Zealong Pure

Smell: Dry leaves smell kind of sweet. Brewed it smells really “clean” and has a bit of sweetness to it.

Flavor: Very clean, smooth, a little earthy. No strong flavors, its soft and fluffy.

Reminds me of: Spring

Aftertaste: Soft vegetal flavor lingers for a bit.

Comforting or Refreshing: Both? It’s refreshing, in that it reminds me of Spring and is kind of “cheerful”. Comforting because its very smooth and the earthiness relaxes me.

Steeps: 1

What a great tea!! Out of the package the tea has a lovely light floral scent. Not very strong, but immensely pleasing. I steeped the tea according to the directions, using the correct amount of tea, and freshly boiled (but not boiling) water. This resulted in a beautiful bright yellow/green liquid that had a light sweet smell. The taste is best described as light, yet full of flavor at the same time. The tea has a rich green vegetal body, that felt buttery on the tongue. Floral and sweet notes come through as well. Even though the leaves are unroasted, there was a slight oolong toasty/tanginess at the end. It is a delicious cup of tea that helped relax me on a hectic day. I did a second steep of the leaves, and the flavor was less delicate, the gentle floral notes were gone. It was stronger this time, with a toastier flavor, definitely more ‘oolong-like’. Can’t wait to try the other Zealong varieties!

Unfortunately, I don’t like grassy teas…not sure why I decided to sample this. Not my thing.

1st infusion: Sweet, vegetal, extremely buttery (though not smooth like CTG’s amazing TGY), and a little reminiscent of…soup? There’s an extremely clean, bright, sort of filtered-water quality to it that seems to go up your nose like pool water.

2nd infusion: A roasty, nutty flavor came out in this steep.

I watched the videos about this tea on the Zealong site https://www.zealoong.com while I was waiting for the tea to arrive, so my expectations were raised from the start. It didn’t let itself down. The delivery was prompt and professional, beautifully packed, and the tea itself was divine. I really loved the aesthetics of watching dry little green balls expand into whole green leaves. I steeped in a Libre tea flask so was able to see them unfold like a child’s magic monkey toy. The flavour was clean and pure, as promised. It wasn’t cheap, so I’m “saving it for best.”

Does this taste vaguely like soap to anyone else?

Regardless the taste is complex. Smooth, a little sweet, a little typical oolong. Personally I don’t care for an overly ‘buttery’ oolong and this one fits the bill perfectly.

The dry leaf has an amazingly flora aroma to it but with a slight bite to it. It’s an enjoyable tea to watch, and after only one infusion the leaves begin to expand nicely and it photographs well. It’s especially nice to see the red-edged leaves around the where they have been bruised in the processing.

The brew itself is floral and sweet as a light oolong should be. I like to bring this tea to work or school, put a small pinch of leaves in a cup, and infuse with hot water from a thermos. This tea doesn’t go bitter easily and is a good one to brew on the go.

I would recommend this tea to anyone who loves light oolongs and wants to try something unique. Being from New Zealand, this tea is quite the black sheep… but a tasty one at that.

@chanteashop

This is a lovely change from weeks of drinking shin-cha green tea. Clear and flavorful. A bit light, but I also missed the in-package instructions to steep at boiling instead of 195. Multiple resteeps, consistent flavor every time. I love how the tea expands into WHOLE leaves! Overall, very good presentation, lovely flavor.

This tea is full of subtle flavors. I could taste a faint background taste that reminded me of cinnamon flavored cactus candy. Not exactly like it, but similar in an undefinable way. This tea changes flavors as you hold it in your mouth. The flavor is primarily the flavor of a good jade oolong, sweet without being really sweet, floral without tasting as though is were made of flowers. Incredibly delicious in a delicate way that has to be drunk slowly to be appreciated.

The color is pale gold and shimmery.

In the morning 5 grams with a quick brew is perfect. This is a light tea with a subtle grassy nose and bright color. Light on the palate and a perfect way to ease into the day

Drinking this is a pleasure. Nice spring floral melody with mildly roasty undertones. Just astringent enough to make you want to drink more, but the astringency is tempered by the natural sweetness. In fact, I can’t imagine anyone wanting to add sweetener to this — it’s that sweet. The first feature that hits you is the great soft yet bright honeysuckle flavor, followed immediately by the surprising butteriness. Together, this rated a spontaneous ‘wow’ and a smile. Not a bad tea day! Only one caveat: if, like me, you steer away from perfumey teas, even if naturally perfumey, this might be too much for you since it was almost at my limit. It would be great to serve to guests you’re hoping to expose to great teas.