down that title belongs to the Chocolate Cherry Latte Oolong) but its still a decent offering, just not one I would be rushing out to restock (unlike the Chocolate Cherry Latte Oolong which I had to have more of IMMEDIATELY!!). This tea delivers on its promise of maple and pecan and my dry leaf was seriously overflowing with pecan pieces however something about it just didn’t ‘wow’ me… don’t get me wrong, its tasty, and I’m sure some people will absolutely love it, but for some reason it was reasonably forgettable for me, maybe because maple and pecan aren’t my usual go to?

I am however SUPER excited about trying the Vanilla Cider Panna Cotta Oolong and the Frosted Carrot Cake Genmaicha that I couldn’t resist ordering this afternoon!!!! Which means I’m cheating on my tea buying hiatus again with A Quarter to Tea but how could I resist? Those teas are deff my sort of flavors!!!

This to me is tasting exactly as advertised. Roasty, sweet, nutty. A fun treat this morning. Delicious!

I get the maple. I get the pecan. But then roast and char dominate. I should have kept it at two minutes and 45 seconds, maybe less. I went up to nearly four minutes and was a bit disappointed. Smell is heavenly, and the flavor combo is of course awesome. I just need to brew it right. I used the entire sample this time, though. It does improve significantly as it cools down closer to 180.

Time for rebrew, steep #2. 2 minutes, and now there is a nicer mouth feel-I can really taste the pecan and the dry pecan shell now. Letting it steep another 30 seconds….yummy, bolder, maybe 15 more… and better. Maple is fainter, but the Quilan is really noticeable with the pecan pairing to its natural nutty flavor. I like the simplicity of this one more than the cherry latte, but I prefer the type of flavor of the cherry latte. Again, the mouth feel could be smoother. I probably would have enjoyed this more maybe with less leaves, or with less time in the first steep. Still good, but it has better potential. I’m going to brew it one more time and maybe cold overnight to see what else it offers.

The last sample from A Quarter to Tea — and these samples definitely worked their magic on me — I placed a small order, even though I really didn’t want to be buying tea for a while. I used two and half teaspoons for brewing in a full mug. Even though I tried to steep this the same way as the Chocolate Cherry Latte (and even though that blend is oolong AND hojicha and not just oolong) there is much more flavor from the black twisty roasted oolong itself here but at least it’s a roasted oolong I can love. With the Chocolate Cherry, the flavors mask the oolong and hojicha. My tastebuds don’t seem to find much maple and pecan, mostly just the flavor from the roasted oolong. But possibly I didn’t steep this one perfectly like I think I steeped the Chocolate Cherry. I think I’m just obsessed with the Chocolate Cherry. :D It’s definitely the reason I ordered! I wish I had more to say on this one though.
Steep #1 // 2 1/2 teaspoons for a full mug// 15 minutes after boiling // 3 minute steep
Steep #2 // 10 minutes after boiling // 3-4 minute steep
Steep #3 // just boiled // 3-4 minute steep
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