Flowery Pineapple Oolong

Sipdown, 188. I requested this sample because I have been interested in trying this one for a while. I was almost sure enough that I would like it that I just ordered an ounce, but I decided not to this time. For sure, it combines a lot of my favorites: flowery? check. light, green bao zhong? check. pineapple? well, I could take or leave pineapple, but I do enjoy it.

My other half wandered by and said, without knowing what the tea was, that it smelled like flowers. When I told him it was flowery pineapple, he allowed that he did smell flowery pineapples. This is a great improvement, because probably 3 months ago he would have said it smelled like tea (everything smells like tea).

Anyway, it does smell like flowery pineapples, which is to say it has a nice, sweet, authentic pineapple aroma and also a good dose of florals. Lilac, perhaps, or maybe peony. That does translate over to the flavor, although I’d say its heavier on the pineapple and not so much on the florals. The baozhong base is lovely, and there is a creaminess to the whole thing. It gives it a tropical drink feeling; a hint of coconut and you’d have a piña colada. If I was mad for pineapple this would definitely have a place in my cupboard (kind of like if I were mad for cantaloupe then Cantaloupe & Cream would have a place in my cupboard), and maybe some day it will find its way back into it anyway. It is quite delicious.

I was browsing my tea shelves and saw I had a sample of this happy sounding tea. I think today will be a day of flavoured tea which made this sample perfect to try. Thank you stacy for the sample and opportunity to try this Oolong. :)

Colour – Pale yellow
Smell – Gentle flowers (and a soapy sort of fragrance)

This is very nice, it starts off flowery and then the pineapple gets stronger and stronger until all of a sudden it vanishes. The green floral Oolong pairs nicely with the sharp and fruity pineapple. The more you drink the more buttery it gets but stays light and fresh.

The notes suggest to add a little brown sugar but this is sweet enough for me and I adore the natural flavours. The Oolong becomes stronger as the tea soup cools down but still deliciously so.

Overall it’s a very enjoyable drink (even for someone who is not a huge fan of pineapple such as myself) and it would be perfect on a hot day. The cup remained fresh throughout and the balance was spot on.

An oolong that I don’t mind. Yay! It is aptly named as all three components make an appearance in each sip. Tbh, I was expecting more pineapple and less of everything else and though I wish there was a stronger pineapple taste, I am still enjoying the cup. Though, I don’t think this will be a restock once I finish what I have.

Thanks tigress_al! I’ve been wanting to try this one for a while now. It has a lovely flavor and the dry leaf is pretty :) The aroma is very floral. The flavor is floral with a hint of pineapple. The pineapple is behind the floral flavors but adds a sweetness/tartness to it. Mmm this is a really nice oolong! Thanks again!

And another Butiki sample! I didn’t realise I’d stored up so many…

Oolongs don’t tend to be my favourite thing, so I know I’ve kept this one back largely out of trepidation. I probably didn’t need to, though, because the first flavour here is pineapple. It’s fresh, sweet, and very natural tasting. I could smell it the moment I added the leaves to the water, and the taste is just as I hoped it would be. It’s not as sweet or cloying as pineapple juice can be, but beautifully light and refreshing.

I expect that has something to do with the oolong, which brews up to a very pale yellow. This is the second flavour I can taste, after the initial hit of pineapple has faded. It’s not overtly mineral like some oolongs, but is very gently vegetal. It’s a very smooth, almost sikly flavour, and it complements the pineapple well. There is a very slight floral note, almost orchid-like, at the end of the sip, but it fades pretty quickly. I didn’t add any sugar, given that this is the first time I’ve tried it, but if I were to drink this again I’d probably give that a try. I like this, though. Perhaps my oolong hating days are officially over!

I requested another sample of this because last time I tried it I oversteeped it, then tried to drink it before heading to the airport at 5am, THEN attempted to make a note 6 hours later after not making our connection flight. Needless to say, I didn’t enjoy the tea at the time, or the two awesome books I finished at the airport (not even Jon Snow or allomancy can make waiting at an airport for two days fun).

The looseleaf smells and tastes like a pineapple with cream and florals. This fills the massive citrus fruit cravings I’ve been having recently. Seems like a perfect multisteeper for the increasingly warmer weather here. Thank you for the sample, Stacy!

Still here with my grandmother…

They smelled particularly like PEZ candies and I could almost taste it in my mouth already.

Grandma poured some in my cup and handed it to me.

The color was a fading golden-yellow, promising to be smooth and silky when I drank it.

I smelled it once more, savoring the candied and flowery smell (no wonder ‘flowery’ was in the name) and finally took the first sip.

A wide grin spread across my face.

Yay! It tasted just as deliciously as it smelled! Hallelujah!

I then added sweetener and the flavor got serious.

It was so perfectly sweet and the taste of pineapple had gotten to work!

A blast of juicy pineapple exploded in my mouth and my taste buds rejoiced as a dendritic zest zinged and zanged my tongue and then quickly disappeared as I swallowed.

Just as it had promised, the Oolong was silky and sleek when I swallowed it.

It was as if I were drinking sunlight.

Hurrah! The tea was a success! Thank Butiki Teas for creating such a flavorful experience in a cup!

This is amazing. I rarely find greens I want to keep in my stash. This is one.

Smells of sweet, heavenly pineapple. Almost more like juice than the fresh fruit, which is just fine. The tea leaves are super huge when they unfold.

Pale, pale yellow with a taste that lives up to the smell. Such a rarity. :)

This goes on the list to buy more. I can see I’ll go through this pretty quickly. Plus, I have to have some to share!

The taste for this one is exactly what I would expect from the title! A calmer kind of fruit taste and comfortably sweet, even creamy. It’s very juicy (I’d say luscious even!), and I only had a slight hint of the tangier part of pineapple taste. It reminds me of the best pineapple smoothies, but with so many additional layers of flavor (I’m guessing from the oolong!) that it’s even more delicious.

I never took myself for too much of a pineapple fan (usually it’s a bit too tangy for me), but I really love this tea!

TTB #17

Another flavored oolong by Butiki, another win! While this doesn’t seem as complex and decadent (yes, I am totally using this word) as Rose Violet Calendula Oolong that I had a couple of days ago, it is still delicious and provides everything that the name promises, that is flowers, pineapple and oolong! :D

I got a bright yellow infusion that smells very delicately of pineapple. The flavor is much bolder, even a little tart, with a sweet, flowery finish. The oolong base shines through and binds the pineapple slightly sour notes with the flower notes. Very refreshing and summer-ish! That doesn’t seem to correlate with the weather well – there’s another snowstorm here in PA – so it’s best not to look out of the window ;D

I should really resteep this but I feel I should go on with my tastings… I still have about 3-4 teas to try before I have to pack the Traveling Tea Box and pass it to the next person tomorrow.